Read Online Into That Forest by Louis Nowra - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Louis Nowra
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hill. We picked up the sheep guts and lugged them back home. During the time it took to get back, Becky lagged behind, full of gloomy thoughts. One time I nuzzled her but she slapped me away. The tigers heard the slap and were puzzled. I sort of knew; the shack brought back thoughts of her father and home. She were terribly torn between being with us pack or wanting to try and find her father. She didn’t join in eating the sheep carcass but sat outside on the cold, wet grass rocking back and forth, lost in her mind.
The female tiger’s belly got bigger. Dave didn’t like us touching her, but were all right ’bout us snuggling up to him. Corinna spent time by herself in the den. Becky began to return to her old self. I think she realised we needed each other now that the tigers were going to have pups.
We went hunting for Corinna cos we knew she needed food. Going on all fours had become natural to both me and Becky - not all the time, mind you. When we were in the den or outside we were on all fours and sometimes in a hunt we found ourselves running on all fours. As our hands and wrists became stronger we didn’t even notice we were doing it. Corinna and Dave were our parents now and we copied them. But if it were a long chase - and sometimes that’s the way we hunted, we’d chase after a wombat or young wallaby in a steady trot til it were worn out - it were easier to be on our two legs. The eyes of an animal we hunted to the point of exhaustion were always the same - I’d see surrender in their look. They’d given up all hope and were dying even before we killed them. It were as if they wanted to get it over and done with and be put out of their misery.
During the day Dave slept in the corner of the den by himself and Corinna slept nearby, but not cuddled up to us - now she was pregnant she seemed wary of Becky and me. Then one day she began to whimper real loud as if in pain and then her backside began to quiver and the male left the den. Corinna looked at us and growled and hissed so we skedaddled out into the watery day and sat shivering between the tree roots. We could hear her whimpering from inside and then she went quiet. I were afeared she were dead, so I peeked into the den and seen two tiny things no bigger than me finger crawling up into her pouch. She were licking them when she seen me. Her eyes told me to get back out, which I did quick smart.
When I joined Becky again Dave were gone, which were unusual cos it were day. He returned a few hours later, walking right past us - like we didn’t exist. We peered into the den. He were vomiting up pieces of fur and meat for her and she were gobbling it all. Without even talking about it or thinking about it, we knew what we had to do. When Dave caught an animal or bird, we’d eat our fill, and then fill our gobs and crawl into the lair with our heads bowed, like kids with really strict parents, and vomit up our food for her. This won her trust and she allowed us to play with the pups when they could leave her pouch. She fed the two of them as she had fed me - from her teats. The pups just accepted us as part of their lives and sometimes when the parents went out hunting she’d leave them with us to look after. They were like dogs and we loved them. One were male, one were female. When they could walk we took them on short hunting trips where they could watch what we did. Most times they were lazy, just crowding up Corrina’s pouch til they were so big they could no longer fit in.
It were in early summer that we went on a long hunting trip to a lake where the wallabies drank at sunset. It were a far way away, so the pups had to be strong enough. I think it were also a test to see how tough they were.
We walked through the night and arrived at the lake in the morning. It were a huge lake that went as far as the eye could see. It were so calm it were like a mirror and that meant I couldn’t see below cos of the reflected clouds and bright morning sun.
The female tiger’s belly got bigger. Dave didn’t like us touching her, but were all right ’bout us snuggling up to him. Corinna spent time by herself in the den. Becky began to return to her old self. I think she realised we needed each other now that the tigers were going to have pups.
We went hunting for Corinna cos we knew she needed food. Going on all fours had become natural to both me and Becky - not all the time, mind you. When we were in the den or outside we were on all fours and sometimes in a hunt we found ourselves running on all fours. As our hands and wrists became stronger we didn’t even notice we were doing it. Corinna and Dave were our parents now and we copied them. But if it were a long chase - and sometimes that’s the way we hunted, we’d chase after a wombat or young wallaby in a steady trot til it were worn out - it were easier to be on our two legs. The eyes of an animal we hunted to the point of exhaustion were always the same - I’d see surrender in their look. They’d given up all hope and were dying even before we killed them. It were as if they wanted to get it over and done with and be put out of their misery.
During the day Dave slept in the corner of the den by himself and Corinna slept nearby, but not cuddled up to us - now she was pregnant she seemed wary of Becky and me. Then one day she began to whimper real loud as if in pain and then her backside began to quiver and the male left the den. Corinna looked at us and growled and hissed so we skedaddled out into the watery day and sat shivering between the tree roots. We could hear her whimpering from inside and then she went quiet. I were afeared she were dead, so I peeked into the den and seen two tiny things no bigger than me finger crawling up into her pouch. She were licking them when she seen me. Her eyes told me to get back out, which I did quick smart.
When I joined Becky again Dave were gone, which were unusual cos it were day. He returned a few hours later, walking right past us - like we didn’t exist. We peered into the den. He were vomiting up pieces of fur and meat for her and she were gobbling it all. Without even talking about it or thinking about it, we knew what we had to do. When Dave caught an animal or bird, we’d eat our fill, and then fill our gobs and crawl into the lair with our heads bowed, like kids with really strict parents, and vomit up our food for her. This won her trust and she allowed us to play with the pups when they could leave her pouch. She fed the two of them as she had fed me - from her teats. The pups just accepted us as part of their lives and sometimes when the parents went out hunting she’d leave them with us to look after. They were like dogs and we loved them. One were male, one were female. When they could walk we took them on short hunting trips where they could watch what we did. Most times they were lazy, just crowding up Corrina’s pouch til they were so big they could no longer fit in.
It were in early summer that we went on a long hunting trip to a lake where the wallabies drank at sunset. It were a far way away, so the pups had to be strong enough. I think it were also a test to see how tough they were.
We walked through the night and arrived at the lake in the morning. It were a huge lake that went as far as the eye could see. It were so calm it were like a mirror and that meant I couldn’t see below cos of the reflected clouds and bright morning sun.
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