Deb Williams had been living on the edge of the jungle of the Daintree, close to the wild beaches of Cape Tribulation of Far North Queensland, Australia.. (To find out how we met each other see Mango meets Deb)

Sustaining herself on predominantly tropical fruits, with an exceptional partial toward the deliciously hairy rain forest Rambutan fruit, she lived a quiet, simple, meditative lifestyle, keeping often to herself, gardening some, and nurturing little Talfon whose body grew within her...

Frequently, she would follow a path through the jungle that would take her between her shelter and a fresh water creek not too far off.

Now, in the wet tropics of the Far North, there exists a bird, not found elsewhere in the world, it's a big, flightless chappy, resembling somewhat the Ostrich but with a far more colourful plumage, some blue, some red, and even some hints of yellow.. It's called a Cassowary or Cassowarie..

The general feeling amongst the locals is that it has a tendency to be quite territorial, and somewhat aggressive. I've heard several stories of people being chased by them..

Anyhows, it so happened that one particular cassowary had made it's home base not far from where Deb lived, and occasionally, inevitably, their paths would cross.

They would both stand hesitantly acknowledging each others presence, before either or both of them moved respectably aside and continued silently on their separate paths.

There seemed to be never any cause for concern or alarm on either side, together with a mutual recognition that they both had their homes there...

One day, shortly after Talfon had braved it into this mad world of ours, Deb was on her way down toward the creek, when the cassowary appeared on the path in front of her.. She held little Talf lovingly in her arms, and spoke soft words.. The Cassowary approached cautiously, curiously, and looked down into Debs arms..

Deb was able to understand some kind of nonverbal communication from the cassowary, (probably due to all those Rambutan!) - a signal that she should wait.. The Cassowary turned about, and disappeared back into the jungle..

Some time later, Deb still waiting on the path, the cassowary reappeared. This time, trailing behind her, she nursed two of her own baby offspring.

The 2 mothers stood, and looked down at their own, and each others children, and both gave silent acknowledgement to the new roles they had taken on in existance..

Indeed.. Proud mothers, belong not only to our own species..