Foreword The big white English swan, escaped from captivity, found himself swimming in an Australian waterhole fringed with giant gumtrees. In one of the lower forks of a gumtree sat a placid round-eyed elderly gentleman apparently thinking of nothing whatever in other words, a native bear. "Excuse me, sir," said the swan, "can you tell me where I am?" "Why, you're here," said the bear. "I know I'm here," said the swan, thinking his new acquaintance was dull-witted; "but where is 'here'? You see, I'm an English swan"-- "Excuse me," said the bear, "swans are black, I've seen thousands of 'em". "They're black in this country," said the swan, "just the same as the Aboriginals are black; but they are white in England, just the same as the people there are white. I don't like mentioning it, but our family are very highly regarded in England--one of the oldest families. We came to England from Cyprus with Richard Coeur-de-Leon." "I'm a bit in that line myself," said the bear. "Did you ever hear of the Flood, when Noah took the animals in the Ark? Well, my people wouldn't go in the Ark. They didn't see any chance of getting fresh gum leaves every day, and they heard that this Noah was not too reliable. A capable chap--he must have been a capable chap to organise that outfit--but inclined to drink. So our people climbed trees and lived on gum leaves till the water went down. They say the Flood wasn't as high here as it was in other places, but I've never seen a flood