Chapter 1 - An important discovery

Chapter 1

An Important Discovery

ozEkoala and Dingo were exploring one day, when they came upon an ancient manuscript. It was written on a special gum leaf papyrus-like substance and the powerful eucalyptus oil had preserved it in perfect condition. Dingo wanted to sell it immediately, but ozEkoala felt that it had deep spiritual significance and that they should sit down together and find out what it said.

Dingo was persistent. He didn't have time to waste on the writings of some unknown ancients - he had life to live, and that took money! ozEkoala wasn't known for assertiveness, but on this occasion she surprised even herself by standing firm and insisting that the manuscript be read before any decisions were made about their next move. Reluctantly on Dingo's part, eagerly on ozEkoala's, they sat down and ozEkoala started to read aloud...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.... "

Despite himself, Dingo was enthralled. It seemed they had stumbled on an account of the beginning of all things! Privately, he'd always wondered about how it all began. He suspected that it might have some bearing on the way he should live his life, but he'd never really pursued the subject. Something more important seemed to come up every time he thought of asking ozEkoala what she thought, and no-one else he knew seemed to talk about anything like that. Maybe they thought about it privately, like him, but they certainly never talked about it. So life went on and it didn't seem to matter so much once he threw himself into his daily work and leisure activities.

But here it was... a written account by someone who seemed pretty confident of their facts. They had just started chapter 2 when they were interrupted by Tassie, the local trouble maker.

Dingo: "Hold on Tassie! We're just reading something really important!"

Tassie: "Aw, that old thing! I saw that there
yesterday. Load of rubbish!"

ozEkoala: "Just let me finish this bit Tassie....

"Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array."

Isn't that .... beautiful!"

Tassie: "ozEkoala, you're such a dreamer. How can you see anything beautiful in a fairy story like that?"

Dingo: "I liked it too."

Tassie: "Whaaat? Gor, come on Dingo. I gotta get you outta here - you've been hangin' 'round ozE too much."

Dingo: "Buzz off Tassie - I've been listening to you for too long! This is important! Why don't you stay and listen? You might learn something!"

Tassie: "No way, buddy! If you're not coming with me now, you can forget you ever knew me!"

Dingo: "Come on Tassie... just a little bit."

ozEkoala: "Yeah, Tassie - it won't kill you. If it's a load of rubbish then what harm can it do you?"

Tassie: "I'll stay for one minute... if Dingo will come with me when I go."

ozEkoala: "Dingo wants to keep reading, don't you Dingo..?"

Dingo: "Perhaps I will go with Tassie... I can't take too much of this intellectual stuff. Just read to the end of that bit there, ozE."

Tassie: "That's my boy, Dingo. You stick with me, mate."

ozEkoala: "By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating He had done."

Tassie: "OK - that's it! Lets go Dingo - I've got some work for us. We'll make a packet out of this deal I've got going!"

ozEkoala: "Dingo.. don't go. This is more important."

Dingo: "I know ozE, but it'll still be here tomorrow. Tassie's deals can never wait... you know that."

Tassie: "I'm going Dingo! I'm not waiting!"

ozEkoala: "You can't always put money first Dingo. We were having a rest today, remember."

Dingo: "Don't pressure me, ozE! I know what I'm doing... trust me..."

Sadly, ozEkoala waved goodbye to Dingo and Tassie as they roared off in a cloud of dust in Tassie's ute.

She didn't have the heart to read anymore that day, so she meditated quietly on the wonderful things she and Dingo had read. Something in the very last bit had struck a deep chord in her heart, and her mind drifted back to the words over and over... "And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy....". Holy. That was a new word for ozEkoala. She didn't really know what it meant, but it seemed very special somehow.

Chapter Index To Chapter 2