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Goliath, confused. “Not a prisoner of war? Then why's he chained to a military clothes-drying device?”
    Limpy looked pleadingly at Charm, hoping she'd do the explaining so they could leave.
    “You lot are cane toads, aren't you?” said the bird.
    Limpy nodded.
    “I'm related to you,” said the bird.
    Now it was Limpy's turn to be confused. The bird had feathers and a beak and not one visible wart.
    “I say related,” continued the bird. “What I really mean is, we come from the same place.”
    “Where's that?” asked Goliath suspiciously. “I've never seen you around the swamp.”
    “Pet shop in town,” said the bird. “The one next to the dry cleaner's. But originally my species and your species both came from the Amazon River region in a place called Brazil. Both been there since time began, apparently. A guinea pig in the pet shop told me.”
    Limpy's warts prickled with impatience. He'd heard all this before, when the old cane toads had drunk too much cockroach sherry.
    “We've got to go,” he hissed at Charm and Goliath.
    “Lovely place, the Amazon, by all accounts,” said the bird. “You know those ads for New Zealand on TV? From what I've heard, the Amazon is even better.”
    “What's so lovely about it?” said Goliath. “Have all the humans there been blown up?”
    “Don't think so,” said the bird, giving Goliath a strange look.
    In the distance a door slammed.
    Limpy stiffened. He squinted toward the house. A human was coming down the steps from the deck, carrying a bag of nuts.
    “Ah,” said the bird. “Afternoon tea.”
    “Hop for it,” said Limpy to Charm and Goliath.
    They both hesitated. Limpy could see they were thinking about letting the human have it with their weapon of choice.
    He grabbed them and dragged them toward the flower bed, crook leg trembling with the effort.
    Finally they stopped resisting and the three of them dived under some big leaves. When they'd stopped panting, Limpy noticed Charm wasn't looking at him quite as gratefully as she usually did when he rescued her.
    “Limpy,” said Charm. “I know you want to keep me safe, and I appreciate it, but don't you think I'm getting a bit big for you to be bossing me around?”
    “Me too,” grumbled Goliath.
    Limpy didn't know what to say. Charm hadn't grown at all since she was little. Neither had Goliath's brain.
    “No offense, Limpy,” said Charm gently. “But if I'm going to be bossed around, I prefer someone a bit old and wise to do it. Someone like Aunty Pru.”
    “Me too,” said Goliath. “Except not Aunty Pru'cause she uses long words.”
    Limpy stared at Charm, thoughts racing.
    Of course. That's what we need. Someone older and wiser to give us advice on how to live in peace with humans.
    “You're a genius,” said Limpy, hugging Charm.
    “What about me?” said Goliath. “I had the idea about peeing on the pizzas.”

T hey found Aunty Pru on the road leading out of the suburb. She was staring at something small and flat on the tarmac.
    “Aunty Pru,” called Limpy from the edge of the road. “Can we ask you something?”
    Aunty Pru looked up, startled. Then her face broke into a big wrinkled smile as she recognized Limpy and Charm and Goliath.
    “G'day, young uns,” she said. “Fire away, I'm all ears.”
    Goliath stared at her, looking confused.
    “No, she's not,” he whispered to Limpy. “Most of those are warts.”
    Limpy ignored Goliath.
    “Aunty Pru,” he said. “What's the best way of living in peace with humans?”
    “A way that doesn't involve going into supermarkets,” said Charm.
    “It's war, isn't it?” said Goliath.
    Aunty Pru frowned thoughtfully. “Funny you should ask,” she said. “I've just been thinking about that.”
    She stared at the tarmac again.
    For a long time.
    “When I said she uses long words,” muttered Goliath, “I really meant long pauses.”
    Finally Aunty Pru spoke again.“The thing about humans,” she said,“is they're complicated. Some