Sunday, June 27, 2010
The Ladybug and the Ant Become Friends
A tired and lonely ladybug trudged along the edge of a crisp orange-tree leaf. She didn't understand why she felt so sad. The sky was blue and calm; however, its vastness overwhelmed her rather than providing comfort. The sun was bright and warm as well, but it made her feel tired instead of energized. She felt like going to bed even though it was daytime.
But the strangest thing happened as she was about to lie down to rest. She came upon an exhausted brown ant who was dying of thirst. She could hear his desperate gasps for something to drink. So, the ladybug offered him some water from her very lonely citrus tree. The ant drank like he would never stop and then all of a sudden... he collapsed.
The ladybug was confused. She asked herself, "Why did I waste even one of my precious leaves on that thankless, mean ant if he was just going to crawl up and die?" But just a few moments later, she realized that the ant was not really dead; rather, he had just curled himself into a ball where he fell fast asleep.
Since the ladybug could see that the ant was in fact still breathing, she decided to go and find him some food. She quickly found some fresh green leaves and returned to the branch where the ant slept. Within seconds, the ladybug covered the ant with two of the leaves to shade him from the hot, yellow sun. Though the ladybug did not have any particular commitment to this sleepy ant, she felt like fate had called her to wait by his side until he awoke.
So, as she waited next to her new companion, she counted big, fat, fluffy clouds. One cloud looked like an enraged eagle. Two others floated by like lounging lambs. She even noticed three crawling caterpillars off in the distance. To her surprise, four crying cats shed their tears out to the east. But five funny flamingos showed up next to lighten up her pensive mood. The clouds zoomed by, but the ant did not notice a single one. And so, the ladybug waited and waited and waited until the next morning finally came.
But, to the ladybug's frustration, the ant remained peacefully asleep. So, she counted some more clouds. She saw six frolicking frogs and seven gliding goats. She even noticed eight cricketing crickets and nine slithering snakes. Alas, she observed ten tip-toeing turtles. And this was all that her impatient imagination could muster. Her sleeping friend just had to wake up.
So, the ladybug started to make some noise. She decided to read to the ant to try to wake him up. "...out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar..." she read. But, to no avail, the ant continued to snore. Then, the ladybug decided to sing to the ant. At first she hummed quietly, but nothing came of it. So, very quickly her "la-la-la" got noticeably louder. Still... the ant would not budge.
Finally, the ladybug shouted into the ant's ear, "Wake up you silly ant! It's time to get up!" So, the ant rolled over and said, "Well, you don't have to be rude about it." And since the ant was wide awake now, he decided to eat breakfast with the satisfied ladybug. As they ate, the ladybug told the ant all about the clever clouds up in the sky and of the appetizing tale about the very hungry caterpillar.
The two insects continued to chat about this and that... and before long, they began to feel as if they had been friends for an eternity. The ant thanked the ladybug for helping him when he had been left for dead while the ladybug assured the ant that it was the least she could do. And for the first time in a long time, the ant realized she was no longer sad.
Eventually, after so much talking, the two insects got bored. So, the ladybug and the ant decided to leave the fragrant orange-tree to look for a rainbow and a flowing stream where they could go for a swim. Along their journey, they spotted eleven dancing dinosaurs and twelve pretentious pandas.
THE END
***story quote from Eric Carle's beloved "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
But the strangest thing happened as she was about to lie down to rest. She came upon an exhausted brown ant who was dying of thirst. She could hear his desperate gasps for something to drink. So, the ladybug offered him some water from her very lonely citrus tree. The ant drank like he would never stop and then all of a sudden... he collapsed.
The ladybug was confused. She asked herself, "Why did I waste even one of my precious leaves on that thankless, mean ant if he was just going to crawl up and die?" But just a few moments later, she realized that the ant was not really dead; rather, he had just curled himself into a ball where he fell fast asleep.
Since the ladybug could see that the ant was in fact still breathing, she decided to go and find him some food. She quickly found some fresh green leaves and returned to the branch where the ant slept. Within seconds, the ladybug covered the ant with two of the leaves to shade him from the hot, yellow sun. Though the ladybug did not have any particular commitment to this sleepy ant, she felt like fate had called her to wait by his side until he awoke.
So, as she waited next to her new companion, she counted big, fat, fluffy clouds. One cloud looked like an enraged eagle. Two others floated by like lounging lambs. She even noticed three crawling caterpillars off in the distance. To her surprise, four crying cats shed their tears out to the east. But five funny flamingos showed up next to lighten up her pensive mood. The clouds zoomed by, but the ant did not notice a single one. And so, the ladybug waited and waited and waited until the next morning finally came.
But, to the ladybug's frustration, the ant remained peacefully asleep. So, she counted some more clouds. She saw six frolicking frogs and seven gliding goats. She even noticed eight cricketing crickets and nine slithering snakes. Alas, she observed ten tip-toeing turtles. And this was all that her impatient imagination could muster. Her sleeping friend just had to wake up.
So, the ladybug started to make some noise. She decided to read to the ant to try to wake him up. "...out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar..." she read. But, to no avail, the ant continued to snore. Then, the ladybug decided to sing to the ant. At first she hummed quietly, but nothing came of it. So, very quickly her "la-la-la" got noticeably louder. Still... the ant would not budge.
Finally, the ladybug shouted into the ant's ear, "Wake up you silly ant! It's time to get up!" So, the ant rolled over and said, "Well, you don't have to be rude about it." And since the ant was wide awake now, he decided to eat breakfast with the satisfied ladybug. As they ate, the ladybug told the ant all about the clever clouds up in the sky and of the appetizing tale about the very hungry caterpillar.
The two insects continued to chat about this and that... and before long, they began to feel as if they had been friends for an eternity. The ant thanked the ladybug for helping him when he had been left for dead while the ladybug assured the ant that it was the least she could do. And for the first time in a long time, the ant realized she was no longer sad.
Eventually, after so much talking, the two insects got bored. So, the ladybug and the ant decided to leave the fragrant orange-tree to look for a rainbow and a flowing stream where they could go for a swim. Along their journey, they spotted eleven dancing dinosaurs and twelve pretentious pandas.
THE END
***story quote from Eric Carle's beloved "The Very Hungry Caterpillar"
Labels: bugs, children's story, eric carle, insects
