Chapter One Saying Goodbye There won’t be any mangoes like this where you’re going Lilli girl said Lilli’s grandmother She slurped her mango noisily and the yellow juices ran down her chin Lilli thought other people might think her Nan was disgusting the slobbery way that she ate mangoes pulling them straight from the trees tearing the green skin off with her teeth and biting into the rich sweet insides But Lilli liked eating them that way too Biting into the skin gave
the mango a wild tang and the juices spurting everywhere was great fun This was just one of the many things she would long for when her family moved to the city I’ll really miss you Nan sighed Lilli I wish we didn’t have to go She loved talking and laughing with Nan sitting together on the old blanket under the big mango tree with the dogs Don’t look so sad Nan replied You can ring me every day and visit me on the school holidays too Lilli knew that was true but it just wouldn’t be the same Come on said Nan getting up stiffly We’d better get you home Your mother will be going mad finishing all that packing on her own Nan passed Lilli the washer she
kept specially for mango clean ups Lilli wiped her face and looked around Nan’s beautiful garden one last time We’ll call in at your Uncle Bernie’s house on the way Nan said He wants to say goodbye to you and so do your cousins Lilli felt even sadder She came from a big family and she would miss every one of them when she was living in the city I’ll be so lonely she thought miserably Uncle Bernie was a great artist and as usual he was sitting on the front verandah painting when they arrived Some of the paintings were about his country some of them were just for fun and others were things he had seen in his dreams
Oh that’s wonderful Lilli cried when she saw his latest one It was full of mango trees with bright golden fruit and red shrubs with rainbow birds perched in them Thank you bub Uncle Bernie smiled That tree looks just like the one at Nan’s place Lilli said But what’s that hidden in the shadows under the tree Unc Uncle Bernie chuckled That’s a little creature who visited me in my dreams bub He’s a dingo cat and he lives inside that mango tree I’ve painted him just for you When you move to the city he’s going to take care of you Lilli felt excited A dingo cat she thought in wonder a little creature to look after me in the city Maybe I won’t
