This one's for Panni and tomovoz:
Two kangaroo shooters, way out the back of Bourke. Their ute breaks down. They do the right thing – stay with it. But no one comes along. So they decide to walk out. The temperature is 40 plus C. After 2 days, they’re on their last drop of radiator water when they climb a rise and find, nailed to a tree, a sign saying MERCY, POPULATION 12. In the distance, a collection of ramshackle tin huts. They arrive. One hut is identified as a café. They enter. A lady appears, very proper. “Yis”, she says.
“Bring us a drink, luv. Make it long and quick.”
“We only serve one thing here.”
“What’s that?”
“Koala tea.”
“Well, bring it luv, only make it quick!”
She brings it, and she is not kidding. Pathetic little paws grip the edge of the billy and little furry ears poke through the murky surface. Well, kangaroo shooters are pretty tough but they’re not this tough. They look at each other and beg the woman to “take it away please, and strain it.”
“What?” she says, “The Koala Tea of Mercy is not strained.”
