Mudpoo and the Fungus Mystery (8 page)

C
aptain Pete had decided that Mudpoo and Harry must have gone for a long walk and was sitting in Gus, looking very relaxed, reading the Sunday paper. There was nothing unusual about this, except Captain Pete had taken off his boots and there was a smelly odour coming from them.

“Look . . . ,” Mudpoo shouted, “YOUR BOOTS . . . !”

“Yes, hello,” replied Captain Pete happily, “I'm enjoying the sun on my toes.”

“No, LOOK near your boots!”, cried Mudpoo and Harry together.

There on the ground next to Captain Pete's boots were two rabbits gagging and gasping for air.

“The smell is making them sick,”
laughed Mudpoo.

“That smell is not from me, it is from a mysterious fungus called,
‘Epidermophyton'
and it lives in many old boots,” said Captain Pete indignantly.

“You've solved the mystery of how to get rid of rabbits,” cried Mudpoo.

“What?” asked Captain Pete quite confused, “my FUNGUS solved a MYSTERY?”

“Your smelly boots can scare rabbits away!”
yelled Mudpoo joyfully.

“You'll be a hero,” said Harry, remembering what the farmer had said.

“Oh,” said Captain Pete, “that's good!”

“No that's wonderful,” Mudpoo replied and he ran down to the house with a new clever idea.

Down by the back door there was a box of Captain Pete's old boots and shoes and there were even more in the box by the laundry. Some boots had been in the box for years.

“Help me put these into a wheelbarrow and we'll tie one to every mailbox we can find,” cried Mudpoo excitedly to Harry.

Captain Pete helped Mudpoo and Harry walk up the road to hang the old boots and shoes on roadside posts and mail boxes. ‘They don't smell that bad,' he thought, as he cautiously sniffed an old boot.

“Look!” cried Harry,
“The rabbits are leaving!”

Captain Pete looked on in amazement.

Sure enough there were dozens of rabbits heading for the hills, trying to get away from the smelly old boots and shoes.

Mudpoo and Harry were so busy hanging old boots, they hadn't been able to tell Captain Pete the whole exciting story about the capture of Fungus McPhee.

“We've solved two fungus mysteries today,” said a tired Mudpoo.

“Put the wheelbarrow in the shed, while I make us all a relaxing cup of billy tea with fresh yummy damper; then you can tell me everything,” replied a smiling Captain Pete.

A rather large rabbit appeared in the shed when Mudpoo and Harry were packing up. He startled Mudpoo as he began to speak.

“G'day, I'm a direct descendant of the original European rabbits released in Victoria in 1859. James is my name,” and he shook hands with Mudpoo.

“Pleased to meet you James,”
smiled Mudpoo, too tired to realise he was now actually having a conversation with a rabbit.

“On behalf of all the rabbits around here I'd like to thank you for destroying the pirates' toxic carrot baits; poison is a horrible way to die you know.”

Mudpoo nodded, he felt sure that was true.

“Because you helped us, we're leaving Bethanga . . . to live on the other side of the hill,” and added . . . “your smelly boots and shoes are really too much!” He winked and wiggled and with a grin, James the rabbit bounced away.

“Did you hear that Harry?
The rabbits are leaving town, Captain Pete will be a hero!”
exclaimed Mudpoo. “Harry? Harry? Harry . . . ?” But Harry was too exhausted to stay awake and had curled up, fast asleep on one of Captain Pete's old boots.

Mudpoo thought to himself, ‘another great adventure with a successful outcome and we didn't even have to leave home. I wonder if the rabbits will come back one day.'

Mudpoo suspected they probably would, but at least for now they had discovered a temporary, environmentally friendly solution, and they'd solved the mystery of the Old Bethanga ‘Gold' Mine. Happily he carried the sleeping Harry down to the house where, in the kitchen, the delicious smell of billy tea and damper was too good to resist. Just outside the window, Hooty the boobook owl was doing his happy little ‘mo-poke, mo-poke' call.

“Ah there you are. I've just poured the tea, now tell me the whole story,” smiled a bright eyed Captain Pete . . .

BETHANGA
– Is a beautiful, retired old gold and copper mining town situated near Lake Hume in North-Eastern Victoria, Australia. It's just a 25 minute drive from the twin cities of Albury-Wodonga. It is surrounded by rolling hills and boasts an amazing lookout that has picturesque views of the famous Bethanga Bridge and the surrounding district. Things you'll find in Bethanga include: a hall, a general store, a friendly pub, a post office, a cricket ground, a school, a police station, a golf course and breathtaking scenic drives. Look out though! Maybe you'll meet some of the characters who appear in this book!

BOOBOOK OWL
-
Ninox novaeseelandiae:
Hooty belongs to the Southern boobook owl family and is Australia's smallest owl. Boobook's are only about 30cm tall and nest in the hollows of dead trees. Dead trees make very important homes for animals and if possible need to be preserved. Very late on most evenings in Bethanga, Hooty can be heard making his very distinguished ‘mo-poke, mo-poke' call. Have you heard one near your house?

BURTON'S SNAKE LIZARD
–
Lialis burtonis:
These are actually legless lizards (that look like a snake) and are very shy and completely harmless. They can be identified by their very distinctive wedge-shaped snout. Captain Pete once found one at home stuck in a fencepost hole he was digging. If you accidentally catch one release it carefully into some undergrowth preferably at night.

BUSH DANCE
- Out in the Aussie bush, people have been known to travel many miles to rustic old halls, or lanolin stained shearing sheds where the smell of freshly brewed tea, delicious scones, and mouth watering Pavlova is so inviting. A bush dance band will always play the Heel and Toe Polka; the easiest and most fun dance of all. Bush dancing is a wonderful way to make friends and to have fun! Sometimes Captain Pete plays guitar in a bush dance band; maybe one day you'll spot him playing at a bush dance near you?

EASTERN BEARDED DRAGON
–
Pogona barbata:
If you stumble across a bearded dragon in the bush, they'll usually freeze and use their camouflage to hide. If you step closer they'll puff up and extend their beard and open their mouth to look really scary. They eat berries, leaves, fruits, flowers and insects.

EASTERN BLUE TONGUE
-
Tiliqua scicoides scincoides:
The blue tongue lizard is Captain Pete's favourite lizard. They are brave and cheeky little characters who use bluff to frighten away larger predators with their enormous ‘hiss' and by opening their mouth to reveal a scary, inky-blue tongue. They can live very happily in your backyard; although they might steal the odd chook egg or two! If you're lucky enough to find one living in your garden, show it respect and it'll return the favour by eating some of the slugs and snails that eat your plants.