Module 2: RESPECT OTHERS

(Page 30) Resource sheet 4 (continued)

Then, quite suddenly, as the children rounded a shoulder of granite, they stopped: stopped dead in disbelief. For in front of them rose a whole hillside aglow with shimmering colour: every shade of the spectrum sparkling, flickering, and interchanging: kaleidoscope of brilliance rioting in the midday sun. Mary's eyes widened, her mouth fell open.
"Jewels, Peter! Jewels! Millions and millions of them."
But they weren't jewels. They were even more beautiful.

As the children approached the hill they heard a low, high-pitched rustling: soft vibrating hum that trembled the air. Then, to their amazement, the blaze of colour began to move: shimmering, palpitating, rising and falling, as the butterflies opened and shut their wings. Suddenly, like bees, they swarmed - disturbed by the children's approach - and in a great rainbow-tinted cloud went swirling south: south for the Victorian plains.

The hill lost its magic. The sun streamed down. The children plodded on.

From Walkabout by James Vance Marshall
(Michael Joseph, 1959).
© James Vance Marshall, 1959