Long ago, a few brave insects from the town of Bugville flew to a distant land they called Harvest Hill. There they found giant helpings of the finest foods!
There was enough food in Harvest Hill to keep all the bugs in Bugville full for many, many years. As a matter of fact, the bugs had so much food that they decided to build a long bridge out of the leftovers. That way, the crawling bugs could get to Harvest Hill, too.
Construction on the Bugville bridge began immediately. Every type of food was used to make the bridge — cheese, licorice, and pickles, just to name a few.
The insects wasted little time, and in just days they had built their special bridge.
Before long, bugs were making the trip to Harvest Hill every day. They brought back loads of yummy treats with every trip, and everyone in Bugville was happy for a long time.
Bugville became the jolliest place around. The bugs had Banana Festivals every Tuesday, and Chocolate Carnivals three times a week. Every bug in Bugville ate ten meals a day, and many of them took naps in between meals.
Soon the worker bees were the only ones who made the long journey to Harvest Hill. The plump little bees would cross Bugville Bridge each day and bring back enough food for everybody. But over time, even the worker bees began to get lazy.
“I’m hungry,” Benny Bee said as they crossed the bridge. “Let’s stop for a snack.”
Benny and Bessy Bee nibbled on the licorice that held the bridge together.
Just then, Gus Grasshopper walked by. He watched the lazy, hungry worker bees munch away on the food that held the bridge together. He shook his head as he said to himself, “This might be a problem.”
Boy, was Gus right! It didn’t take long for the other bugs to follow suit.
It seemed that everyone felt as though the bridge was a good place to have a snack. They would take a little nibble here and a little munch there, but no one thought to put any food back into the bridge. It wasn’t long before the bridge simply crumbled down!
Lady Bug, the queen of Bugville, called for Gus. The queen knew that he’d be just the grasshopper to handle the job of rebuilding the bridge.Queen Lady Bug brought out the plans and handed them over to Gus. “I’m counting on you to lead the crew to build a new bridge to Harvest Hill,” she told him. “In fact, all of Bugville is counting on you.”
Gus nodded. He was honored to take such an important job. He looked up at the queen and said, “We’ll need carrots and celery and pretzels and cheese. I know I can help to make Bugville Bridge better than ever. But I’ll need others to pitch in and lend a hand!”
With Queen Lady Bug’s help, Gus Grasshopper spread the word around town. All the bugs were buzzing with excitement. Everyone would help build the new bridge. The beetles and the caterpillars spent the whole day digging, while the dragonflies brought the longest, crispiest celery stalks back from Harvest Hill.
The ants were in charge of the pickle chips — no one had to tell the ants how to get a whole lot of food from one place to another — while the flies brought in fresh strands of licorice. Meanwhile, the centipedes all got together to carry the pretzels back.Queen Lady Bug was very pleased. She had never seen so much activity in Bugville. It appeared as though every bug was working on the bridge. But most of all, Queen Lady Bug was thrilled to see all the insects working together.
“The mosquitoes are getting along with the moths,” she told Gus, “and the termites are helping the earwigs!”
The resident insects of Bugville worked together marvelously. The new bridge was looking fantastic. At last the new Bugville Bridge was finished.”Hurrah!” the bugs of Bugville buzzed.
Gus Grasshopper and Queen Lady Bug beamed with pride, too.
“The bridge looks great!” cheered Gus Grasshopper.
“It looks good enough to eat,” Queen Lady Bug joked, but they all knew better than that.
This new bridge was even better than the last one. It was tall and strong and built to last. And best of all, the bugs of Bugville did it together.
