Cirrus@Austlit

When the birds and animals fight amongst themselves, The Great Father Spirit (Byame, or Baiame) punishes them by taking away their common language. Since the lyre-bird took no part in the fighting, he was given the ability to imitate all birds and animals.

This is the Dreaming Story of how the Willy Wagtail was the first creature to speak with the Sun Godess, soon after Creation.

When the kangaroo discovers that he has been tricked by the lazy koala, he takes up a boomerang and cuts the tail off the koala.

Jealous of the Brolga's ability to dance, the Emu agrees to have her wings cut, without realising that she will no longer be able to fly.

After the Willy Wagtail has cleverly defeated a number of animals, the Tortoise outwits him by wearing a shield made from a food dish.

A gigantic frog has swallowed all the water, causing a bad drought. One by one, the animals try to make him disgorge the water. Finally the eel succeeds, and there is a great flood.

The story of how the animals arrived in the Illawarra area, the starfish got its ragged shape, and the descendants of the whale patrol the south coast of N.S.W.

In a great battle between the birds and the animals, the bats swap from the losing to the winning side. This brings them shame and punishment as they are banished to the darkness.

This is the story of how the echidna got her spines as punishment for trying to kill a young woman.

When the greedy crow refuses to share his food with the hungry hawk, they fight until the crow is thrown into the hot ashes of the fire. His decendants are black to remind them that the first crow broke his promise to the hawk.

This is the story of how the Brolga lost her beautiful voice and why the Emu has few chicks.

This is a story from the Murray River area in which caterpillars go off to solve the mystery of death and return in a new form.

The story of the first death of a human being and the creation of the constellation, the Southern Cross.

The Great Father Spirit punishes the frogs for being selfish by making them so timid as to jump into the water as soon as anyone approaches.

The selfish wombat does not let the kangaroo share his bark shelter during a storm. When the wombat is sleeping, the kangaroo strikes him with a large stone, leaving him and his descendants with a flat forehead. The wombat gets his revenge by throwing a spear at the kangaroo, which lodges permanently at the bottom of the kangaroo's spine.

Murriwunda succeeds in burning the high nest of the Mullion, the cannibal Eaglehawk, ensuring the tribe's safety and creating enormous valleys where the roots of the tree were.

The emu's egg is tossed into the sky, and strikes a bundle of wood which bursts into flame, bringing into being the sun. The daily procession of the sun across the sky is managed by the cloud-man, Ngoudenout, who sets fire to a bundle of wood each day.

The Lizard punishes the selfish Flying Fox by scattering his bed with caterpillars, causing the Flying Fox and his family to never be able to lie on their backs without itching.

This is the story of how the magpie got its colours and why its lonely call is never answered.

After their death, the Byama brothers take revenge on Thoorkook by taking the form of kangaroos and turning him into the mokope. The sound of the dead boys' voices is conveyed by the Bullroarer as a reminder of their cruel murder.