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Dreamtime Paintings
How The Echidna Got His Spikes
When the world was young in the Dreamtime, Wanja the Echidna did not have spikes
like he has today. Instead, he had beautiful long black feathers, that were tipped in
white. Wanja was proud of his feathers, but he was very lazy and greedy. Whenever
any of the other animals held a feast, Wanja would be the first to the food, the last to
leave and he would always eat the most.
Now one day Emu became very ill and all the other animals gathered around Emu to
help him. Book-Book, the wise old owl knew of a special medicine that would help
Emu get better. Book-Book sent the animals out into the bush to gather all the
ingredients they needed to make the medicine. When they came back to camp, Book-
Book the wise old owl used the ingredients and began to mix the medicine for Emu.
Book-Book was almost finished, when he looked up and said sternly to all the
animals: "This medicine is very special. It is only to be used by sick creatures, not
anyone else!" Then Book-Book finished mixing the medicine and gave it to Emu.
As soon as Emu swallowed the medicine, he felt better and all the animals cheered
and decided to hold a celebration. They all hurried into the bush to find the food they
needed: everyone except Wanja the Echidna. He was very lazy and thought it would
be easier if he just stayed around the camp and waited for the other animals return

with all the food.
After a while, Wanja became hungry, and being very greedy, he went looking for
something to eat. There was nothing in the camp for him to have, except for some left
over medicine. Wanja the Echidna drank greedily, ignoring Book-Book the Owl's
warning.
As soon as he swallowed the medicine, Wanja the Echidna felt as though he was on
fire. He screamed loudly, and all the other animals came running back to see what
was wrong. When they got back to the camp, they saw that Wanja the Echidna looked
very different. The medicine had burnt through Wanja's beautiful white-tipped back
feathers and all that was left was the hard, spikey centres.
"Oh Wanja!" said Book-Book, the wise old Owl. "See what your greed has done! Now
you must live with those spikes forever, so that everyone is reminded that being
greedy is very bad, and that you should not take medicine unless you are ill!"
So that is the story of how Wanja the Echidna came to have hard, black spikes that are
tipped in white.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task.
When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will
correct this for you!
http://www.slideshare.net/samsonfung/the-echidna-and-the-shade-tree-
compressed
How The Echidna His Spikes
Vocabulary List

Dreamtime The Dreamtime is the time before time, when all creatures were of one
spirit. It is the time when the Great Ancestors roamed the Earth, teaching the
laws of life and how to live in harmony with one another and with nature.
Echidna An animal that has a series of hard spikes all over its body. It also lays eggs
and is a mammal, as it suckles its young. As it is an egg-laying mammal, it is
classed as a “monotreme”.
feast A feast is a big banquet of special food that is laid out at a party or special
gathering to celebrate a special event.
lazy A “lazy” individual is one that does not want to work or do anything except
relax and have a good time.
greedy A “greedy” individual is one that takes more than his or her fair share,
without regard or thought for anyone else.
Emu A very large flightless bird, with small wings. It is a native Australian bird that
features on the Australian Coat of Arms.
Owl This is a nocturnal bird. According to legends, this bird is deemed to be wise.
Feathers Birds have feathers all over their bodies.
spiky The centre of a bird’s feather is hard. It could also be called spiky, if there
were sharp ends on each of these hard pieces.
spike (spikes) A spike is a hard, sharp tip, that is found on the end of a long, thin, round
object (spikes – plural form)
Comprehension Questions
After reading the story, answer the following questions in full sentences
English, by getting help from the story text.
1. In the story, which animal became ill?
2. Which animal made the medicine?
3. Why didn’t Wanja go into the bush with all the other animals?
4. What did Wanja do while all the other animals were away?
5. How did Wanja the Echidna change?
6. Does this story have a lesson to teach us? What is this lesson?

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How the echidna got his spikes

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