Author's note:
The following is an extract from a short story called ‘Into that Darkness Peering’, the first in an unpublished collection of rewritten fairytales. My aim in this collection was to rewrite the stories with both an Australian and a feminist focus. It is intended for a Young Adult audience. This particular story is based on the tale of the Hobyahs, a rather disturbing story particularly adopted by Western Australia and told to me by both my father and my grandfather. Thanks for the nightmares, you two.