“Mrs MacNally’s Maureen was a big girl. Right away she came and joined Mum and Annie Rose and Mrs MacNally on the top step. ‘Mmm, might have to break a window,’ she said. ‘But I’ll try to climb up the drain-pipe first, if you like.’ “
“Hush-a-bye baby, on the tree top,
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock;
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall;
Down will come baby, bough, cradle and all.
Hush-a-bye baby, Daddy is near;
Mammy’s a lady, and that’s very clear.”
“The hospitality of squatters is world-famed, but this breaks all previous records, Esther. Accept by all means - everyone of you. On their own heads be the results; but I’m afraid Yarrahappini will be a sadder and wiser place before the month is over.”