Jacko and the Paramedic Galahs

By Pati Duyckers

Farmer Bill and his wife Jill lived in the country, where the land is flat and the hills are a long way away.

Two pink and grey galahs named Dib and Dab lived in a big tree next to their farmhouse. They were known around the district as the paramedic galahs because they had been trained at Bird School to help in emergencies. A large flock of cockatoos lived in the hills around the farm. Their feathers were pure white and their crests were bright yellow. They fed on seeds, grains and grassroots and spent a lot of time walking around on the ground. Cockatoo Jacko was the lookout for the mob.

One day just after a bit of rain, when the wheat was getting ready to put its roots down and its green shoots up, the flock of cockatoos flew down and landed all over the wheat field. There were so many they looked like a snowstorm. Jacko’s job was to screech loudly if there was any danger. So he sat up in a high tree to keep watch.

Bill and Jill were having a nice cup of tea on the verandah when they saw the cockatoos on their wheat field. Bill aimed his shotgun in the air to scare them away. The small pellets were scattered into the air and all the cockatoos flew away. All except Jacko, who had copped a pellet in his wing.

‘Ow!’ screeched Jacko as he hopped lopsidedly across the wheat field. Dib and Dab were watching from the top of their tree.

‘We must help Jacko,’ said Dib. ‘Right,’ said Dab. They donned their paramedic uniforms and flew down together, landing right next to the injured Jacko.

‘Hmm…,’ said Dib, looking closely at the wounded wing.

‘We need to bandage Jacko’s wing before we can fly him to the galah hospital.’

Dab took a bandage out of the first aid kit and tied it around the wounded wing, making sure the ends were neatly tucked in. Then they set themselves beside Jacko. Dab carefully took hold of the damaged wing and Dib took hold of Jacko’s other good wing.

‘One, two, three go!’ And up they rose up carrying Jacko to the galah hospital.

Bill and Jill jumped into their truck and drove quickly to the galah hospital to visit. They found Jacko tucked up in bed looking a bit sad. Bill said he was very sorry and gave him a big bag of wheat seeds to cheer him up. The doctor told them not to worry, Jacko had only minor damage to his wing and, because the paramedic galahs had arrived so quickly, there was very little that needed to be done.

When Jacko was discharged from the hospital, he often flew about with Dib and Dab and the rest of the mob of galahs. They all had a lot of fun, waddling around on the ground, eating bugs and grubs, flying upside down and downside up around the treetops until late in the day.

If you live in the far country where the land is flat and the hills are a long way away, you will often see the white cockatoos and the pink and grey galahs flying around together. And if you are very lucky, you might see the paramedic galahs too.

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