Emmett awoke to the sound of birds singing.
When he looked out his window, he could see them flitting from branch to branch in the big tree next to his bedroom. It was a beautiful morning, and he felt good!
He stretched his arms and stretched his legs and slowly rolled out of bed. The tile floor felt cool on his bare feet.
He went to the bathroom to wash his face and comb his hair and then went back to his bedroom to make his bed and choose something to wear for the day.
Emmett began looking through his T-shirts trying to decide what to wear.
Hmmm… His favorite yellow shirt with the dinosaur would be an excellent choice for today!
Emmett quickly dressed in the clothes he had picked out to wear. He put his pajamas away and made his bed and then headed downstairs.
Mom was already making his favorite breakfast when he entered the kitchen; buttered toast and a cup of hot cocoa. Yum!
“What are you going to do today?” she asked.
“I’m going exploring with Teddy!” Emmett replied.
“Sounds like a fun thing to do on such a beautiful day!” said Mom.
When Emmett went outside, he could see his friend Teddy across the street.
Teddy was sitting on the swing in his yard, swinging slowly back and forth and dangling his feet. He waved enthusiastically when he saw his best friend approaching.
“I thought you’d never get here!” he said.
“Come on! Let’s go exploring!”
The two friends walked down to the big field at the end of their street. “Now what do we do?” Emmett asked.
“Bugs!” said Teddy. “Bugs?” Emmett asked. “Bugs!” repeated Teddy.
“It’s an assignment I have for school. I have to see how many different bugs I can identify in one day. We can explore this field, and I’ll make a note in my book for each different bug we see.”
“Sounds like fun,” said Emmett. “Let’s do it!”
It didn’t take long before Emmett and Teddy had found several different kinds of bugs. They were EVERYWHERE.
Big bugs, little bugs, crawling bugs, flying bugs. Even teeny-tiny bugs that you could hardly see, unless you looked really hard.
All of a sudden, a big grasshopper landed on Emmett’s shoulder and just clung there, looking up.
“Hello,” Emmett said.
“Hello to you as well,” said the grasshopper.
“What are you doing?”
Emmett asked politely.
“I’m just having a little rest,” said the grasshopper. “I hope you don’t mind?”
“Not at all,” Emmett replied. “Stay as long as you wish.”
Teddy got his book out and wrote down “Grasshopper.”
When he’d finished, he asked the grasshopper, “Why do you need a rest so early in the day? Didn’t you sleep well?”
“Oh, yes!” said the grasshopper. “I had a wonderful night’s sleep! But I’ve been flying all around enjoying the morning sun, and flying takes a LOT of energy. So, I’ll just rest here a bit before I go to have lunch.”
“And where are you flying to?” Teddy asked.
“Well, pretty much wherever the wind takes me,” said the grasshopper. “The world is quite big, so there’s lots to see. No matter which direction I go, I always find something interesting. You just need to open your eyes.”
“We’re exploring this field,” said Emmett. “Maybe you’d like to join us?”
“I would be delighted to do so!” said the grasshopper. “Please, lead on!”
Emmett and Teddy continued to explore the field while the grasshopper rode comfortably on Emmett’s shoulder. It was a beautiful day. Flowers were blooming everywhere and the air smelled sweet.
All of a sudden, a ladybug began circling above their heads and finally landed on Emmett’s chest.
“Hello,” said Emmett.
“And hello to you,” said the ladybug.
“Why are all these bugs landing on you?” asked Teddy.
“Isn’t that obvious?” asked the grasshopper. “It’s this beautiful yellow shirt!”
“Yes, it really is quite irresistible!” said the ladybug.
Teddy got out his book and wrote down “Ladybug.”
“We’re exploring the field,” said Emmett. “Perhaps you’d like to come with us?”
“That is a capital idea!” replied the ladybug. “There is a small pond up ahead near those trees and it has lots of frogs and turtles in it. You might find that interesting.”
The little group of explorers continued on until they came to the copse of trees with a small pond in the center.
The pond was surrounded by tall cattails and beautiful green lily pads floated near the shore.
There were several frogs resting on the lily pads and there were two green turtles sunning themselves on a floating log.
Dozens of butterflies and dragonflies chased each other around and around over the water.
The boys could hear birds singing, but they couldn’t see them because they were hidden in the trees.
“Wow!” said Teddy, “I had no idea this was here! It’s beautiful!”
“As I told you,” said the grasshopper. “You just have to open your eyes to see the beauty that surrounds you!”
As they came closer to the pond, the turtles abruptly slid off the log and disappeared under the water.
“What happened?” exclaimed Teddy. “Did we scare them away?”
“Well, I’ve found turtles to be a pretty shy bunch,” said the ladybug. “I guess they prefer to just be by themselves.”
Teddy got out his notebook and wrote down “Turtle.” Then he crossed it out, muttering, “A turtle is NOT a bug!”
As the little group made their way around the pond, they found several more bugs to list in Teddy’s notebook.
They saw caterpillars and ants. They saw beetles and mosquitoes.
They even saw a large praying mantis clinging to a cattail stem.
Teddy’s book was getting full!
All of a sudden, a large dragonfly landed on Emmett’s chest.
“Oh, boy!” said Teddy. “Here we go again.”
“Hello, Mr. Dragonfly,” said Emmett.
“Actually, it’s Ms. Dragonfly, if you don’t mind,” said the dragonfly. “But I forgive you. It’s hard to tell boy dragonflies from girl dragonflies, even for us sometimes.”
Teddy got out his notebook and wrote down “Dragonfly” and in parentheses wrote “female.”
The dragonfly seemed to be made up of all the colors of the rainbow. When she moved her wings, they changed color. And, when she moved again, the color changed again. It was fascinating.
“We’re exploring,” said Emmett. “Would you like to join us?”
“I appreciate your generous offer,” said the dragonfly, “but I think I can do that much quicker on my own. I just stopped by to check out this beautiful yellow thing you’re wearing.”
“Yeah. I get that a lot,” said Emmett.
“Well, no pun intended, but I need to hop off here, my friends,” said the grasshopper. “It’s time for me to have lunch and be on my way.”
“I’m getting hungry too,” said Teddy. “And my book is full. Maybe we should head home for lunch.”
Emmett was getting hungry as well, so he readily agreed.
But now there was a problem. The boys had been walking around all morning and now they didn’t know which way to go to get back home!
“I think we’re lost,” said Emmett.
“No worries,” said the dragonfly. “Tell me what to look for and I’ll find your house and guide you home.”
“Well, Teddy’s house is white and my house is blue,” said Emmett. “And our houses are right across the street from each other.”
“And I’ve got a swing in the tree in my backyard,” said Teddy. “Do you really think you can help us?”
“Give me a minute,” said the dragonfly.
The dragonfly shot straight up into the air like a rocket. Within a few seconds, she came swooping back down.
“I found your homes,” she said. “You’re actually very close, so don’t worry. Just follow me and I’ll show you the way.”
With that, the little group all said their goodbyes.
The ladybug wanted to stay by the pond and listen to the birds sing.
The grasshopper wanted to ride the wind and see where it would take him next.
Then the dragonfly led the boys safely toward home.
“Maybe we’ll meet again sometime,” she said “Goodbye for now!” And then she was gone in a flash. (Dragonflies are very fast.)
The boys agreed to meet again the next day.
Teddy had a new kite and they were going to see if they could make it fly as high as the clouds!
Another Day – Another Adventure!
THE END