As part of our 'Amazing Australia' topic we are going to look at  some stories that come from Australia.

They are stories that were first told by Aboriginal people.

The Aborigines are the first people who lived in Australia. Aboriginal people have lived in  Australia for more than 50,000 years. They have  a close connection to the land, to waterways, and to living things.  The Aboriginal people have their own  cultural practices, languages, and beliefs.The Aboriginal people have their own stories about how they came to be. These stories are part of the Dreaming, or Dreamtime. The Dreaming or Dreamtime is very important to the Aboriginal people. It is the basis for their history, their relationship with the land, and their laws. There are lots of different Dreaming or Dreamtime stories and they are all about the world , its animals and how the Aborigines believed the world came to be.

Today's story is called Tiddalick the Frog.

Watch the short animation that tells this Dreamtime story.

Questions

1. What animal is Tiddalick?
2. Was he very small or very large?
3. Why did Tiddalick drink so much water?
4. When the animals found out about what Tiddalick had done they were very worried. Why do you think they were worried?
5. Why did all the plants and flowers die?
6. Wise Wombat had an idea. What was his idea?
7. How did the kookaburra try and make Tiddalick laugh?
8. What did the eel do?
9. What happened when Tiddalick did laugh?
10. What would you have done to try and make Tiddalick laugh?
11. EXTRA - In the story you hear the word billabong. This is an Australian word that comes form an Aboriginal tribe. What does billabong mean?