Beetle and Serpent

Storytime: A beetle and a serpent.

We've all seen beetles in the Glomdoring. They play a vital role in the delicate balance that is a natural ecosystem.

They are hard-backed and sturdy and slow, without very strong teeth or claws suited for much more than climbing, but without them the forest would be nothing but a pile of refuse. This did not stop one beetle, however, with becoming enamored with the outside world. By chance, he had encountered a desert serpent, and grew terribly envious of it.

Beetle envied the serpent's slick design and swift movement, and got the idea that if they were to live like the serpent, spending all their time in hot sand and learning to hunt and move without their legs, he would become every bit as swift and sleek and elegant.

So he left his home in the woods and made his way to the deserts to live on the hot sands. He nearly shredded his delicate wings trying to bury himself, his joints stuck as dry grains worked their way into them, and no number of severe breezes ever slimmed down his back. And finding that he could not hunt, nor find any litter upon which to eat, he grew thinner and thinner inside his shell until he eventually died.