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Taigum Primary School
Once upon a dreamtime there lived an Aboriginal girl. Her name was Kasna. She was only six years old. She had four brothers and two sisters. They all had dark brown hair and eyes. So did their parents, Mira and Jeremy. Kasna didn't. Here eyes were beautiful. No one could see the pupils of Kasna's eyes. They were powerful like the beauty of the night. Kasna was the odd one out of her family. None of her family had her colouring.
Her family didn't mix with the white people, and hated the difference in cultures so Kasna was always told never to be friends with people outside her own race but, whenever she heard her family speak of these things, she got mad and annoyed inside. She wanted to be everyone's friend - even if they were white.
Kasna and her family lived in the bush, a dirt road winding all the way through. Kasna and her brothers and sisters were not allowed near the road or to go to the other side. They had to stay in the heart of the bush otherwise they might see the "other people", the people they weren't allowed to talk to. Kasna always asked "why" but her parents got annoyed and ignored her. During her life she got told this over and over again. Hate, hate, hate! She was so fed up with it all.
Soon it was Kasna's twelfth birthday. She had grown madder at not being able to mix with the other people so she decided to go the other side of the road and see what was there. The white people looked like them too - their skin was different that's all. No one in her family would go there to look for her. They wouldn't even think to look for her there. That night she put some things in a dilly bag ready for the morning.
The next morning she woke up before everyone else and went outside. She walked off into the bushes. She walked until she came to a huge dianella bush near the edge of the road. She was a little scared because she didn't know what would happen to her but she had to find out for herself. She took a deep breath and ran across the road into the bushes. She kept walking slowly, looking around. It didn't seem any different to the side of the road she had come from. All the trees and plants were the same. It was very peaceful.
She walked until she heard water running. She had come across a small creek so she stopped for a drink. The water was nice and cool and it made her feel better. All of a sudden she heard whispering. It came closer and closer and Kasna got a little scared. She ran back into the bushes and hid. Suddenly, she felt warmth on her shoulder. Then in a soft, quiet voice she heard someone say, "are you lost?" Kasna turned around and standing there was a white girl.
Kasna was now afraid. She heard more whispering but the girl told her not to be alarmed. Out of the bushes came two more white children, a boy and a girl. They introduced themselves and explained why they were there. As it turned out they wanted to see what was on the side of the road too. They weren't allowed over their side of the road but had gone against their parents and gone to find out.
They all decided to stay together so they walked along the creek bed. They all wanted to go over to the other side of the creek but it was very deep. They had to find a way to get across. Kasna thought as hard as she could. Her thoughts were interrupted by the stinging of a huge mosquito that had landed on her arm and was biting her! As she brushed it off she remembered that when she was making some rope at home one day a mosquito had bitten her then too. She had packed that rope in her bag!
She threw the rope over to the other side of the creek and it landed on a branch of a tree that had fallen onto the other side of the creek. They all pulled themselves over and were on the other side of the creek. Kasna threw the rope on the ground and it magically fell into the shape of a love heart. They stayed and talked for a long time. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could have a beautiful place to meet no matter what colour your skin is?" said one of the children.
Kasna jumped up and ripped some bark from the paperbark tree. She found a stone as well and quickly drew a map of the creek and the way to get there. She did the same for the others and they all promised to meet there again. They all decided to go home. They crossed back over the creek together and as they did Kasna looked up along the creek bed. Her Dad was standing there waving his arms around. He looked very mad! She ran toward him and the other children followed. He whacked Kansa in the head as she stopped. Her friends didn't know what to do so they took off in the direction of home.
"What's that in your hand?" her father asked. He snatched it off her and threw it in the creek. Kansa cried and cried but it was too late, the magical packet had gone in the water of the creek. Her father went mad on her all the way home but when she got there her mother was relieved to see her. Kasna had been gone all day and she had worried. That night Kasna went to sleep without anything to eat and thinking about her new friends. She fell asleep wishing she could see them again.
Kasna dreamt that night. She dreamt about her friends and her new meeting place. It was more beautiful this time and many people went there. They grew and harvested the food they looked after. Everyone was happy and they all got along. Suddenly Kasna woke up. She sat straight up and standing there was the spirit of her Grandmother, Mae. She smiled at Kasna and Kasna smiled back. Then, as quickly as she appeared, she disappeared. Kasna lay back down again and drifted off to sleep.
In the morning Kasna woke up. The place outside her home was different. The trees were bigger, the shrubs bushier. The creek had somehow got longer and wider. There were beautiful gardens full of trees and a waterhole full of
fish. Paths intertwined to meet each other and people of all different kinds were talking and smiling. It was a beautiful place just as Kasna had dreamed of. In the distance she saw her Grandmother standing in the bushes. She waved
to Kasna again and then she was gone. Kasna felt so happy and she was happy there for a long time. And that is how the learnscape came to be ...