The Bunyip is an Australian monster. Descriptions vary. A lot.
(Apologies to the people of Australia for mangling Matilda.)
You should be careful when swimming in the billabong
You can’t be sure what is lurking beneath
All the weeds and the mud. But there’s something that is waiting there:
Waiting and watching and grinding its teeth.
What is a bunyip?
What is a bunyip?
You’ll never know because you’ll never see
Until it’s far too late and I’ve got you in my tucker bag.
What is a bunyip? Well darling, it’s me!
Some say I looks like a starfish or an octopus
Others insist that I’m more wallaby
Or a horse or a dog, or perhaps a hippopotamus
Nobody’s sure what a bunyip should be
What is a bunyip?
What is a bunyip?
You’ll never know because you’ll never see
Until it’s far too late and I’ve got you in my tucker bag.
What is a bunyip? Well darling, it’s me.
I lay my eggs, (it turns out that I’m amphibious)
Not in the nest in the fork of a tree,
No, I seek out the nest of an unsuspecting platypus
That’s where my children are waiting for me.
What is a bunyip?
What is a bunyip?
You’ll never know because you’ll never see
Until it’s far too late and I’ve got you in my tucker bag.
What is a bunyip? Well darling, it’s me
Next time you come down to paddle in the billabong
Up jumps the bunyip and grabs you with glee
And at last you will know, for a moment, that I’m beautiful:
Then I’m afraid that it’s time for my tea!
What is a bunyip?
What is a bunyip?
You’ll never know because you’ll never see
Until it’s far too late and I’ve got you in my tucker bag
What is a bunyip? Well darling, it’s me
Tom Juniper Poetry 