| Two Asian longhorned beetle adults on a maple tree. Source: Flickr |
Two beetles were resting on a small branch. “I saw the most
extraordinary thing last night!” exclaimed the female to the male. “There were
others like us, except that their bodies had a beautiful glow to them.”
The male,
bristling with jealousy, replied, “I’m sure that they were not as special as
you make them seem.”
“Oh, but they
were!” the female insisted. “They danced with such grace, and the way their
bodies shone against the night sky was simply beautiful.”
Feeling self-conscious,
the male looked back at his dull, black outer shell. Suddenly, an idea came to
him. “I’ll be right back,” he said, and proceeded to fly down to the small
stream below the branch. The current of the stream was a bit too strong for him
to just hop in, so he went to a place where it dropped off and was splashing
onto a nearby rock. He promptly climbed onto the rock and waited for his shell
to get wet. After a few droplets of water landed on him he felt sufficiently
covered. Next, he flew back up to the small branch. “Now see, did they glisten
as beautifully as I do right now?”
The female looked
at him for a moment then said, “Yes, they were still far prettier than your
shiny wet shell.”
A bit put off now,
the male decided he would show off how gracefully he could fly. He took off and
began to fly in loops and do figure eights in the sky. He was very proud of the
way his damp shell caught the sun’s rays as he reached a certain angle.
However, his glistening shell caught the attention of more than just the
female. A nearby bird swooped down and gobbled up the poor guy in one bite.
I got the idea for
this story from “The Frog and The Ox”, one of Aesop’s fables. In it, a young
frog tells of how big an ox that he saw was. In a show of pride, his father
blows himself up until he actually explodes. The moral of the story is that
vanity can often lead to one’s undoing.
"The Frog and the Ox" from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs
I like this story a lot Chris and the idea behind it. We don't have to try to be something we're not, just be who you are and people will accept you for it. I have never read this story and am trying to figure out what the situation between the frog and the ox was, but I will prolly just go read the story instead. But enjoy how you put beetles at the head of the story, which is strange how I liked it considering I hate beetles, not the band, just the insect.
ReplyDeleteYour story is very well written. The thing that catches me the most is how easy the theme is to understand and I loved the human factor of, we all are trying to please others but really it's silly. I would be curious to have more details about the shiny bugs. I wonder what kind they were and where she saw them. What made their shells glow? Perhaps a bit of magic? I also wonder if there is a reason the boy is jealous? Has he been given a reason to be jealous or is he inherently just insecure. What if, after he jumped in the water he covered his shell with something to help make it more shiny. I do find it really funny that he was eaten by a bird when trying to show off. People really do focus too much on what others think of them and your story is a great way to portray that problem.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote a great story Chris. I liked that you chose a story that can be relatable. The beetles are an interesting choice for characters but it really works. As for the reason of that the beetle was jealous of the other bugs, was it because the beetle liked her or if they were together? I really enjoyed your story
ReplyDeleteGreat story! I read/rewrote a similar story a few weeks ago about a deer that gets caught because of his antlers that he is obsessed with. This causes him to become prey to a hunter. I think that follows along with this story a lot. I liked the way you wrote this story and that you added dialogue...I am bad at synthetically adding that to my stories and them still having a normal flow. I look forward to reading more of your stories.
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