Rocky Slug had been on the stakeout for almost two whole days. Ever since they found the two bodies on the trail which the authorities attributed to a vicious serial killer. Sam Snail had asked him to stay and try to catch the perpetrator in the act. Ever since he had left the force, Sam had been trying to crack the big case and win the respect of his contemporaries. Rocky, on the other hand, only cared about making as many greenback aphids as possible. And he did pretty good in doing that, if he had to say so himself. This could be a real slimy business, but Rocky was the slug to do it.
The sun was getting pretty high in the late morning sky when he saw a very suspicious character loom up before him. He ducked behind a rock when he realized exactly who it was. ‘That Fenimore kid is loose in the meadow!! And what is he doing???’ Rocky watched in horror as the events unfolded before him. He was as pale as a ghost when he finally regained his wits and turned to rush back to the office and report this unsettling news. This information was going to break the wrinkled torso case wide open!!
Little Billy and Latimer were walking down to Sam Snails office to see how the investigation was going. They would really like the guilty party to be caught since neither of them wanted to have to endure testifying about all the gory details they had witnessed. Latimer had only now been able to sleep at night and not wake up in a cold sweat.
As they neared the office Billy saw Rocky scurrying towards them. Scurrying for a slug, anyway. He was totally out of breath when he got to them and could only motion them inside since he couldn’t yet talk. Inside the office he collapsed on the floor with Billy, Latimer, Sam and Rhonda Grasshopper surrounding him. Rhonda had the foresight to bring her pen and pad to take notes.
“It was horrible………HORRIBLE I tell you!!” It was all Rocky could do to get that out. His voice trembled, sweat covered his furrowed brow and his hands shook as he began to relate what he had seen on the trail. “The Fenimore kid…..he’s the killer…..and it’s even worse than we could possibly imagine. He had a whole bowl of wrinkled torsos…..he must have wiped out an entire village!! And…..and……he…..was EATING them by the handful!!!”
Latimer immediately passed out, Little Billy started retching, Sam paled and Rhonda turned to race to the bathroom but slipped on something that Rocky had drug in and ended up sprawled out on the floor with her long gams twisted beneath her.
Little Bobby was upset that they were out of raisins. He had only gotten this bowl of them because he had raided his older sisters bran flakes.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
WRINKLED TORSOS ARE PILING UP
Raphael Spider was probably the first to spot the bodies from his web high up in the bush. He climbed down for a closer look and arrived at the scene at nearly the same time as Tobias Caterpillar. Another swollen wrinkled torso of some poor creature lay on the trail. But unlike yesterdays find, today there is also a totally different body. This one was green and totally smooth. He started to spin some webbing to surround the crime scene until the authorities arrived. Tobias was dispatched to notify them.
It didn’t take long for this latest news to reach about everyone in the neighborhood. By the time the police and the ladybug carts got there most of the details were known by Little Billy. He was glad he hadn’t run across them. But now, he had to relay the news to Latimer and he didn’t look forward to that ordeal.
Latimer was cleaning up his share of the nest when Billy arrived. Billy put the aphids he had gathered into the storeroom and went inside to tell Latimer.
“Say, Latimer?” Billy asked timidly. “Could you step outside a minute. I have something I need to tell you.” Latimer didn’t like the tone of Billys voice and started to get a strange foreboding of what was to come. He didn’t feel much better outside, and now his feelers were breaking out in a cold sweat.
“What do you need to tell me, Billy?” Latimer asked, his voice shaking. “Well, bend over this twig and I’ll tell you.” said Billy. After a few minutes Latimer stopped retching and the color began to return to his face. Then, he said something that really surprised Billy. “I think we need to face our fears and go down there with the rest of the neighborhood and help them find out who is doing this terrible thing.”
He sounded so calm and determined that all Billy could do was nod his head and start walking with him down the trail. By the time they got there, the crowd was huge and there was a murmur building from the inside that soon turned into a loud demand. “Something has to be done. What are we paying our police for when this sort of thing happens on our trail?” “Yeah!! Our children aren’t safe with this going on in our neighborhood!”
It was getting ugly and the police were just as baffled as the rest of the onlookers. At first, when they had examined the swollen wrinkled body, they thought maybe it was a serial killer. But, what about this green one? It’s totally different from the killers normal m.o.
Little Bobbys older sister poured the bran flakes into her bowl and was disturbed that it didn’t have it’s usual two scoops of raisins. She dug through the cereal and noticed only five stupid raisins. “I know who’s to blame for this, and if Mom doesn’t do something about it, I will!”
It didn’t take long for this latest news to reach about everyone in the neighborhood. By the time the police and the ladybug carts got there most of the details were known by Little Billy. He was glad he hadn’t run across them. But now, he had to relay the news to Latimer and he didn’t look forward to that ordeal.
Latimer was cleaning up his share of the nest when Billy arrived. Billy put the aphids he had gathered into the storeroom and went inside to tell Latimer.
“Say, Latimer?” Billy asked timidly. “Could you step outside a minute. I have something I need to tell you.” Latimer didn’t like the tone of Billys voice and started to get a strange foreboding of what was to come. He didn’t feel much better outside, and now his feelers were breaking out in a cold sweat.
“What do you need to tell me, Billy?” Latimer asked, his voice shaking. “Well, bend over this twig and I’ll tell you.” said Billy. After a few minutes Latimer stopped retching and the color began to return to his face. Then, he said something that really surprised Billy. “I think we need to face our fears and go down there with the rest of the neighborhood and help them find out who is doing this terrible thing.”
He sounded so calm and determined that all Billy could do was nod his head and start walking with him down the trail. By the time they got there, the crowd was huge and there was a murmur building from the inside that soon turned into a loud demand. “Something has to be done. What are we paying our police for when this sort of thing happens on our trail?” “Yeah!! Our children aren’t safe with this going on in our neighborhood!”
It was getting ugly and the police were just as baffled as the rest of the onlookers. At first, when they had examined the swollen wrinkled body, they thought maybe it was a serial killer. But, what about this green one? It’s totally different from the killers normal m.o.
Little Bobbys older sister poured the bran flakes into her bowl and was disturbed that it didn’t have it’s usual two scoops of raisins. She dug through the cereal and noticed only five stupid raisins. “I know who’s to blame for this, and if Mom doesn’t do something about it, I will!”
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The Case Of The Swollen Body
It was daylight by the time Sam Snail clocked in at the office. Rhonda Grasshopper was already there, organizing some files from his last case. She was filling in for his regular secretary, Norma, who had stepped in something slippery on the floor earlier in the week and had broken her leg. It was the same day that his operative Rocky Slug had stopped by to fill him in on a subject he had been following.
As Sam studied Rhondas long gams from across the room he thought about the latest investigation that had fallen into his lap. How could anyone be so cruel as to rip all the appendages off a helpless creature and then leave them for dead on a cold wet trail? Armless, legless bodies and secretaries with broken legs……this job could be pretty slimy at times.
Little Billy had gotten word from his cousin that he would be getting a subpoena to testify about the body he and Latimer had discovered. He wasn’t worried about telling the story, but he didn’t think Latimer would feel the same way. And he got confirmation of that theory when he told Latimer about it later that day.
“I really can’t do that!” lamented Latimer. “Every time I think about it I begin to……..to……MMMMMPHH!!” With that he turned towards the wall of the nest and began to retch once again. ‘This is not good.’ thought Little Billy.
The medical examiner had never seen a body in this condition. The body was so swollen and wrinkled and the insides were all mushed together. It was in such terrible shape he couldn’t even determine what species of bug it was. And he may as well forget about trying to figure out this bugs identity. It will probably end up in an unmarked grave somewhere. So sad…
Such was life in the bug world……here one day and gone the next.
Little Bobby had found some other little tidbits to put out on the ground. “Let’s see what else those bugs like to eat.” He laid a jelly bean next to another raisin on the same spot he saw the bugs at yesterday.
As Sam studied Rhondas long gams from across the room he thought about the latest investigation that had fallen into his lap. How could anyone be so cruel as to rip all the appendages off a helpless creature and then leave them for dead on a cold wet trail? Armless, legless bodies and secretaries with broken legs……this job could be pretty slimy at times.
Little Billy had gotten word from his cousin that he would be getting a subpoena to testify about the body he and Latimer had discovered. He wasn’t worried about telling the story, but he didn’t think Latimer would feel the same way. And he got confirmation of that theory when he told Latimer about it later that day.
“I really can’t do that!” lamented Latimer. “Every time I think about it I begin to……..to……MMMMMPHH!!” With that he turned towards the wall of the nest and began to retch once again. ‘This is not good.’ thought Little Billy.
The medical examiner had never seen a body in this condition. The body was so swollen and wrinkled and the insides were all mushed together. It was in such terrible shape he couldn’t even determine what species of bug it was. And he may as well forget about trying to figure out this bugs identity. It will probably end up in an unmarked grave somewhere. So sad…
Such was life in the bug world……here one day and gone the next.
Little Bobby had found some other little tidbits to put out on the ground. “Let’s see what else those bugs like to eat.” He laid a jelly bean next to another raisin on the same spot he saw the bugs at yesterday.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
SAM SNAIL IS ON THE CASE
A private detective needs to sleep with one eye open. Sam Snail had learned this from experience. He had spent many hours on cases when he was on the force where he had to be very alert. You never knew where danger may come from. And now that he was a P.I. he was really on his own and had to be doubly on the lookout. So, the morning that Little Billy burst into his office he immediately threw all his training into the job at hand.
From what he could initially gather from the excited and sweaty little cricket before him, there had apparently been a brutal murder down on the trail to the river. Little Billy and Latimer Beetle had been on route to meet Louise Beetle at the swimming hole, when they had stumbled upon a grisly scene. It was the dismembered body of a large bug of some variety. All traces of identification had been removed and discarded somewhere apart from the body that lay before them.
Little Billy was shocked by what he saw but reacted nowhere near as much as Latimer. Billy finally looked away from the body and towards Latimer who was at this moment bent down over a twig retching violently. He finished retching, turned towards Billy and as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he passed out cold on the ground.
‘Oh, great,’ thought Billy. ’Now I have two problems.’ He decided to drag Latimer away from the crime scene and waved some skunkweed under his nose to revive him. When he had Latimer calmed down he told him to stay put and he would go for help.
The first nest he came across was Sam Snails detective agency, so now you know why he was there. Sam took it all in and after much deliberation decided that they should return to the crime scene and investigate. All this takes time because Sam Snail is slow and methodical as you might guess.
They finally got to the spot where the body lay. It had obviously endured much trauma during it’s demise and must have been there quite a while. Sam could determine this because the body was swollen and wrinkled by being left on the cold wet ground. He had Little Billy help him secure the crime scene so that the crowd that had gathered would not disturb any evidence. He then sent one of the speedier bugs to run back to the meadow and get the police and a ladybug cart to haul the body back for the medical examiner.
‘What the heck!!’ Little Bobby Fenimore took a closer look at the ground. “Boy, it didn’t take those bugs long to find that raisin I dropped earlier.”
From what he could initially gather from the excited and sweaty little cricket before him, there had apparently been a brutal murder down on the trail to the river. Little Billy and Latimer Beetle had been on route to meet Louise Beetle at the swimming hole, when they had stumbled upon a grisly scene. It was the dismembered body of a large bug of some variety. All traces of identification had been removed and discarded somewhere apart from the body that lay before them.
Little Billy was shocked by what he saw but reacted nowhere near as much as Latimer. Billy finally looked away from the body and towards Latimer who was at this moment bent down over a twig retching violently. He finished retching, turned towards Billy and as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he passed out cold on the ground.
‘Oh, great,’ thought Billy. ’Now I have two problems.’ He decided to drag Latimer away from the crime scene and waved some skunkweed under his nose to revive him. When he had Latimer calmed down he told him to stay put and he would go for help.
The first nest he came across was Sam Snails detective agency, so now you know why he was there. Sam took it all in and after much deliberation decided that they should return to the crime scene and investigate. All this takes time because Sam Snail is slow and methodical as you might guess.
They finally got to the spot where the body lay. It had obviously endured much trauma during it’s demise and must have been there quite a while. Sam could determine this because the body was swollen and wrinkled by being left on the cold wet ground. He had Little Billy help him secure the crime scene so that the crowd that had gathered would not disturb any evidence. He then sent one of the speedier bugs to run back to the meadow and get the police and a ladybug cart to haul the body back for the medical examiner.
‘What the heck!!’ Little Bobby Fenimore took a closer look at the ground. “Boy, it didn’t take those bugs long to find that raisin I dropped earlier.”
Monday, December 14, 2009
A CLOSE CALL FOR BILLY
Little Billy Cricket peered out of the nest to see if anyone was nearby. You had to be careful when leaving the nest because of all the danger lurking in the Green Expanse. When he had lived at home he would usually grab one of his younger brothers and throw him out just to make sure it was safe before venturing past the doorway. Of course, he wouldn’t do such a thing now since he was much more mature.
Now that it was getting to be summer, that Fenimore kid had been sighted more often in the area and everyone was on the lookout. It looked okay, so he decided to take a chance and scurry over to a nearby pile of twigs. Once there, he felt safe to move around since he could see better in all directions and would have ample warning of any danger.
The sun had been up over the trees for awhile….long enough to warm things up and dry the dew off the plants. Little Billy walked under the bush where Rafael Spider lived and looked up to see him hard at work on his web. He had the neatest web on the bush, and with good reason since he was a hard working spider. He was also quite organized with his store of aphids neatly piled up in one corner of his web. They were the appetizers…..the main courses were individually wrapped in another corner.
‘That web sure is more tidy than Latimers and my nest’ thought Billy. You could barely find anything in their mess and they had only been living there for a couple of weeks. He was embarrassed to have any friends over for a visit. Little Billy made a mental note to discuss it with Latimer when he got home.
Out of the corner of his eye, Little Billy saw a movement and he caught his breath. ’Oh, thank goodness! It’s only Franklin Centipede out for a walk.’ Relieved, Billy decided to follow Franklin for awhile and see where he was headed. After all, what else did he have to do today? Other than looking for food, he didn’t really have much to do although he was quite socially active.
It was very fascinating to watch Franklin walk with all his legs going in a continuous wave of motion. Now, that is true grace and such a thrill to see….Billy was impressed.
All of a sudden Franklin stubbed one of his feet on a small tuft of grass barely visible through the dirt. This set up a chain reaction of legs going totally out of sync with each other and Franklin almost veering off into a large stick, which would most certainly have scraped him badly. Embarrassed, Franklin quickly looked around to see if anyone had witnessed his clumsiness. He didn’t notice Billy, who had ducked behind a fern to spare Franklin his ego. ‘After all, we insects have a reputation of graceful movement derived from eons of evolution to live up to.’ thought a wise beyond his years Billy.
As Franklin regained his dignity and moved on down the trail, Little Billy started off on another tangent and on to new adventures. And as luck would have it, he shortly came across a strange and wondrous object looming up in front of him. Wide eyed, he studied it from top to bottom and from side to side. It had very smooth sides and appeared to be a large box made up of multicolored rectangles. It had a number of openings in it, with one large opening at the base of one side that Billy easily walked through.
‘It smells very good in here,’ thought Billy. ‘Like the wild strawberries I ran across one day.’ There were a number of spots that were very sticky and covered parts of the rectangles. Billy was soon licking the side of a green rectangle and was enjoying the good tasting treat. ‘Now this would be the perfect place to live. Nice and clean and if you get hungry you can just lick the walls!’
All at once the green rectangle, and in fact the whole structure, was suddenly lifted into the air leaving Little Billy in mid lick. “What the heck??” Billys’ eyes followed the object disappearing into the sky and as it grew smaller he could see the reason why it had decided to defy the laws of gravity. It was the Fenimore kid and Little Billy was on the verge of becoming his next victim.
Little Billy did two things simultaneously……..one he hadn’t done since he was a baby and not toilet trained….and the other was to do a quick one eighty and start racing towards the safety of home.
“Hey! There are those Legos I was missing.” Little Bobby examined the block building and noticed the sticky spots on the sides. “That must be from that jam sandwich I was eating the day I put this together. It’s a wonder the bugs didn’t find it.”
Now that it was getting to be summer, that Fenimore kid had been sighted more often in the area and everyone was on the lookout. It looked okay, so he decided to take a chance and scurry over to a nearby pile of twigs. Once there, he felt safe to move around since he could see better in all directions and would have ample warning of any danger.
The sun had been up over the trees for awhile….long enough to warm things up and dry the dew off the plants. Little Billy walked under the bush where Rafael Spider lived and looked up to see him hard at work on his web. He had the neatest web on the bush, and with good reason since he was a hard working spider. He was also quite organized with his store of aphids neatly piled up in one corner of his web. They were the appetizers…..the main courses were individually wrapped in another corner.
‘That web sure is more tidy than Latimers and my nest’ thought Billy. You could barely find anything in their mess and they had only been living there for a couple of weeks. He was embarrassed to have any friends over for a visit. Little Billy made a mental note to discuss it with Latimer when he got home.
Out of the corner of his eye, Little Billy saw a movement and he caught his breath. ’Oh, thank goodness! It’s only Franklin Centipede out for a walk.’ Relieved, Billy decided to follow Franklin for awhile and see where he was headed. After all, what else did he have to do today? Other than looking for food, he didn’t really have much to do although he was quite socially active.
It was very fascinating to watch Franklin walk with all his legs going in a continuous wave of motion. Now, that is true grace and such a thrill to see….Billy was impressed.
All of a sudden Franklin stubbed one of his feet on a small tuft of grass barely visible through the dirt. This set up a chain reaction of legs going totally out of sync with each other and Franklin almost veering off into a large stick, which would most certainly have scraped him badly. Embarrassed, Franklin quickly looked around to see if anyone had witnessed his clumsiness. He didn’t notice Billy, who had ducked behind a fern to spare Franklin his ego. ‘After all, we insects have a reputation of graceful movement derived from eons of evolution to live up to.’ thought a wise beyond his years Billy.
As Franklin regained his dignity and moved on down the trail, Little Billy started off on another tangent and on to new adventures. And as luck would have it, he shortly came across a strange and wondrous object looming up in front of him. Wide eyed, he studied it from top to bottom and from side to side. It had very smooth sides and appeared to be a large box made up of multicolored rectangles. It had a number of openings in it, with one large opening at the base of one side that Billy easily walked through.
‘It smells very good in here,’ thought Billy. ‘Like the wild strawberries I ran across one day.’ There were a number of spots that were very sticky and covered parts of the rectangles. Billy was soon licking the side of a green rectangle and was enjoying the good tasting treat. ‘Now this would be the perfect place to live. Nice and clean and if you get hungry you can just lick the walls!’
All at once the green rectangle, and in fact the whole structure, was suddenly lifted into the air leaving Little Billy in mid lick. “What the heck??” Billys’ eyes followed the object disappearing into the sky and as it grew smaller he could see the reason why it had decided to defy the laws of gravity. It was the Fenimore kid and Little Billy was on the verge of becoming his next victim.
Little Billy did two things simultaneously……..one he hadn’t done since he was a baby and not toilet trained….and the other was to do a quick one eighty and start racing towards the safety of home.
“Hey! There are those Legos I was missing.” Little Bobby examined the block building and noticed the sticky spots on the sides. “That must be from that jam sandwich I was eating the day I put this together. It’s a wonder the bugs didn’t find it.”
Saturday, December 12, 2009
SLIDE!!!!!
Leroy Dung Beetle struggled to get over the large twig that lay in his path. The storm from the night before had left a lot of debris everywhere, but he could see that he was not the only one having difficulties. Conrad Beetle was also having a hard time negotiating the obstacles in his path. It didn’t help that he had a bum leg from the little episode that had happened just that morning…
It had started out to be a good day…the sun was shining and Conrad was feeling good. Only the day before he had run into an old girlfriend and they had reminisced about the old days. She was meeting him this fine morning for a quiet breakfast of aphids and to continue their conversation. Conrad was getting sweaty feelers and he felt a little twinge deep inside as he thought of the possibilities of a newly rekindled relationship.
“Ow!!” Conrad banged his knee on a rock that he hadn’t noticed while daydreaming about the past events. He stopped walking and rubbed his knee. Soon the pain subsided and he continued stumbling along, while once again thinking
Leroy waved to his cousin, but apparently Conrad was lost in thought, because he didn’t seem to notice his wave. “Oh well, I’ll probably run into him later.” When you are a bug and wander around aimlessly day after day, you usually run into someone you know on a regular basis. But Leroy wasn’t complaining because he figured it could always be worse. He had heard about some poor defenseless potato bugs being harassed down by the Gray Expanse. Seems like it was always something around here.
He continued up and over other twigs and bits of debris in search of his ultimate goal…..that of finding a chunk of dung to bug handle back to the nest. His family was proud of his ability to provide for them and he didn’t want to disappoint them. However, it was getting harder and harder to find good dung that was close to the nest. If he has to go much further afield, he may have to pack up the family and move away from all their friends. It will be hardest on the children, he sadly thought to himself.
If I would have been just a little quicker, I could have taken that guy, thought Conrad. He couldn’t help but keep running this mornings encounter over and over in his mind, thinking about what he could have said or done. How could he have known his old girlfriend had just broken up with a jealous maniac who had no qualms about putting anyone in the bug hospital that even looked at her cross eyed? Well….He couldn’t, which would explain how he had ended up on the ground with one of his legs bent up and over his back. He had gotten out of the guys grip only because the girlfriend had distracted the wild beetle long enough for him to make a break.
So now he had a bum leg, no breakfast, no prospects of a rekindled relationship, and he had to limp home over a wasteland in a bummed out mood. The day was not going well for Conrad Beetle.
As for Leroy, he had just come up against the biggest pile of dung he had ever seen in his life. It appeared to be shaped like a huge round disc and had never seen one quite like it. ‘This is going to be a job getting it back to the nest…..it’ll take a lot of trips to pack this baby out.’ he thought to himself. He climbed up onto the dung disc and started walking out to the middle so he could plan on how to cut it up. He didn’t get far before he heard a thumping noise coming up quick behind him.
He spun around and his jaw dropped as he saw a horrific sight coming towards him. It was a tremendous wall of white approaching at a high rate of speed. Before he could blink, it was upon him and driving him into the pile of dung. He could tell that he and his whole world was moving the same direction as the white wall, even though he was buried deep inside the pile. Slowly, the pile and Leroy came to a stop. It took a few minutes for him to regain his senses and to start digging up out of the pile.
“OH MAN!! LOOK AT MY SHOE!!!” Little Bobby could tell right away that his new pair of Red Ball Jets had just been broken in and broken in hard, and on his first slide of the game at that. “I was going to wear these to school tomorrow,” he said getting to his feet. “Dang it! I wish we had regular bases instead of these stupid cow pies.”
Finally reaching the top of the dung pile, Leroy got to his feet and looked around trying to get his bearings. “Hey!……this place looks kind of familiar!!” Down at the base of the dung pile he could see his wife and kids waving and running towards him. By some miracle he and the entire pile of dung had practically been delivered right to his very own doorstep. The family won’t have to move now. Little tears of joy were trickling down his cheeks as he climbed down to join his happy little family.
(The part of Conrad Beetle was played by Jose’ Cricket)
It had started out to be a good day…the sun was shining and Conrad was feeling good. Only the day before he had run into an old girlfriend and they had reminisced about the old days. She was meeting him this fine morning for a quiet breakfast of aphids and to continue their conversation. Conrad was getting sweaty feelers and he felt a little twinge deep inside as he thought of the possibilities of a newly rekindled relationship.
“Ow!!” Conrad banged his knee on a rock that he hadn’t noticed while daydreaming about the past events. He stopped walking and rubbed his knee. Soon the pain subsided and he continued stumbling along, while once again thinking
Leroy waved to his cousin, but apparently Conrad was lost in thought, because he didn’t seem to notice his wave. “Oh well, I’ll probably run into him later.” When you are a bug and wander around aimlessly day after day, you usually run into someone you know on a regular basis. But Leroy wasn’t complaining because he figured it could always be worse. He had heard about some poor defenseless potato bugs being harassed down by the Gray Expanse. Seems like it was always something around here.
He continued up and over other twigs and bits of debris in search of his ultimate goal…..that of finding a chunk of dung to bug handle back to the nest. His family was proud of his ability to provide for them and he didn’t want to disappoint them. However, it was getting harder and harder to find good dung that was close to the nest. If he has to go much further afield, he may have to pack up the family and move away from all their friends. It will be hardest on the children, he sadly thought to himself.
If I would have been just a little quicker, I could have taken that guy, thought Conrad. He couldn’t help but keep running this mornings encounter over and over in his mind, thinking about what he could have said or done. How could he have known his old girlfriend had just broken up with a jealous maniac who had no qualms about putting anyone in the bug hospital that even looked at her cross eyed? Well….He couldn’t, which would explain how he had ended up on the ground with one of his legs bent up and over his back. He had gotten out of the guys grip only because the girlfriend had distracted the wild beetle long enough for him to make a break.
So now he had a bum leg, no breakfast, no prospects of a rekindled relationship, and he had to limp home over a wasteland in a bummed out mood. The day was not going well for Conrad Beetle.
As for Leroy, he had just come up against the biggest pile of dung he had ever seen in his life. It appeared to be shaped like a huge round disc and had never seen one quite like it. ‘This is going to be a job getting it back to the nest…..it’ll take a lot of trips to pack this baby out.’ he thought to himself. He climbed up onto the dung disc and started walking out to the middle so he could plan on how to cut it up. He didn’t get far before he heard a thumping noise coming up quick behind him.
He spun around and his jaw dropped as he saw a horrific sight coming towards him. It was a tremendous wall of white approaching at a high rate of speed. Before he could blink, it was upon him and driving him into the pile of dung. He could tell that he and his whole world was moving the same direction as the white wall, even though he was buried deep inside the pile. Slowly, the pile and Leroy came to a stop. It took a few minutes for him to regain his senses and to start digging up out of the pile.
“OH MAN!! LOOK AT MY SHOE!!!” Little Bobby could tell right away that his new pair of Red Ball Jets had just been broken in and broken in hard, and on his first slide of the game at that. “I was going to wear these to school tomorrow,” he said getting to his feet. “Dang it! I wish we had regular bases instead of these stupid cow pies.”
Finally reaching the top of the dung pile, Leroy got to his feet and looked around trying to get his bearings. “Hey!……this place looks kind of familiar!!” Down at the base of the dung pile he could see his wife and kids waving and running towards him. By some miracle he and the entire pile of dung had practically been delivered right to his very own doorstep. The family won’t have to move now. Little tears of joy were trickling down his cheeks as he climbed down to join his happy little family.
(The part of Conrad Beetle was played by Jose’ Cricket)
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
It was a cloudy night and the air was very still. Latimer Beetle could feel trouble in the air. ‘I don’t like nights like this,’ he thought to himself. ‘You never know what may happen.’ Latimer was riding herd over about two hundred head of lady bugs. Hiram Potato Bug had hired him to take the lady bugs down to the lower pasture. He had a contract with Tobias Caterpillar to supply him with lady bugs to pull his freight wagons.
Tobias had a good business supplying the other bugs with dried aphids for their winter stores. You can’t hibernate all winter without a good stockpile of dried aphids on hand. It took a team of eight lady bugs to pull the heavy wagons across the green expanse to fill the orders. Tobias made a good living doing this and also helped out a lot of his family members by giving them a job.
The herd was on edge and reacted as one to any unexpected noise. So, it was no wonder that when the lightning lit up the sky and the loud clap of thunder followed, the herd was immediately on the run. Latimer first heard the thunder from above and then the thunder of all the feet of two hundred bugs coming directly towards him.
In the ensuing chaos Latimer lost all control of his bodily functions as he scrambled out of the way of the stampede. All his ramrod experience went out the window and he could only watch as the entire herd, that was under his care, quickly disappeared into the darkness. ‘Oh, great.’ thought Latimer, ‘This is all I need. I’m in trouble now!’
He started running after the herd. He had no problem tracking them because everything in their path had been trampled down. After awhile he tired and slowed to a walk. He could see it would be impossible for him to catch up to the herd, so he decided to just stay put for the night and rest. He would certainly hear it from Hiram in the morning when he had to explain what happened.
He hadn’t been there for more than five minutes when he again heard thunder. ‘That’s funny,’ he thought. ‘ I didn’t see any lightning.’ He soon saw the reason for that! The herd had circled around and was heading straight back towards him. “YIKES!!!” He exclaimed to no one in particular. Latimer apparently had forgotten how tired he was because he started racing back up the trail with two hundred ladybugs hot on his heels.
It got to the point that he could run no further and he slowed. Thankfully, the herd did the same and came to a standstill just before reaching Latimer. He panted as he looked over the milling animals. ‘Well, I think I handled that pretty good’ he thought to himself.
Tobias had a good business supplying the other bugs with dried aphids for their winter stores. You can’t hibernate all winter without a good stockpile of dried aphids on hand. It took a team of eight lady bugs to pull the heavy wagons across the green expanse to fill the orders. Tobias made a good living doing this and also helped out a lot of his family members by giving them a job.
The herd was on edge and reacted as one to any unexpected noise. So, it was no wonder that when the lightning lit up the sky and the loud clap of thunder followed, the herd was immediately on the run. Latimer first heard the thunder from above and then the thunder of all the feet of two hundred bugs coming directly towards him.
In the ensuing chaos Latimer lost all control of his bodily functions as he scrambled out of the way of the stampede. All his ramrod experience went out the window and he could only watch as the entire herd, that was under his care, quickly disappeared into the darkness. ‘Oh, great.’ thought Latimer, ‘This is all I need. I’m in trouble now!’
He started running after the herd. He had no problem tracking them because everything in their path had been trampled down. After awhile he tired and slowed to a walk. He could see it would be impossible for him to catch up to the herd, so he decided to just stay put for the night and rest. He would certainly hear it from Hiram in the morning when he had to explain what happened.
He hadn’t been there for more than five minutes when he again heard thunder. ‘That’s funny,’ he thought. ‘ I didn’t see any lightning.’ He soon saw the reason for that! The herd had circled around and was heading straight back towards him. “YIKES!!!” He exclaimed to no one in particular. Latimer apparently had forgotten how tired he was because he started racing back up the trail with two hundred ladybugs hot on his heels.
It got to the point that he could run no further and he slowed. Thankfully, the herd did the same and came to a standstill just before reaching Latimer. He panted as he looked over the milling animals. ‘Well, I think I handled that pretty good’ he thought to himself.
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