Barnaby The Beetle

• Conor Schull, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2011

Barnaby the Beetle
It was as holiday like no other


Barnaby was relieved as he walked home from the last day of school. Summer holidays were finally here! The grass swayed with the wind as it whistled through the trees. The smell of eucalyptus trees wafted into his nose.
When he arrived, he flew to the door and hung his four-sleeved jacket on the hook. “I’m home!” he called. A few clutters came from the kitchen, then his mum came round. “How was your last day?” she asked. “Pretty good” replied Barnaby. His brother Greg buzzed up from downstairs. “Hi Bee”, he puffed. “I did two laps round the block” he stated proudly. “Good work, would you like some lamingtons?” asked mum. “Yes please” we chorused.
The next morning, Barnaby ate breakfast and got ready for a trip to the lake. “C’mon” rushed his mum, slipping on her jacket. “My wing hole is ripped” complained Greg, fiddling with the fabric. Mum pulled us out the door and we flew into the trees, which began the unexpected, but exciting adventure.
As we buzzed along, other beetles were staring at us through the window. Doors slammed and windows clicked shut, making the place quite a bit eerier. “What’s going on?” breathed Greg. Mum’s eyes darted around, searching. Then she went pale. Someone screamed. The forest seemed to go deathly quiet and all bugs had disappeared. Realisation suddenly flooded Barnaby’s face and he knew: Bird. “SPLIT UP” yelled mum. The bird squawked angrily as the three buzzed and dodged frantically, trying to hide somewhere. In the extreme suspense, out of the corner of his eye, Barnaby noticed his best friend Toothpick blast onto the scene. He was holding two slingshots. “Grab one Bee!” he yelled, throwing one to him. “Attack!”.
Tiny missiles flew through the air, irritating the bird. Then Toothpick aimed it just right and hit the bird’s eye. Instantly it’s attention snapped to us. It’s eyes were evil as it came swooping towards us, the wind suddenly really loud. Barnaby turned to Toothpick in desperate hope for something positive.
“Uhh....run?” suggested Toothpick. Barnaby gave him a dull look, then as the bird came swooping closer they buzzed off, the bird in thorough pursuit. The forest whipped past as they dodged trees and tried to fly faster as the bird rapidly closed the gap, determined to catch the prey. Barnaby had to think of something amazing to get away, before he got eaten. Toothpick’s eyes were weary as he struggled to keep the speed up. Then the bird gave up on Toothpick and started to follow Barnaby. Barnaby’s heart faltered. “Oh no, why me?” complained Barnaby. “Can’t we negotiate?”. Just by looking at the bird he knew it was pointless. He wondered if he would be regurgitated for some baby birds. It would be pretty gross to be eaten twice. Or he could cut himself out of the bird like those people did in The Rainbow Snake. Pretty soon the bird was next to him, ready to eat. “May as well die gracefully” he thought. Then he did a back flip, slowly did a 720 and turned to gaily grin at the bird, looking remarkably like a diver at the Olympics. The last thing he remembered was a surprised squawk, a loud thunk, then blackness.
Barnaby woke up, very surprised to be alive. “You’re awake!” said a voice. “Toothpick?” mumbled Barnaby. “Are we home?” “Umm...no” replied Toothpick. Barnaby got up then fell down. “My leg” groaned Barnaby. “Oh yeah, you broke it” commented Toothpick. “I’ll tie your leg up and I’ll find a stick for you to lean on”. Barnaby thanked him and closed his eyes. “How will I get home?” he thought. “I must think of a plan”. Barnaby wracked his brains for something. “We will not be able to fly, too far away. If we had an aeroplane, something that can take us far enough to be able to fly the rest of the way. Ummm...a hot air balloon, nah...that’s it! A hang glider!” Toothpick grinned and said “Good thinking! I’ll get the wood and you get something light that can be the kite bit”. Eventually they applied the finishing touches. Barnaby’s leg was sore from hobbling everywhere. An ant crawled past, puffing in a rhythm. “Having a good run?” asked Toothpick. The ant nodded in reply, then kept going. Their eyes followed it for a second then snapped back to the glider. “I’m too tired to test it today” yawned Barnaby. “Me too” grunted Toothpick. Barnaby pulled out a nearby leaf and curled up in it. “Goodnight” said Barnaby. “Goodnight” replied Toothpick. A nearby firefly buzzed around the area noisily, its light irritating. “Light out please” moaned Barnaby. The firefly rolled its eyes then went out.
Barnaby woke up on the wrong side of the leaf the next morning and his leg ached. Toothpick burped noisily which caught Barnaby’s attention. “Are you eating something?” questioned Barnaby. A round lumpy thing hit him in the head. “Eat it” grunted Toothpick with a mouthful of food. Barnaby raised one eyebrow then chomped it. It was chewy and slightly tangy which he deemed pretty safe to eat. After the strange meal they got ready to take the glider to the top of the tree to test it. His makeshift bandage was wearing out from all the walking.
After quite a bit of struggling they were at the top of the tree. Barnaby chewed his antenna nervously, looking at the drop below. “Ready?” breathed Toothpick. Barnaby nodded, then they reared back and jumped. At first they had to support it a bit, then the wind caught under them and they went soaring. “Woo hoo” yelled Toothpick. Barnaby had flown heaps, but this was so different. Just as they really got going, disaster struck. A drop of rain slammed into their glider, making it shudder. The pieces of wood creaked and moaned under the pressure of the slowly falling drops. One the size of Barnaby whizzed past his face. A rope snapped and the glider began to turn. Something else broke and the glider spun then came plummeting down......to a busy highway. “This is my fate” thought Barnaby. In all despair, Toothpick had an idea. “Put the glider in front of us to cushion the fall” he yelled over the wind. The highway was coming closer and they struggled to do it in time. Their wings were wet so they couldn’t fly. Barnaby braced himself, then slammed into the windscreen of a car, knocking the air out of his lungs. The glider cushioned them just enough to survive. The driver was very surprised to see two bugs and a tiny glider land on her windscreen. She screwed up her face and turned the windscreen wipers on. They hung on for dear life as the terrifying wipers swung back and forth. Barnaby strained and his leg was constantly searing with pain. Toothpick made a rude gesture at the driver who could not see their fingers. Then suddenly Toothpick let go and collided into Barnaby, which made them both go whizzing into the distance.

They both plopped into the water of a lake and splashed frantically in the water. Barnaby’s leg throbbed as he tried to paddle to shore. “Don’t drown, don’t drown, don’t drown” he repeated. Eventually, they made it and flopped onto the sand. Their chests heaved and their wings dripped with water. “Is this....is this the lake we were going to for our holiday?” stuttered Barnaby, looking at his surroundings. “It is!” exclaimed Toothpick. They coughed and spluttered while laughing at the irony of it. They then got up and put their arms around each other. “Let’s go home” smiled Barnaby. Toothpick nodded and they staggered through the grass, past the eucalyptus trees, to home.

The end.