Bernard the Wombat of Ugly Gully

In this fantastical yet believable tale, skilled storyteller Judyth Gregory-Smith shows us that things are not always as they seem and can have surprisingly happy endings.

Bernard is the only upwardly-mobile wombat in Australia. He has a well-equipped caravan to sleep in and a deck on which he can sip Wombat Ginger Beer while reading The Wombat’s Guide to Successful Tunnelling. But a menace hangs low over the scene: a dingo named Crushbone. All the animals fear him, for dingoes have the unpleasant habit of eating other animals.

Bernard makes a pond in his garden so he can watch the Honeyeaters fly down for a drink. But one terrible night, the pool is damaged. The black plastic liner is ripped and some water escapes. Who is to blame? Bernard suspects his Wild Wombat relatives who live in Deep Ravine, though Gloria the Red-Bellied Black Snake suspects it’s Crushbone the Dingo.