"'THAT IS THE LYRE BIRD, ISN'T HE A HANDSOME FELLOW?'"
"That is the lyre bird, isn't he a handsome fellow? See, there he is beneath that bottle tree. We have a pair of them and never allow them to be touched, as they are quite rare in this part of the country, though found quite frequently in the scrub.
"The tail of the male is just like an old-fashioned lyre, and it is one of the most interesting of our birds."
"Did you say that was a bottle tree?" asked Jean.
"Yes. Don't you see it is shaped just like a huge bottle, the branches growing out of the mouth? The stems have water in them, and if you are ever lost in the Bush and thirsty, find a bottle tree and get a drink. The Blacks eat the roots, which are full of a kind of gum."
"I never heard of such a place as this," said Jean. "It seems as if everything in Australia was useful. Everything but little girls," she added.
"Little girls are very useful in making other people happy," said her uncle kindly.
"But I'd like to be really useful and learn to do something," said Jean.
"You will when you are bigger," he answered. "You must get well and strong before you can do very much, lassie. But you will be useful enough as you grow older."