Nat, Eli, and Luke had met Elijah the tree snake and Lionel the frilled-neck lizard once before, and they also knew about Ned the Dingo. At their last adventure, they had all promised to meet again at Christmas. This year, on Christmas Eve, the boys rode their bikes to the blue lagoon where their friends were waiting. The red rocks glowed in the sun, and the shade of the big gum trees felt cool and peaceful. Elijah slid down from a branch. “Merry Christmas!” Lionel puffed out his colourful frill; they were happy to see the boys. Ned the Dingo was there too; he couldn’t wait for the tasty marshmallows again. They carefully set up a little campfire and toasted the marshmallows perfectly, all gooey and yummy. The boys decorated a tiny bush Christmas tree with feathers, shiny stones, and bits of quartz they had collected along the track. When the afternoon cooled, they tried fishing with marshmallows again — and, like last time, the fish loved the sticky mess; they let the fish go. The picnic basket had sticky buns and a thermos of tea. Under the warm Top End sky, Lionel told stories, including the one about Dave the Tree Man, who loved trees. Dave’s policy was that if you ever took down a tree, you should plant two more to replace it, so the world would have plenty of trees. Ned the Dingo liked that policy; there were never enough trees when you needed one. The boys said they would write him a Christmas card — and write notes for Henry, Kylie the Koala, and William the Wallaby too. Laughing, they agreed that meeting again every Christmas was fun (Original story and others can be read on) www.henrythebunyip.comHappy Saturday #lovealwayshenry♥️