It was April and the aborigines in a remote part of Central Queensland asked their new elder, Roger, if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.
Since Roger was an elder in a modern community he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the tribe should collect firewood to be prepared.
But being a practical leader, after several days Roger had an idea. He walked out to the telephone booth on the highway, called the Bureau of Meteorology and asked, "Is the coming winter in this area going to be cold?"
The meteorologist responded, " It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold". So Roger went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared.
A week later he called the Bureau of Meteorology again. "Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?" The meteorologist again replied, "Yes, it's going to be a very cold winter." Roger again went back to his community and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later Roger, having doubts and not wanting to look a fool in front of the tribe, called the Bureau again. "Now look, are you absolutely sure that this winter is going to be really, really cold?" he asked.
"Absolutely," the man replied, "It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever. "How can you be so sure?" Roger asked. The weatherman replied, "There are reports that the aborigines are collecting firewood like crazy, and that's always a sure sign."
Tue Jun 12, 2007 11:24 am
