Story The legend of the kangaroo: adaptation of the old legend of Australia.
An ancient Australian legend tells that, originally, kangaroos had four legs like they do today, but all four were the same length. Like cats, dogs, or lions, they used all their paws at once to walk and run.
So it was for many years, until one day a hunter appeared on the plains where the kangaroo families lived. The man, whose skin was tanned by the sun, was armed with spears and searched the ground looking for animals to eat.
A kangaroo, resting under the shade of a tree, saw him appear in the undergrowth. Despite the fact that he had never been in front of any human, his instincts told him that his intentions weren’t exactly good: his face was tense, he moved slowly trying not to make noise, he looked cautiously from one side to the other, and He held his deadly spear high, ready to strike the moment he saw an animal he could catch.
The kangaroo was alerted. He was very close to him and his only option was to escape as soon as possible. Deep down, he thought that he would have it easy. The man had two legs and he had four, so there was no doubt that he would run much faster! He got up from the ground and on three, he started running at full speed. The human heard a noise and discovered the animal taking to its heels. Without hesitation, he began to chase after him.
The kangaroo ran and ran without stopping, but the man was on his heels. Yes, he had four legs, but his enemy’s two legs were longer and more muscular. Things were getting tough!
The chase lasted at least two hours and the kangaroo couldn’t take it anymore. Luckily, night fell on the plain and, in an oversight of his stalker, he managed to camouflage himself among some bushes. There he stayed, motionless, waiting for the two-legged enemy to move away. But no… Instead of going back to his home, he decided to gather some branches and build a fire to warm himself and wait there until dawn.
The poor kangaroo knew that he had to come out of hiding because as soon as the first rays of sun appeared, the hunter would resume his search and in the end, he would fall into his nets. He had learned that running had been of no use to him, so the best thing to do would be to try to run away slowly, without making noise. It occurred to him to raise his front legs and he walked away in absolute silence, walking on tiptoes with his two hind legs.
When he was well away from danger, he realized that in this way it had been very easy for him to slip away. Walking on the hind legs was great, but what if she tried hopping? He tried and at first, every time he jumped, he fell on his ass, but he knew it was a matter of practice and with determination he managed to make his jumps big and precise.
It felt wonderful! From now on, she would be able to escape from anyone who tried to harm her. No man, no matter how fast, could compare to an expert jumping kangaroo like him.
He returned to the plain very happy and told the families of kangaroos what he had discovered. Following his advice, they all began to rehearse to achieve a perfect jumping mechanism.
The initiative was very successful! Gradually, kangaroos across Australia stopped using their front legs for walking. Over time, their bodies evolved and they became shorter, while the rear ones became strong and elastic like springs.
Today, kangaroos have perfected the hopping system so much that they are capable of traveling great distances at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour. Incredible true