Mary Albert, a Bardi woman in Broome, told this story to school children who made the pictures for the book. In the Dreaming, all the birds were ‘black – all one colour.’ A little dove pierces his foot on a sharp stick while hunting and the foot becomes swollen and poisoned. All the other birds rush to help. A parrot bursts the foot with her beak and the colour that gushes out gives the variety of shades that we see in birds today. The exception is Crow, who stayed black. The author of this story says, ‘My mother used to tell me lots of stories, but this story I loved the best, because I loved the birds.’
Pamela Lofts lived in Alice Springs where she developed a series of books with Aboriginal storytellers and children based on their traditional stories. She also illustrated a number of picture books, including the classic Koala Lou written by Mem Fox, and Wombat Stew. Pamela passed away on July 4 following a two year battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
