KAXXY, THE KANGAROO 265 



good. Yes — after another sip — it was certainly refreshing ; 

 so from one pot she went to another, until she had 

 emptied them all. 



All this time the men were cowering under an out- 

 house, far too much frightened to interfere with the 

 kangaroo. And even when she was called off, and taken 

 back to her own outhouse, they did their work in fear and 

 trembling for the rest of the day, lest this terrible stranger 

 should come back again. 



But as winter came on, poor Kanny's games got 

 fewer and fewer. She had attacks of shivering, which 

 generally ended in fainting fits, and between them she 

 would lie on her bed, looking up sadly at her anxious 

 nurses, who sat by her, stroking her head. At length 

 the weather got so cold that they could not keep her 

 warm in the outhouse, so she was carried in and laid on 

 a soft rug before the kitchen fire. She knew they meant 

 to be kind to her, and though she had hardly strength 

 for the move, she tried to raise her head, and rub it 

 against their hands. But the bitter frost had touched 

 her lungs, and she fell back gasping, and in a few minutes 

 was dead. 



The children wept bitterly for their beloved play- 

 fellow, whom they themselves buried under a tree ; and 

 though time passed and they had other pets, no one ever 

 took in their hearts the place of Kanny. 



