Waltzing Matilda

Photo by Eric Muhr on Unsplash

Deep in the Australian Outback, Banjo Barton was 3 weeks in his first walkabout. Having just filled his canteen from a muddy pond lined with Eucalyptus trees, he was reminded of the lyrics to a favorite song. He packed his sack and set out singing:

Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong
Under the shade of a coolibah tree,
He sang as he watched and waited ’til his billy boiled
You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me

Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me….

The crusty ground suddenly became very fragile and started to break away underneath his weight. All too quickly, Banjo Barton had disappeared.

The lone witness, an Aboriginal leaning on his walking stick, says to himself, “Good on ya, mate. Flat-earthers weren’t wrong, eh?”