Tiddalick the Greedy Frog Story
An Aboriginal Dreamtime Story Year 4 English/Literature Learning about traditional stories and their meanings
What Are Dreamtime Stories?
Traditional Aboriginal stories passed down for thousands of years Teach important lessons about life and nature Explain how the world was created and how we should behave Often feature animals as main characters
Meet Tiddalick
A very large, greedy frog Lived during the Dreamtime long ago Had an enormous appetite for water His actions affected all other animals
The Problem Begins
Tiddalick woke up feeling very thirsty He went to the river and started drinking He drank all the water from rivers, lakes, and billabongs Soon there was no water left anywhere!
Think and Discuss
How do you think the other animals felt when they discovered there was no water? What would you do if you were one of the animals? Can you think of a way to solve this problem?
The Animals Make a Plan
All the animals gathered together They needed to solve the water problem Someone had a clever idea: 'If we can make Tiddalick laugh, he might open his mouth and release the water!'
Animal Performance Time!
Let's act out how each animal tried to make Tiddalick laugh! Kangaroo: Hop in a silly way Emu: Dance and wobble your long legs Wombat: Roll around on the ground Did Tiddalick laugh? No, he just sat there!
The Little Eel Saves the Day
Finally, a small, clever eel appeared The eel wriggled and twisted in the funniest way ever seen Tiddalick began to giggle, then laugh, then LAUGH LOUDLY! All the water poured out of his mouth!
Happy Ending
Water rushed back into rivers, lakes, and billabongs All the animals cheered and drank happily Tiddalick learned his lesson about being greedy From that day on, he was careful to share
The Lesson of Tiddalick
'Being greedy can hurt others and ourselves. When we share and think of others, everyone benefits.'