How The Koalas Got Their Ears

• Ella Ratcliffe , Grade 2
• Short Story
• 2022

How the Koalas got their ears

Long, long ago in the outback there were two koalas sitting in two separate dried up trees. It was boiling hot and the leaves were brown and burnt from the sun. Both of the koalas were very grumpy and hungry.

There was a family camping close by. A mum, dad and two children who were cooking their lunch. The koalas were desperately wondering what the food was because in all their whole life they had only eaten eucalyptus leaves. They wanted to try something new. They caught a slight glimpse of the food and smelled the air. It was damper, cooking in a pot above the blazing hot fire.

The family scrambled into their tents to escape from the sun while their lunch cooked. No one was watching. The two koalas looked at each other suspiciously, then slowly climbed down the trees. Then they both sprinted to the damper as fast as their short, little legs could go. The koalas were fighting to see who could get to the damper first.

When the koalas got to the damper, they realized the fire was too hot. The koalas tried to reach the pot but it hurt their paws. The koalas had an idea, to get a stick to lift the pot out of the fire. Together they moved a long stick closer and closer to the fire and slowly, but carefully they lifted the pot onto the ground. The koalas were excited but who would get to eat the delicious damper. The started fighting to see who get the damper out first. They were frustrated and angry.

The koalas started to throw rocks at each other but the rocks got on stuck top of their heads. One on each side. They stopped throwing rocks and touched their head. Their heads felt strange. They had ears. The koalas realized their mistake and decided that they should share the damper. They picked up the damper and as fast as they could, climbed up a nearby gumtree and shared the yummy snack. The koalas decided they didn’t actually like damper very much and preferred the eucalyptus leaves, even though they were a bit too dry.