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Concordia Lutheran College Year 7

Dustyella

Once upon a time there was a poor girl called Dustyella. She did not have gleaming blonde hair; instead she had dusty, crispy, burnt skin and scruffy hair that was poking out everywhere. Her mother had died in a farming accident and since that day her dad had been very lonely and a little neglectful of poor little Dustyella. So, he had re-married an evil, cruel cow hand, thinking she was just a ‘good old stick’ and would be good for his daughter. She, unfortunately, had two just as evil daughters.

Dusty’s dad had to go on the annual cattle drive over to Gooniwongal bush, which was hundreds of miles away.
“Daddy please don’t go!” cried Dusty.
“I have to,” replied dad, “We need the money.”
Dusty sighed and sadly dragged her boots through the dust and scrub calling to her dog (Cattle Dog) ‘Bessy’. She got on her quad bike and Bessy jumped up next to her. She drove down to the mail box and found there was something for her! It was from her friend Oscar who was her best friend from Billabong Grove. He was her neighbour there three years ago. What happy days they were! It was an invitation to the Bush Dance. She screamed with happiness jumped on the Quad Bike and sped off without the dog!

She picked out her dustiest farm shirt, jeans and riding boots. It was the night of the Bush dance she pulled them on and ran to the door. Her nasty step mum stopped her and pushed her step sisters through the door instead.
“You’re not going to the bush dance!” the evil step mother snarled. Bessy the cattle dog snarled too! Dusty ran to her room and looked for the invitation. It wasn’t there! She ran to the step sister’s room and on the ground was the crumpled invitation. She pulled off the shelf a snow globe of the Shack and threw it at the window. Smash, tinkle, tinkle! The window cracked open and Dusty jumped through and out straight to her waiting quad bike and roared off into the night to the Bush dance.

She got there and met up with Oscar, her prince (old next-door neighbour). She saw he was dancing with the eldest ugly step sister. But when he saw Dusty he immediately unlinked his arm and ran to her and asked her to dance. They danced and danced the night away, their boots pounding on the old creaky boards as the fiddles and guitars twanged into the night air.

It was midnight so quickly and she was really tired from all the shearing she had to do that day. Suddenly her evil step mother was just about to grab her so Dusty made off and hopped on her quad bike. Just before the motor started up the jealous evil step sis grabbed her foot. She screamed and her boot was left in the dust. She rode of as fast as she could back to her shack, glad to be home and promptly went to bed.
Her neighbour Oscar was packing up after the Bush Dance and found her boot. Next day he tried the stinky, brown, muddy riding boot on every young jillaroo all over town, hoping to find his shoed princess. But no one claimed it. Sadly he finally made his way to Dusty’s farm to return the generator he had borrowed. He stomped on the veranda boards and called out Coo-ee!

Dusty had been snoring loudly; she snorted and crawled slowly out of her swag to answer the door. He put the boot on her grubby little foot and it was a snug and smelly fit. He hugged her and said “I knew it was yours.” A year passed, then two, then three years and they married each other at the old dusty shed and lived happily ever after!

The three ‘not-so-little’Wombats.
By C and K.

Once upon a time, not so long ago in Australia, lived three ‘not-so-little’ wombats. Their mother decided that the slightly bigger wombats needed to leave home. The burrow was too small for all of them. The poor confused wombats approached an Emu for help but he picked them up and carried them away into the scrubby bush. One of the wombats was dropped near a billabong. He coo-eed to the Emu but he did not return. At the side of the billabong the first wombat found some Blue Scope steel. He built a snug shed and lived in this feeling happy with himself, hoping that one day his family would find him.

The second wombat was dropped on top of Uluru in the middle of Australia. He landed with a thump on solid rock. He could see for miles around the red desert. He found a few branches and built a cubby house that had to be rebuilt after a slight breeze made it shake, and he found that it was not weather proof. The terrified wombat couldn’t wait for the day when he would see his family again.

The third wombat found himself on top of the Sydney Opera House. He started to slide down the huge shells of concrete. He could see the Sydney Harbour, Luna Park and the tall skyscrapers. Terrified, he slid down and landed onto the world’s biggest lamington. He was covered in powdery and sweet stuff, which he scoffed down as fast as he could as he had had nothing to eat for days. A truckie yelled, “Is it nice mate?” “My oath!” replied the wombat. He burrowed in and turned the lamington into a home.

Steve Irwin found the wombat that lived in the shed. He could see that it was abandoned so he invited him to live at Australia Zoo. On a field trip to Uluru Bindi Irwin found the next wombat. She saved him and carried him to the zoo as well. On Steve’s next mission, at the opening of a wildlife hospital in Sydney, he saw the last wombat that lived on the world’s largest lamington. He was invited back to Australia Zoo as well.

They were so happy to see each other again and found a lovely dark burrow to live in underneath the eucalyptus trees.

Emu	Large Australian flightless bird
Wombat	A medium sized, rotund Australian animal
Billabong	A bend in a river or creek that is cutt off from the river
Eucalyptus trees	Tall variety of tree that has leaves that smell of eucalyptus
Uluru	Largest rock in the world and of great spiritual significance to the indigenous people of Australia
My Oath!	Certainly! My goodness yes!
Australia Zoo	A large zoo in Australia that is dedicated to saving natural wildlife
Steve Irwin and family	Wildlife Warrier and owner of Australia Zoo (has passed away)
Lamington	An Australian cake made of plain sponge cake cut into squares, dipped in chocolate and coconut
Coo-eed	Called out "coo-ee"; a call that is used in the bush
Bush	Forest like
Cubby House	Child's play house

Poems from Concordia Students

The Lonely, White Owl
The lonely, white owl was sitting on a wooden post, watching and waiting for his lunch. He was very still. He looked liked a statue. Listening quietly, he looked out into the vast expanses. Suddenly, he swooped into the open and I never saw him again.

Brightly
Brightly, the sun shines every day,
Brightly, the stars shine their way,
Brightly, the moon comes out to play,
Brightly, cat’s eyes make me say….
Hey!
Brightly, the city lights from the bay,
Brightly, the candles on my birthday,
Brightly, your smile looks today,
Brightly, the way my friends say…
Hey Hey!!!

Loudly
Loudly, we yawn in our classroom,
Loudly, the music makes us BOOM BOOM,
Loudly, the broken engines clack,
Loudly, the explosion makes everything black.
Loudly, my heart beats when I’m scared,
Loudly, a scary movie blared,
Loudly, the thunder makes me jump,
Loudly, I hit the floor with a thump.

Dusty and the Seven Bush Animals

By Emma R

Way out in the hot and dry outback, a woman had just given birth to a beautiful baby boy. She named him Dusty. His skin was the same colour as the dust that covered everything in the west. Dusty’s lips were as red as the only rose in his mother’s drought stricken garden. Dusty’s father and house cleaner were there when Dusty was born and when his mother died. She passed away after giving birth. This turned a wonderful day into, well the opposite.

Jack, Dusty’s father, re-married a few years later. By then, Dusty had grown into a fit young boy. Jack’s new wife’s name was Alison. She was a city girl who hated the country and was only in it for the money, since the farm was huge. Dusty knew Alison’s plan but never told his dad because he knew he was madly in love with Alison.

As time went on, Alison learned that all the money would go to Dusty. She was fare dinkum mad about it. Alison concocted a plan to get rid of Dusty for good. One day when Jack was out, Alison sent the family cleaner with Dusty into one of the paddocks. Alison had given Lizzy, the cleaner, a shot gun and said, “If you don’t, you will pay!” Lizzy couldn’t do it. She had been like a mother to Dusty since he was born, she just couldn’t pull the trigger. Instead Lizzy told Dusty to run away and never come back. When she got back, Lizzy showed Alison a box which contained a heart. Not Dusty’s heart but a sheep’s heart. Alison couldn’t tell the difference so Lizzy was safe.

A few days had passed and Dusty was struggling. Without food or water the outback is deadly. In the distance he could see a waterhole. He ran towards it faster than his legs could carry him. With bucket loads of sweat dripping off his face, Dusty threw himself into the water though it wasn’t very deep because of the drought. From behind a tree hopped a little joey. Dusty loved all animals and cared for each and everyone. The little Joey only wanted a drink but Dusty gave him a pat as well. From different directions came another five bush animals. Dusty soon came up with names for everyone. He named the joey, Dopey, the emu with very long legs, Grumpy and a shy echidna, Bashful. There was also a Dingo and a Kookaburra. Dusty called the kookaburra Happy because of joyful laugh and the dingo Sneezy. Dingo got the name Sneezy when he howled at Grumpy. The howl to Dusty sounded like Alison sneezing. The sixth animal stood highest of all the desert animals. With his hind legs and his powerful tail he could soar higher than any of the others, a Red Kangaroo. Dusty called him Doc. Doc used his powerful back legs to shake a gum tree next to him. A ball of grey fur fell out of the tree. Dusty ran from his place on the bank, of the waterhole, to find out what it was. To Dusty surprise it was a Koala, who was now known as Sleepy.

The animals were trying to tell Dusty something but it took a long time to get through. Grumpy was always stepping on Sneezy’s feet and tail which made Happy laugh so hard that he fell off the branch of the gum tree. The bush animals told Dusty through their actions that hunters were after them and their other bush friends. Not only that, but all the waterholes were drying up fast, plus summer had just started so the heat only made it worse. All the animals were heading east, in search of water. Dusty was amazed, not only could he understand animals but he had never thought about how the animals were dealing with the drought. He offered to help straight away. The animals had to wait until nightfall to continue on their journey because of the extreme day time heat.

While Dusty had been lost in the bush for a number of days by now, so Dusty’s Dad was worrying and getting more grey hairs by the hour. Alison told her husband not to lose hope although she knew that hope was nowhere to be found. That night one of Jack’s brothers went hunting. Jack normally went too but was too upset. Jacks brother found the animals in one big bunch slowly heading east but as soon as they heard the Ute and saw the headlights, they moved up a gear. Josh, Jack’s brother was used to unusual scenes but this one topped the cake. He saw Koalas sleeping on dingoes backs; echidnas on emu’s backs and clinging to their long legs. The kangaroos were at the back to make sure that no one fell behind and leading the group was Dusty and Doc. Josh just stood there, calling Dusty’s name but he was too far away to hear. Not knowing exactly what to do, Josh drove back to the farm. He decided to get some rest and recall his incredible story in the morning. At breakfast Josh told Jack and Alison what he had seen, the night before. Normally the dingoes would eat all the other animals so something really strange was going on.

Josh and Jack rushed to the place where Josh last saw the animals. As “Old Betty”, the farm Ute, sped into the distance, a huge cloud of dust covered Alison who ran spluttering to find Lizzy. The cleaner told the truth and was told to pack her bags. Alison jumped into her brand new Ute and began the chase, with her gun on the seat next to her. She over took the boys in no time flat and started to follow the animal s tracks. The brothers had no clue why Alison was looking for Dusty so they put the pace on to try and catch up with Alison.

On the top of a hill Alison paused and scanned the horizon. About 100m away she saw all the animals and Dusty resting near a waterhole. She took her gun and started towards them. Josh and Jack pulled up alongside Alison’s Ute. When they got out they could see Alison with her gun pointed at Dusty. They didn’t understand exactly so they started to run, calling “Alison and Dusty”. All the animals’ ears pricked, so did Dusty’s. He saw is Dad and Uncle and then Alison, with her gun. Without thinking about himself, Doc jumped on Alison. This gave Josh and Jack time to get there. In the struggle, Alison’s gun went off which shot Doc in the leg. Through tears and anger Alison explained about her plan, Jack was heartbroken but at the same time over the moon to see his son.

Jack used some rope in the back of the Ute to tie Alison’s hands together and all the animals could fit in the back of the two utes, including Doc who was going straight to the vet. Dusty asked his Uncle would this be a story that could be told again and again. Josh said, “of course little buddy.” The police were waiting at the farm for Alison. She was taken away in handcuffs.

After a couple of days with the vet’s good care, Doc was released and back with all his friends. It was too hot to stay in the outback so all the animals were taken to a wildlife reserve on the New South Wales coast. Dusty went and visited once a year but still lived on the farm with his dad and uncle. Lizzy was invited back as well. Everyone lived happily ever after.

Bob and Da Gumtree

Once upon a time there was an old man who died a mysterious horrible death in a…oops, wrong story!
Once upon a time, again, there was a guy called Bob who looked after and lived with his best friend’s flying cow. The cow’s name was Humpydink and he was very greedy.

Bob wasn’t a very intelligent boy, seeing he had failed the 1st grade twelve times. The only reason he kept failing was because he could only say 3 words, one was “waffle”. On very rare occasions he said “golden syrup”. This will be clearer later in the story.

One day Bob and Humpydink, plus Bob’s prized possession, which was a bright, purple sub-woofer, went for a stroll to the billabong. There they met a squatter. As they approached the squatter, he said, “G’day mate, fine sub-woofer ya got there.” Then the squatter said, “I’ll buy that off you, and in return I’ll give you magic gumnuts.”

Bob thought about it and then said “waffle!” The squatter thought it meant yes, so he gave them to him and took the purple sub-woofer and flew away into the horizon. As he flew away Bob cried “Gooooooooooolden Syrrrrrrrrrrrrrup!!!!!”

Having nothing but the gumnuts he sadly left for home. When he got home Bob planted his “magic” gumnuts and fell asleep. The next day when Bob woke up he found a humongous leaf in his face, tickling his nose. He looked out the window of his shack to find that there was a huge tree in his front yard that went into the clouds. It wasn’t there the night before and it was growing from the exact spot Bob had planted the gumnuts.

Bob, not knowing what awaited him in the clouds, decided to climb the gumtree. When he arrived at the top he found a magical land of fairies and unicorns, no not really. He actually found an apocalyptic world of evil, giant, mutated, pie eating lamingtons.

Then he heard a thunderous cry, “FE, FI, FO, FUM! I SMELL THE BLOOD OF AN AUSSIE MAN!!!”
And then he saw it, it was huge, ugly, and it had pie all over its face, but worst of all it was PISTASHEO FLAVOURED, AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

In a panic Bob ran into the giant’s giant wombat trap and was instantly knocked out. He woke up and he found himself in a cage resembling a lamington, unfortunately for the evil, giant lamington (whose name was Fred); the cage’s gaps were big enough for an elephant to fit through. So Bob easily escaped.

As Bob was running for the door he noticed a golden waffle iron. In amazement Bob said “waffle.” Then he saw a titanium didgeridoo and said “golden syrup.” So he quickly grabbed both of them and ran out the door. As he was running he heard large thumps. As turned around to see what it was, he saw the evil lamington.

This made him run even faster. When he got to the gumtree he just jumped. It was obvious he was going to die, when suddenly Ingle Bert saved him and they flew down to safety. Unlike the evil lamington, who just smashed into the ground and spontaneously combusted.

Then Bob amazingly said in a Scottish accent “that’s all folks.”

Glossary

Gumtree	An Australian tree
Didgeridoo	Aboriginal instrument
Sub-woofer	A speaker system
Gumnut	A nut from a gumtree
Shack	A run-down house
Lamington	A chocolate covered sponge cake dipped in coconut
Wombat	A large round Australian animal