A Bedtime Tale
by Jan Luthman

Click on any of the small pictures to see a bigger one.

"Well, well, well," Sneered one of them, "Look what we've got here."

"Why, if it isn't a snail," Leered the other, "A boring, slow snail."

"And what's that little thing stuck on the front of his shell?"

"Looks like it's an ant: Andrew the ever-busy Ant."

Jonathan and Andy said nothing; they just glided quietly up to where the beetle boys stood.

"What's that on the side of his shell?" One of the beetles pointed at Jonathan.

"It looks like writing," Said the other, "What could it say?"

They scuttled round to peer at Jonathan's shell.

"Ooh, look," Tittered one, pretending to be surprised, "It says SWOT."

"Swotty, swotty snail," They mocked.

Jonathan spoke at last.

"I'd like you to clean the writing off, please," He said, quietly.

The two beetle boys almost fell over with surprise.

"You'd like us to do what?" They chorused.

"Clean it off," Replied Jonathan, "After all, you put it on."

The two beetle boys hooted in derision.

"Hooo, listen to him," They jeered.

Jonathan stood still calmly.

"And," He added, "I'd like you to promise never to bully anybody in the meadow again."

The two beetles stopped laughing.

"And if we don't promise?" Said one of them menacingly, "What will you do then?"

The beetle boys looked very ferocious; Jonathan plucked up all his courage.

"I'll chase you," He said bravely, "So fast you fall over. Then you wouldn't be able to get up."

The two beetle boys doubled up with laughter: nasty, unfriendly laughter.

"Hooo, hooo, hoooo," They hooted derisively.

They dashed round to one side of Jonathan.

"Yoo hoo!" They called, "Catch us if you can."

They rushed back to the other side.

"Yoo hoo!" They called again, "We're over here."

The two beetles scampered off up the hill.

"Come and get us!" They jeered.

The beetles cackled gleefully to each other, delighted with themselves.

"I'll give you one more chance," Declared Jonathan, "I'd like you to clean my shell, then I'd like you to promise not to be bullies ever again."

But the beetles just swaggered around and around, taunting Jonathan.

Silently and slowly, Andy lent forward

"Hey, my friend," He whispered in Jonathan's ear, "You all fuelled up?"

Jonathan nodded quietly: Old Mrs Spider had given him a fresh spoonful of her brew that morning.

Andy pushed forward gently on Jonathan's feelers.

" Let's go, my friend," He whispered in Jonathan's ear, " It's time to show them who's boss."

Jonathan began to cruise forward, slowly at first, Andy astride his shell.

The two beetle boys watched them, smirking.

"My, oh my," Jeered one of them, "The snail's chasing us."

"Oh, help, help," Sneered the other, "He's going so fast."

Suddenly, Andy pushed Jonathan's feelers right to the front of his head

"Go get 'em," He yelled.

Vrrroooooom!

Jonathan leapt forward like a rocket, his head down, straight at the two beetles. Dumbfounded, they stood rooted to the spot. Jonathan zoomed between them.

"Yikes!" Screeched one of them.

"I don't believe it!" Gasped the other.

Andy hauled hard on one of Jonathan's feelers.

"Turn, Jonathan!" He yelled, "Let's go back and run 'em over."

Jonathan veered round and screeched back towards the two beetles

Pheeeeeoonnnnngggg!!

"Watch out," Yelled one, "He's coming back!"

The two of them scrabbled desperately to get out of the way. Jonathan streaked between them, Andy bouncing up and down on his shell in excitement.

"Wheeeeee!" Yelled Andy, "Go get'em , Jonathan!"

The two beetle boys went scuttling off down the hill as fast as they could. Andy and Jonathan hurtled after them.

Vvvvvveeeeoooowwwwwww!!

"Help! Help!" The beetles yelled in fright.

Panic-stricken, they looked round over their shoulders to see where Jonathan was. Not looking where they were going, they didn't see Old Mrs Spider's fresh new web lying right across their path.

Crash!

The two beetle boys tripped and fell headlong, rolling over and over down the hill.

Thump! Thump!! Thump!!!

The pair landed at the bottom of the hill, upside down, their legs waving in the air. Jonathan and Andy slid to a halt beside them.

"Help," Called out one of the beetles.

"Turn us back upright, again," Pleaded the other.

"Not 'til you've said sorry and promised to clean my shell," Said Jonathan firmly.

The two beetle boys were silent, their legs still waving helplessly in the air.

"Well?" Asked Jonathan, "I'm listening."

"Dohhh!" Said one of the beetles angrily.

"That didn't sound like 'Sorry' to me," Said Jonathan.

The two beetles gritted their teeth angrily and said nothing.

"Oh, well," Said Jonathan, "We'll go home for tea, now. We might pop round tomorrow to see how you two are getting on."

He turned and began to slide off up the hill.

"Wait!" Called the beetles. The thought of being left alone and upside down all night was more than they could bear.

"Yes?" Answered Jonathan, "Did you want to say something?"

There was a pause, then.

"Oh, all right then," One of them called out crossly, "Sorry."

"And how about your friend?" Asked Jonathan.

"OK," Said the other beetle grumpily at last, "I'm sorry too."

Jonathan and Andy slid back down the hill again and hoisted the beetles back on to their feet.

"Right," Jonathan instructed them, "Off you go and fetch a bucket of water and two sponges."

As the pair scuttled off, one of them turned to Jonathan.

"Where did you learn to run like that?" He asked. There was new-found respect in his voice.

"That," Declared Jonathan "Is a secret"

The two beetles scrubbed and scrubbed, then dried and polished Jonathan's shell until it gleamed.

"Thank you," Said Jonathan. He meant it; he couldn't remember his shell looking so nice before.

The beetles were silent: nobody had ever said thank you to them.

" My shell looks like new," Jonathan peered over his shoulder, "You worked very hard."

The beetles shuffled their feet: nobody had ever praised them before either: they looked almost shy.

"That's OK," Said one of them gruffly, "Glad you like it."

"Yeah," Added the other, "We could polish your friends' shells as well if you like."

Andy was so surprised, he almost fell off Jonathan's shell.

"There are hundreds of snails in the meadow, " He exclaimed.

"Hundreds?" Gulped the two beetles.

"And they'd all love to have their shells polished," Said Jonathan.

And so it was that, for the rest of the week, the two beetle boys spent every day busily washing and polishing the shells of every snail in the meadow. There were big ones and small ones, and round ones and wobbly ones, and some were flat and some were tall, and some were brown and some were grey and some were all kinds of colours. But all of the snails were thrilled, and every one of them said thankyou and what a nice job the two beetles had done.

And, do you know, by the end of the week, what with all the smiles and thankyou's, the beetles felt quite different. In fact, they felt so good about the way everybody else was pleased with them, they didn't feel like bullying at all.

Instead, they discovered that they had made hundreds of new snail friends, from all over the meadow.

"And it was all thanks to Jonathan," Declared one of the beetles.

"You see," Explained the other, "People thought that because we looked nasty and tough, we really were nasty and tough."

"And that made us become nasty and tough," Added the other.

"But now everyone knows that we're not," They said together, "So we don't have to be bullies any more. We can just be friends: it's much nicer."

Andy and Jonathan thought so too. They waved goodbye to the two beetles, and wended their way off across the meadow towards Andy's new anthill.

"Bye, Andy," Said Jonathan, "Thanks for all your help."

"Bye Jonathan," Replied Andy, "See you in the morning."

Andy bustled off to find some more twigs and start building again. Jonathan slid slowly up the hill to his little home in amongst the leaves that lay under the old oak tree; it had been a good week, he thought, he would sleep soundly tonight.

The End
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