The Bug and the Flea
A Panchatantra Tale for Young Children
Chapter 1: The Tiny Friends
In a cozy little house, there lived a small bug named Buzzy and a tiny flea named Hoppy. They were the very best of friends and shared everything together.
Buzzy was a round, brown bug with shiny wings that sparkled in the sunlight. He loved to crawl around and explore every corner of the house.
Hoppy was a quick little flea who could jump higher than anyone else. BOING! BOING! She would bounce from place to place, always full of energy.
“Good morning, Buzzy!” Hoppy called out cheerfully as she hopped onto a soft pillow.
“Good morning, Hoppy!” Buzzy replied, stretching his tiny legs. “I’m getting so hungry. Where shall we find our breakfast today?”
The two little friends looked around the house. They had been living there for many days, but finding food was always a challenge.
“Look!” Hoppy pointed excitedly. “There’s a big, comfortable bed over there. I bet we could find something good to eat!”
Buzzy’s eyes lit up. “That sounds perfect! Let’s go together!”
Chapter 2: The Wonderful Bed
The big bed looked like a mountain to the tiny creatures. It had soft, white sheets that looked as fluffy as clouds and a thick, warm blanket.
“This bed looks so comfortable!” Buzzy said, crawling up the bedpost. “And I can smell something delicious!”
BOING! Hoppy jumped high onto the bed. “Oh, Buzzy! This is wonderful! The sheets are so soft and warm!”
As they explored the bed, they discovered it was even better than they had imagined. The mattress was bouncy and cozy, and there were crumbs from cookies that had been eaten there.
“This is like a palace!” Hoppy exclaimed, doing a little dance. “We could live here forever!”
Buzzy found a tiny drop of sweet juice on the pillowcase. “Mmm, this is delicious! And look how easy it is to hide in these soft sheets!”
The two friends spent the whole day playing and eating on the wonderful bed. They rolled around on the soft blankets and played hide-and-seek among the pillows.
“We should make this our new home!” Buzzy suggested happily.
“Yes!” Hoppy agreed. “But we need to be careful not to wake up whoever sleeps here.”
Chapter 3: The Greedy Plan
As night fell, Buzzy and Hoppy settled down in the warm bed. Soon, they heard footsteps approaching.
THUMP, THUMP, THUMP!
A kind old man came into the room. He had gentle eyes and moved slowly as he got ready for bed.
“Shh!” whispered Hoppy. “Here comes the person who sleeps here!”
The old man climbed into bed and soon fell fast asleep. He breathed peacefully, making soft snoring sounds.
Buzzy looked at Hoppy with hungry eyes. “You know, Hoppy, I’m still quite hungry. This old man looks so peaceful and… well… tasty.”
Hoppy’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, Buzzy! Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”
“Just a tiny bite!” Buzzy said. “He’s sleeping so soundly, he probably won’t even notice. And after that, we can have this wonderful bed all to ourselves!”
But Hoppy was more careful. She had learned from her grandmother that sometimes being too greedy could lead to trouble.
“I don’t know, Buzzy,” Hoppy said nervously. “Maybe we should just eat the cookie crumbs instead. What if he wakes up?”
“Don’t worry!” Buzzy said confidently. “I’ll be very gentle. Just one small bite. What could go wrong?”
Chapter 4: The Big Mistake
Buzzy crept quietly toward the sleeping old man. The man’s arm was resting peacefully on the pillow.
“Here I go!” Buzzy whispered to himself. “Just one tiny bite!”
CHOMP! Buzzy bit down on the old man’s arm.
But Buzzy was not used to biting people! He bit much harder than he meant to.
“OUCH!” the old man cried out, jumping up in bed. “Something bit me!”
SLAP! The old man’s hand came down hard, trying to catch whatever had bitten him.
“Oh no!” Hoppy gasped from her hiding spot. “Buzzy bit too hard!”
The old man was now wide awake and very unhappy. He turned on the bright light and started looking around the bed.
“There must be bugs in this bed!” he said angrily. “I need to find them and get rid of them!”
Buzzy tried to hide, but it was too late. The old man saw him crawling on the sheet.
“There you are!” the old man exclaimed. SMACK! He hit Buzzy with a rolled-up newspaper.
Poor Buzzy was hurt and scared. He had learned a hard lesson about being too greedy.
Meanwhile, Hoppy had been watching from her safe hiding place deep in the blanket. She was very sad about her friend, but she was also glad she had been more careful.
Chapter 5: The Lesson Learned
The old man continued searching the bed, but he couldn’t find Hoppy because she had been smart and stayed hidden.
“I think I got the bug,” the old man said to himself. “But I better check for any more tomorrow.”
After the old man finally went back to sleep, Hoppy came out of her hiding place. She looked around sadly for her friend Buzzy, but he was gone.
“Poor Buzzy,” Hoppy whispered. “If only he had listened to me and not been so greedy. We could have lived happily here just eating the cookie crumbs.”
Hoppy realized she had learned an important lesson. Sometimes when we want something too much, we can make dangerous mistakes.
“I miss my friend,” she said softly. “But I understand now that being patient and careful is better than being greedy and rushing into danger.”
From that night on, Hoppy lived quietly in the house. She was very careful to only eat tiny crumbs and never to bother the people who lived there.
She found other small insects to be friends with, and she always shared the story of Buzzy with them.
“Remember,” she would tell them, “it’s better to be satisfied with a little bit of food and be safe, than to be greedy and lose everything.”
The house remained peaceful, and Hoppy lived there happily for many years, always remembering the lesson she had learned about the dangers of being too greedy.
The End
Moral of the Story: Greed and impatience can lead to danger and loss. It’s better to be satisfied with what we have and be careful, rather than risk everything for something more.
Fun Questions for Young Readers:
Think About the Story:
- 🐛 About the Characters: How would you describe Buzzy and Hoppy? What made them different from each other?
- 🏠 What Would You Do? If you were Buzzy and Hoppy, where would you look for food in a house?
- 🧠 Smart Thinking: Do you think Hoppy was right to be worried about Buzzy’s plan? Why?
- ⚠️ Notice Something: What warning signs were there that Buzzy’s plan might be dangerous?
- 😮 Big Question: Why do you think Buzzy bit too hard? What went wrong with his plan?
- 🤔 Think Like Hoppy: How do you think Hoppy felt when she saw what happened to Buzzy?
- 🏆 Amazing Moment: How did Hoppy stay safe while Buzzy got into trouble?
- 💭 Deep Thinking: What could Buzzy have done differently to avoid getting hurt?
- 🌟 Be Like Hoppy: Can you think of a time when being patient and careful helped you avoid trouble?
Fun Activities:
- 🎨 Draw Your Favorite Scene: Which part of the story would you like to draw? The cozy bed, the tiny friends, or Hoppy hiding safely?
- 🗣️ Act It Out: Try making the different sounds from the story – Hoppy’s bouncing “BOING!”, Buzzy’s crawling, and the old man’s surprised “OUCH!”
- 🤝 Share Your Thoughts: What did you learn from this story? How can being patient help you make better choices?
Discussion Questions for Parents and Kids:
- 👨👩👧👦 Family Talk: What does it mean to be greedy? How is it different from just being hungry?
- 🌈 Important Lesson: Sometimes wanting something too much can make us make bad choices. Can you think of examples?
- 🎯 Real Life Connection: How can we practice being patient and satisfied with what we have?
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