Small but mighty animals - a 'Tonny' story

Tongala or 'Tonny' if you live there, is a pretty special place in Victoria. It has a great swimming pool, a bakery where you can buy yummy pizza and the friendliest people you'll find anywhere.

Now in Tongala there lives a young lad called Isaac. Isaac really likes animals and especially birds. Isaac likes to find and look after injured birds.


View Larger Map

(This map shows the three locations in Tongala where the action of the story occurred.)
One day Isaac was with his Dad when he saw a nest of three magpies which was blown out of a tree by a big strong wind. The poor magpies! One of them was tangled in barbed wire, one was right on the edge and one had its wing tucked underneath - it looked twisted and hurt. Isaac said: "Oh you poor little magpies!" Isaac wanted to pick them up straightaway but he knew he had to be careful. So Isaac asked his Dad if he could pick them up and bring them home.

Isaac's Dad said: "I saw them yesterday and I knew you would want to rescue them, yes of course you can."



Just then Isaac's friend Elijah came along on his bike. Elijah was singing - "Give me a home among the gum trees, with lots of magpies, a cow or two and a kangaroo!"



At that very moment a giant kangaroo came bounding along so fast that it ran right into Elijah, toppled him over and landed right on top of him. Whooo!

The kangaroo was probably confused. It was the hottest day, 40c in the shade. That kangaroo thought that Elijah was her joey and started to pick up and put him in her pouch!

Isaac couldn't believe it! What will I do? he thought. Then he remembered his small but mighty friends: the magpies, his posse of 15 rabbits, his dog Sooty and even the yabbies. Isaac called in his loudest voice and pretty soon the air was full of the sounds of all those creatures rushing to him.



The kangaroo was now by the side of the channel. Elijah said: 'If that roo jumps into the channel I'll be able to swim and get away." Hearing this Elijah's pet fish jumped out of the fish bowl and joined Isaac's animals speeding to rescue him.



Sooty was the first to leap into the channel quickly followed by all the others. Sooty grabbed Elijah in his mouth and pulled him from the kangaroo.

Brittney, Elijah's sister, came along with the tractor and said: "Hop on you guys!" Elijah, Isaac, the magpies, the rabbits, yabbies and pet fish trundled along on the tractor through the sunset and back home to a delicious pizza for tea. And the kangaroo? Well the kangaroo was last seen jumping a golden cow somewhere in 'Tonny'.