The Kookaburra Who Forgot to Laugh

A funny Australian story about worry and the joy of a good laugh.

Every morning, just as the sky turned pink, the kookaburras in Silver Gum Valley sang their dawn chorus. “Ha-ha-ha-ha-HOO-HOO-HOO!” It woke the wombats, and the wallabies, and every sleepy parrot for miles.

But one morning, Kip the kookaburra opened his beak, and nothing came out. “Ha,” he croaked. “Ha.” It sounded like a squeaky gate. The other kookaburras looked at him in surprise.

“Are you sick?” asked his aunty. “I am not,” said Kip. “I just cannot find my laugh.” He tried again, and it came out as a cough. The valley was very quiet that morning.

Kip flew to see Old Wattle, the wise echidna who knew everything about everything. “Tell me,” said the echidna, “have you been worried about something?” Kip thought hard. “Well,” he said, “I am learning to fly through the big gap in the Red Rock Ridge. It is very windy, and I am scared of it.”

“Ah,” said Old Wattle. “Worry sits on your chest like a heavy stone. It can squash a laugh flat. What do you do when you are scared?” Kip shrugged. “I pretend I am not.”

“Try telling someone,” said the echidna. So Kip went to his father and said, “I am scared of the gap.” His father nodded. “So was I, at first. Let us fly through it together.”

They flew to the Ridge, side by side. The wind roared, but his father stayed close, and Kip flapped hard and went straight through. On the other side, a funny feeling bubbled up in his chest.

“Ha!” he said. “Ha-ha-ha-ha!” The laugh rolled out of him like a waterfall. All the other kookaburras joined in, and the whole valley woke up laughing. “Welcome back, Kip,” said the wallabies, and they all had a very good morning.

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