Long ago near a river in Australia, in a gum tree beside a shallow pool known as a billabong, a tiny possum was born. By summer she was eating sweet nectar from the many flowers. One day after eating, she climbed to the top of the gum tree to rest.

As she slept, a gum nut fell from the tree into the billabong below. Kerplunk!Possum woke at once. Below her she saw the water shivering in the shade of the tree, and she began to shiver, too. Without stopping to think, she climbed down the tree and ran as fast as she could, calling out as loudly, "Run for your life! Kerplunk is coming to get us! Run for your life!"

Soon her mother and her father and all the other brush-tailed possums heard her cries. They too began to run. "Kerplunk is coming! Run! Run fast!" they cried as they chased Possum.

As they ran beneath a grove of eucalyptus trees, Koala heard their cries. Koala almost never hurried, but now she slipped down the tree, carrying her baby on her back. "Little Possum, what's wrong?" Koala asked.

"Kerplunk is coming after us!" cried Possum. "Kerplunk is coming to get us. Run fast for your life!"

And Koala joined the race.

They ran and ran, calling out for all to hear, "Kerplunk is coming to get us!"

Soon they came to a wide, rocky cave. The dust they raised while running flew into the cave, and out came Tasmanian Devil, grumbling, "What's all the commotion out there?"

Koala and Possum called, "Kerplunk is coming after us. Run for your life," and Tasmanian Devil lumbered out of his cave and ran along behind them.

Before long the group passed by a quiet stream where Platypus was taking a rest. "Run for your life," Tasmanian Devil cried. "Kerplunk is coming after us." When Platypus heard the news, his long snout quivered and the spurs on his ankles stiffened. As fast as he could, he came out of the stream and ran along on his webbed feet.

"Kerplunk is coming after us!" cried Possum and Koala and Tasmanian Devil and Platypus. "Kerplunk is going to get us! Run for your life."

Now Goanna the lizard lifted her head from her afternoon rest when she heard the cries. "Kerplunk is coming after us," Platypus squeaked.

Goanna quickly crept beside the others, calling out, "Kerplunk is coming after us! Everyone run for your life!"

Before too long, Kookaburra swooped down from the skies. When he heard the cries, he began to laugh nervously and call to all the birds he saw, "Fly fast, for Kerplunk is coming after us."

Soon the air was filled with the flapping wings of many birds. Below them on the forest floor could be heard the sound of running feet - spiny anteaters and wombats and bandicoots. Even Emu was flapping his wings and crying, "Here comes Kerplunk! Look out!"

Now Wallaby heard the sounds. "Ker-plunk is coming! Run for your life!" Wallaby thumped the ground with one of his hind legs and began to hop for his life, swinging his arms as he hopped. "Watch out, Kerplunk is coming!"

The forest floor rang out with thumping and pounding and flapping and crying and hopping, and Dingo raised his head into the air. "What's all this about Kerplunk?"

"Run away, run away," Possum cried as she led the chase. "Run fast!"

The thundering sound at last roused Kangaroo, who had been sleeping peacefully.

"What?" he asked, opening one eye, and then the other. He saw every creature he could imagine running toward him.

Kangaroo hopped out to the middle of the path to see what was happening. "What's this?" he asked as the animals galloped by.

The fleeing herd of animals came to a halt.

"Run, Kangaroo, run!" Dingo howled. "Kerplunk is coming after us! We must run away!"

"Kerplunk is coming to get us," hissed Tiger Cat.

"The horrible Kerplunk is coming," mumbled Tasmanian Devil. "Koala gave me the news."

Kangaroo turned a wary eye on Koala.

"It was Possum who told me," whispered Koala. "Possum told me all about the danger."

Now Kangaroo turned and stared at Little Possum. "Little Possum," he said very calmly, "what and who and where is this Kerplunk, who you say is coming to get us?"

Possum was trembling and tried to catch her breath.

All the animals stood very still and waited, and the birds swooped close and hovered overhead to hear. Kookaburra laughed and laughed. "Tell us, Possum, tell us."

Once more, the forest was still and silent, and the only sound that could be heard was the soft summer wind blowing through the trees.

And just then, another gum nut dropped into another billabong.

Little Possum jumped 2 feet in the air. "There it is!" she cried. "There's Kerplunk! Kerplunk is coming after us."

Koala looked at Platypus, and he looked at Goanna, and she looked at Wallaby, and he looked at Dingo, and every single animal looked at every other animal, and Kookaburra laughed and laughed.

Now they all understood just exactly what had happened. One by one they dropped their heads in shame, and they turned and looked at Kangaroo.

Kangaroo laughed quietly. "Little Possum," he said, "listen to me. The sound you heard is only the sound of our gum nuts falling into our waters. Be careful, Little Possum. Next time you must see for yourself what is happening before you start such a stampede."

The animals began to laugh. But Kangaroo called for order.

"And you!" Kangaroo stared hard at the others. "Next time, each of you will think before you believe everything Little Possum tells you."

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All the animals agreed. "Yes, we will think," Wallaby said, and he thumped his leg hard.

"Yes, we will think," the others echoed.

And as for Little Possum, from that day on, she always made certain to sit and think a while before she jumped, and she lived a long and happy life.

Another version of this tale can be found in the Panchatantra, a story collection from fifth-century India. Other versions are found in collections throughout the world. Many readers may know the English version of the tale, popularly known as "Henny-Penny."

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