It was April and the Aboriginals in a remote part of Central Qld
(Bundaberg) asked their new elder, Roger if the coming winter was going
to be cold or mild. Since Roger was an elder in a modern community he
had never been taught the old secrets.
When he looked at the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going
to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side , he told his tribe that the
winter
was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the tribe should
collect firewood to be prepared.But being a practical leader, after
several days Roger had an idea. He walked out to the telephone booth
on the highway, called the Bureau of Meteorology and asked, "Is the
coming winter in this area going to be cold?"
The meteorologist responded, " It looks like this winter is going to
be
quite cold."
So Roger went back to his people and told them to collect even more
wood
in order to be prepared.
A week later he called the Bureau of Meteorology again. "Does it still
look like it is going to be a very cold winter?"
The meteorologist again replied, "Yes, it's going to be a very cold
winter." Roger again went back to his community and ordered them to
collect every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later Roger, having doubts and not wanting to look a fool in
front of the tribe, called the Bureau again. "Now look, are you
absolutely
sure that this winter is going to be really, really cold?" he asked.
"Absolutely," the man replied, "It's looking more and more like it is
going to be one of the coldest winters ever.
"How can you be so sure?" Roger asked.
The weatherman replied, "There are reports that the Aboriginals are
collecting firewood like crazy, and that's always a sure sign."
