a long time ago, some animals looked different to the way they look now. kangaroos had no tails and wombats2 had high, round heads.
*ram the kangaroo and warreen the wombat1 were good friends. they lived together in a hut that warreen had built from tree bark.
they liked being with each other, but *ram liked to sleep outside at night and he made fun of warreen who always wanted to sleep inside
"come, warreen, sleep outside with me" said *ram. "it's much better to look up at the stars at night and listen to the fresh wind in the trees."
"it's too cold outside" snuffled warreen, "and sometimes it rains. i might get wet! i like sleeping in my hut with a nice fire to keep me warm."
*ram the kangaroo would not accept this. "your bark hut is dark and smelly. it is much better to sleep out in the clean air under the bright stars!" "no, thank you" said warreen. "i will stay in my hut where i am comfortable."
__*ram was impatient. "you are too scared to sleep outside with me. you are frightened to feel a little wind." "i'm not frightened" snuffled warreen. "i just like sleeping in my bark hut!"
*ram kept on taunting3 warreen, until one night the wombat agreed to sleep outside. during the night he got really cold and waddled4 back inside the hut. kangaroo laughed at him.
all summer they played together as friends, but *ram sometimes still made fun of warreen's hut.
things changed when winter came. the wind became colder at night while *ram slept outside. at first he didn't mind. he snuggled up to a tree to protect himself, and laughed at the thought of warreen in his smelly hut. "wombat would not brave the wind like me" he said to himself.
the wind became stronger and colder. *ram curled himself into a tight ball, hugging his tree.
he told himself that the wind couldn't hurt him - he wasn't afraid. when it began to rain, he muttered "a little wind and rain won't hurt me. i'm not afraid."
one night, blasts of wind lashed5 the kangaroo with rain*s that felt like icy needles. *ram was so wet and cold, he couldn't take it any longer. he struggled onto his hind6 legs and blown by the wind, hopped7 slowly towards the bark hut.
"it is me!" screamed *ram, banging on the door. "now, let me in!" "no!" yelled wombat. "there isn't enough room."
*ram's teeth were chatterin*. he became very angry and pushed hard at the door until it opened. "i'm inside now - and you aren't *g enough to throw me out!"
"h'mmph" snorted warreen. "well, sleep over there - in the corner. you're all wet and i don't want cold rainwater dripping on me." wombat stretched out near the fire again and went back to sleep.
*ram lay down in the corner, but there was a hole in the wall of the hut and the wind and rain came in. he couldn't dry himself or get warm. the fire went out, but warreen didn't notice. he snored as he slept and laughed *ry now and again, enjoying a nice dream. this made *ram * angry.in the morning his body was stiff and sore. he hobbled outside and picked up a large rock. when he came back, warreen was stretching and yawning as he woke up. *ram *ped the rock on warreen's head, flattening9 his forehead and * his nose curl around
"this is for not *ing10 me get warm and dry" said *ram. "and from now on, you will always live in a damp hole. your flattened11 forehead and cold home will remind you of last night."
after that, warreen and *ram didn't speak to each other or play together and warreen planned r*nge.
he made a *g spear and waited until *ram was busy washing himself.
then he threw the spear with all his strength and it hit the kangaroo at the base of his spine12. *ram yelled in pain and tried to pull the spear out, but it was stuck.
"from now on, that will be your long tail" yelled warreen, "and you'll n*r have a home to live in!"
that is why wombats now have flat foreheads and live in dark, damp burrows13 underground and why kangaroos have long tails and always sleep outside, under the stars.
the end
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