Bahloo the Moon,and the Daens

- An Australian Folk Tale

- “If you carry them, I promise you a gift”

Ravi Ila Bhatt

B ahloo the Moon shone down on Earth one night, looking for someone awake. That was his time to play with his three beloved pets. He called them dogs, but they were snakes: the death adder, the black snake, and the tiger snake.

Bahloo spotted some daens (people) crossing a creek.

"Stop! Please carry my dogs across," he called.

The daens were afraid. They liked Bahloo but feared his dogs. "We're sorry. Your dogs bite, and their venom kills."

Bahloo said, "If you carry them, I promise you a gift. When you die, you will rise again, just like this bark floats back up. But if you refuse, you'll sink like this stone."

Still, the daens refused.

So Bahloo carried the snakes himself. "You missed your chance," he said. "Now you will die like the stone-and never rise again."

The daens were scared. From that day, they feared and hated snakes. Whenever they saw one, they tried to kill it.

But Bahloo sent more snakes. "As long as daens live," he said, "there will be snakes to remind them of the chance they lost."