Bunyip Bluegum was a tidy bear, and he objected to whisker soup, so he was forced to eat his meals outside, which was awkward, and besides, lizards came and borrowed his soup.

His Uncle refused to listen to reason on the subject of his whiskers. It was quite useless giving him hints, such as presents of razors, and scissors, and boxes of matches to burn them off. On such occasions he [Pg 9]would remark—

[Pg 9]

'Shaving may add an air that's somewhat brisker,

For dignity, commend me to the whisker.'

Or, when more deeply moved, he would exclaim—

'As noble thoughts the inward being grace,

So noble whiskers dignify the face.'

Prayers and entreaties to remove the whiskers being of no avail, Bunyip decided to leave home without more ado.

The trouble was that he couldn't make up his mind whether to be a Traveller or a Swagman. You can't go about the world being nothing, but if you are a traveller you have to carry a bag, while if you are a swagman you[Pg 10] have to carry a swag, and the question is: Which is the heavier?

[Pg 10]

At length he decided to put the matter before Egbert Rumpus Bumpus, the poet, and ask his advice. He found Egbert busy writing poems on a slate. He was so busy that he only had time to sing out—

'Don't interrupt the poet, friend,

Until his poem's at an end.'

and went on writing harder than ever. He wrote all down one side of the slate and all up the other, and then remarked—

'As there's no time to finish that,

The time has come to have our chat.

Be quick, my friend, your business state,

Before I take another slate.'

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