The Great Emu Takedown

I blinked and shook my head and looked again. It was still there. My mind struggled to grasp what my eyes had seen. No way. Emus are wild, this is a city and this is a locked gated backyard. The sensible fairy jumped on my shoulder chattering away, denying what my eyes had seen.

"Um dad," I said. "An Emu just ran across our backyard."

Dad looked up at me with a frown on his face, oblivious to the scene unfolding behind his back. "Will you just eat up and be quiet?" He said.

I didn't blame him, I was the one that had seen the Emu and I wasn't sure whether I believed it either.

"No dad, turn around, there is really an Emu in the backyard."

Mum raised her eyebrows and glared at me, as if I was making up stories and went to silence me again but curiosity and the dumbstruck look on my face caused Dad to turn and peer out the back door into the late afternoon sunlight.

There staring back at him, not six metres away was a huge rag tag, exhausted and scared-looking Emu. It just stood there, staring and panting, with its huge eyes blinking warily at us. Dad and I both started to stand up and all of a sudden two men ran across the backyard towards the Emu, who of course bolted towards the side fence. Hot on their heels followed a fat out of breath, grey-haired police sergeant with a young eager-eyed rookie constable tagging by his side.

By this time mum had poked her head around the door to see what the commotion was and then promptly screamed when she saw the hive of activity in the yard.