The Galah, and Oolah the Lizard

The Galah, and Oolah the Lizard

One warm day, Oolah the lizard got tired of lying still in the sun.

“Enough sitting about,” she said. “I want to play a little.”

Oolah picked up her small, curved boomerangs. She loved practising with them: throwing them high into the sky and watching them sweep in a wide arc before returning.

Whizz! Whizz!

One boomerang returned straight to Oolah’s paws.

“Lovely!” the delighted lizard said, and threw it again.

Nearby, Galah the cockatoo perched on a branch, curious to see what Oolah was doing. Her pink breast glowed in the sunshine, and her grey wings stirred in the warm breeze.

“Look at the way it comes back!” Galah cried. “Show me again!”

Oolah straightened up with pride.

“Watch carefully. This will be my best throw!”

She swung harder than she should and let the boomerang fly into the air.

Whiz-whiz-whiz!

The boomerang flew far away, turned, and raced back. Oolah stretched out her feet to catch it, but a sudden gust of wind nudged it off course.

Thump!

The boomerang slid along the feathers on Galah's head. Several feathers whirled in the air.

“Ouch!” Galah cried, and flew aside.

Oolah was scared.

“Galah, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! I threw it too hard.”

But Galah was angry. Her head hurt, and she was upset that her lovely crest now stuck out in a comical, uneven tuft.

Oolah, not knowing how to calm her friend, ducked under a thorny bindea bush.

Galah saw this and flew after her.

“Come out!” she called. “Your showing off cost me some feathers!”

“I’m really sorry,” Oolah replied from under the branches. “Let’s not quarrel.”

Galah was still seething with hurt. She nudged Oolah out of hiding with her beak, and the lizard rolled across the dry ground beside the thorny bush. Tiny thorns caught in her scales, and red dust left rusty patches on her back.

Oolah got up, shook her feet, and frowned.

“Well, now I have a reminder of this quarrel too.”

Galah looked at her. It was harder to stay angry now. Oolah stood covered in dust with thorns on her back, while Galah could feel a cool patch where her feathers were missing.

“We must have both overdone it,” Galah said quietly.

“I started it,” Oolah admitted. “I wanted to show off and forgot to be careful.”

“And instead of listening to you, I immediately decided to retaliate,” Galah said.

They were silent for a while.

Then Oolah carefully pulled the largest thorn from her own scales and smiled:

“But now we will definitely remember this day.”

“And next time we will look at boomerangs from afar,” Galah added.

They say that ever since, a small patch with few feathers can be seen beneath the galah cockatoo’s crest. And reddish-brown lizards with spiny scales live in those parts, as though still carrying a reminder of the bindea bush on their backs.

This old story reminds us that it is good to take pride in our skills, but even better to use them carefully. When someone makes a mistake, it is wiser to listen to a sincere apology than to rush to repay hurt with more hurt.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨