Now that he had a ‘fellow falang’ they assumed that he would translate everything for him or at least keep him occupied. One day, when Lek noticed that he wasn’t doing what she thought was his duty to his friend, she started a conversation with him.
“Ross, have you heard of the Old Lady who lives in the tree? Do you have them in Australia?”
Ross was bewildered by this odd question out of the blue and looked to Craig for clarification.
“Dryads,” he offered, “or more accurately, not Dryads, since there are no oak trees here, but Tree Nymphs or Tree Spirits. Lek is asking whether you have Tree Nymphs in Aus, although, again, strictly speaking a Tree Nymph is a girl or young woman and she said ‘Old Lady’.”
“Come again?”
“Lek is asking you whether Australian trees are guarded by Spirits wh
