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Notes
-
The book contains several stories told by different animals during eight meetings around the Meeting Pool. There is also an account given of the atmosphere of each meeting before the stories are told.
- First meeting: 'The King of the Winds', 'The Tiger and the Mouse-Deer', and 'Pa Badak's Lawsuit'.
- Second meeting, 'The Greatest Race that Ever Was'.
- Third meeting: 'The Greatest Thing in the World'.
- Fourth meeting: 'The Jellyfish that Wouldn't'
- Fifth meeting: 'Lazy Tok', and 'The Feast of the Durians'
- Sixth meeting: 'The Messenger of the Moon', and 'The Kenawai and the Water-Buffalo'
- Seventh meeting: No stories are told, but it describes how Bruang the Bear fights the Python.
- Last meeting: 'The Tree with the Softest Heart'
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Author's note: 'The little island of Pulau Daat lies off the coast of the big island of Borneo... It is a very tiny fragment of the British Empire and I do not think you will be able to find it on the map. It was on Pulau Daat that the writer collected the little stories in this book. He wrote them down for the amusement of his small daughter living in Australia...' (1929 edition)
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Publisher's blurb for this title is on the back cover of the digitised copy of Blinky Bill Joins the Army.
Contents
* Contents derived from the
London,
c
England,c
c
United Kingdom (UK),c
Western Europe,
Europe,:Elkin Mathews
, 1929 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.-
The Meeting-Pool : I, The First Meeting
The First Meeting : At Which It is Decided that the White Man Must Be Stopped,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The animals of a small island near Borneo have gathered at the meeting-pool because they are worried the white man is cutting down the jungle.
-
The King of the Winds,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The animals wish to stop the White Man from clearing the jungle, and they gather at the meeting-pool to decide what to do. The flying fox suggests that they should use softness instead of force, and tells the story of the King of the Winds. (From the Victorian Readers : Fifth Book.)
- The Tiger and the Mouse-Deer, single work children's fiction children's (p. 17-21)
- Pa Badak's Lawsuit, single work children's fiction children's (p. 25-30)
- The Second Meeting : At Which It Is Decided that the Python Should Kill the White Man, single work children's fiction children's (p. 33-35)
-
The Meeting-Pool : II, The Greatest Race That Ever Was
The Greatest Race That Ever Was,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The animals are again sitting around the pool debating how to deal with the white man when the Hornbill tells the story of the squirrel and the shellfish having the 'Greatest Race That Ever Was', a version of 'The Tortoise and the Hare'.
- The Third Meeting : At Which the Python Goes to Sleep, single work children's fiction children's (p. 45-47)
- The Greatest Thing in the World, single work children's fiction children's (p. 51-54)
- The Fourth Meeting : At Which the Slow Loris Talks Magic, single work children's fiction children's (p. 57-58)
-
The Meeting-Pool : III, The Jellyfish That Wouldn't
The Jellyfish That Wouldn't,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The animals have met again under the Tapang-tree and this time it is the Slow Loris's turn to tell a story about the young jellyfish who did not heed his mother's advice.
- The Fifth Meeting : At Which the Slow Loris Goes to Sleep and the Mosquito Tells a Story, single work children's fiction children's (p. 67-69)
- Lazy Tok : A Story from Borneo Lazy Tok, single work children's fiction children's (p. 73-78)
-
The Meeting-Pool : IV, The Feast of Durians
The Feast of the Durians,
single work
children's fiction
children's
In another meeting the animals discuss how size doesn't always matter and how the mosquito has the power to undo the white man.
- The Sixth Meeting : At Which Bruang the Bear Confesses to Being the White Man's Friend, single work children's fiction children's (p. 89-90)
- The Messenger of the Moon, single work children's fiction children's (p. 93-97)
-
The Meeting-Pool : V, The White Man's Friend
The Kenawai and the Water-Buffalo,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The animals are miserable as the White Man is burning the fallen jungle. Bruang the bear tells a story of the arrogant water-buffalo and how it shows 'it is a mistake to bite off more than you can chew'. He also declares he is a friend of the White Man because he was saved and reared to independence by one after his mother was killed.
-
The Meeting-Pool : VI, The Great Battle
The Seventh Meeting : At Which the Python Wakes Up,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The White Man's child is lost by the meeting pool and python would succeed in killing it if it weren't for Bruang the bear who fights him to death.
-
The Meeting-Pool : VII, The Last Meeting
The Last Meeting : At Which the White Man Tells a Story,
single work
children's fiction
children's
The White Man tells a story about the Bendo tree and the white ants then determines there will be no more jungle cut down near where his child was found.
- The Tree with the Softest Heart, single work children's fiction children's (p. 121-124)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
Books of the Week
1930
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 8 November 1930; (p. 18)
— Review of The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction ; Mateship : A Discursive Yarn 1907 single work short story ; Seventh Heaven : A Joyous Discovery of Europe 1930 single work prose ; The White Man's Garden : A Tale of Borneo 1930 selected work children's fiction -
Book Reviews
1930
single work
review
— Appears in: The Home , 1 February vol. 11 no. 2 1930; (p. 15, 18)
— Review of White Magic 1929 selected work poetry ; As It Was in the Beginning 1929 selected work short story ; The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction ; Hop of the 'Bulletin' 1929 single work biography -
Let's Talk About Gift Books
1929
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 10 December vol. 6 no. 3 1929; (p. 24)Discusses giving books as gifts and makes recommendations, from both Australia and overseas, including the publication of the first unabridged version of For the Term of His Natural Life.
-
Untitled
1929
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 22 October vol. 5 no. 48 1929; (p. 24)
— Review of The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction A favourable review which recommends the book to children for its whimsical tales. R. W. Coulter was an illustrator for The Australian Woman's Mirror and M. G. Skipper was a 'literary representative' of The Bulletin. -
A Reader's Notebook
1929
single work
review
— Appears in: All About Books , 5 December vol. 1 no. 13 1929; (p. 405-406)
— Review of To Meet the Sun 1926 selected work poetry ; The Book of Beauty 1929 selected work poetry ; The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction ; A House Is Built 1929 single work novel ; The Madeleine Heritage 1928 single work novel ; Up the Country : A Tale of Early Australian Squattocracy 1928 single work novel ; The Man Hamilton 1928 single work novel ; A Diver Went Down 1929 single work novel Beginning with an ironic anecdote illustrating that an Australian novel are a 'safe' present because the receiver is sure not to have read it, Palmer goes on to recommend some titles.
-
Children's Book by Mervyn Skipper
Views, News and Reviews
1929
single work
review
— Appears in: All About Books , 20 September vol. 1 no. 10 1929; (p. 313)
— Review of The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction -
A Reader's Notebook
1929
single work
review
— Appears in: All About Books , 5 December vol. 1 no. 13 1929; (p. 405-406)
— Review of To Meet the Sun 1926 selected work poetry ; The Book of Beauty 1929 selected work poetry ; The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction ; A House Is Built 1929 single work novel ; The Madeleine Heritage 1928 single work novel ; Up the Country : A Tale of Early Australian Squattocracy 1928 single work novel ; The Man Hamilton 1928 single work novel ; A Diver Went Down 1929 single work novel Beginning with an ironic anecdote illustrating that an Australian novel are a 'safe' present because the receiver is sure not to have read it, Palmer goes on to recommend some titles. -
Untitled
1929
single work
review
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 22 October vol. 5 no. 48 1929; (p. 24)
— Review of The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction A favourable review which recommends the book to children for its whimsical tales. R. W. Coulter was an illustrator for The Australian Woman's Mirror and M. G. Skipper was a 'literary representative' of The Bulletin. -
Book Reviews
1930
single work
review
— Appears in: The Home , 1 February vol. 11 no. 2 1930; (p. 15, 18)
— Review of White Magic 1929 selected work poetry ; As It Was in the Beginning 1929 selected work short story ; The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction ; Hop of the 'Bulletin' 1929 single work biography -
Books of the Week
1930
single work
review
— Appears in: The Brisbane Courier , 8 November 1930; (p. 18)
— Review of The Meeting-Pool : A Tale of Borneo 1929 selected work children's fiction ; Mateship : A Discursive Yarn 1907 single work short story ; Seventh Heaven : A Joyous Discovery of Europe 1930 single work prose ; The White Man's Garden : A Tale of Borneo 1930 selected work children's fiction -
Some Views, News and Reviews
1929
single work
column
— Appears in: All About Books , 21 October vol. 1 no. 11 1929; (p. 349-350) -
Let's Talk About Gift Books
1929
single work
column
— Appears in: The Australian Woman's Mirror , 10 December vol. 6 no. 3 1929; (p. 24)Discusses giving books as gifts and makes recommendations, from both Australia and overseas, including the publication of the first unabridged version of For the Term of His Natural Life.
Last amended 24 May 2024 13:09:24
Settings:
- Borneo, Southeast Asia, South and East Asia, Asia,
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