When he reached Coober Pedy, he was very hungry so he found some food and then lit a fire. The fire he built was so fierce it burned with an enormous amount of heat. A lot of water from the body of the man dropped into the ground and was captured by the stones which held a lot of water anyway. The beautiful colours from the raging fire went down into these stones,

changing the water into a magnificent display of color. This is the colour of the opal and can be found in the stones still. (Education Department of South Australia 1992: 32-33)