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April 02, 2007

Loaded dogs ....

Recently I was reminded again of one of my favourite pieces of Australian literature - and yes, there is plenty of it - by a passing reference to the work of one Henry Lawson. His descriptive prose is priceless, a master craftsman of the art of building up a story and my favourite among his many works which look at Australian life in the late 19th Century is "The Loaded Dog". Follow the link to find the story.

As someone who has spent a little time at various times in a misspent career, around explosives and fires, on being introduced to this story for the first time I could see the outcome before the reader had read beyond the first page. By the time they had reached the half way point I had sore sides - and by the end, I was crying with laughter.

ap02#001.jpg
One of Walter Cunningham's fabulous illustrations from the children's version of Henry Lawson's "The Loaded Dog". Note; the Echidna is simply a bystander and plays no part in the story!


So what does happen when you have a young, playful dog, miners who make their own blasting cartridges, a cooking fire and the inevitable outback tin shack hotel-cum-pub?

Follow the link and find out!

Posted by The Gray Monk at April 2, 2007 12:36 PM

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