Slime Time

Spinner’s Wood is full of sticky mud, tall trees and long grass. But most of all, it’s full of bugs! Now, some people think that bugs are pests. But they haven’t met Gonzo or the Bug Buddies – four best friends called Zap, Buzz, Lurch and Crunch. They’ve got one mission: to save their home from invaders! But you’ll soon find out that even bugs can be heroes …

Zap waved his wings to get Buzz’s attention. He was standing unmarked, right by Centipede United’s goal. If his friend passed him the apple-pip ball he could score!

Suddenly, a leaf blew on to the pitch in front of Buzz. The ladybird dropped the ball and started chomping on the juicy snack. Zap’s antenna sagged. They’d never win now.

“What a time to stop for a nibble!” said Lurch, darting in and grabbing the apple pip.

“Over here!” shouted Zap.

Lurch hurled the seed in Zap’s direction. The clover seed weevil flicked a wing and sent the ball flying straight into Centipede United’s goal. Gonzo the grasshopper clicked to signal the end of the match.

“That’s four-three to the Bug Buddies,” shouted Gonzo.

“Yes!” cried Zap, soaring into the air, doing a loop-the-loop above the crowd.

When Zap landed back on the soft grass, Crunch the stag beetle tapped him on the back with one of his giant claws.

“Well done,” he said.

Buzz and Lurch flew over to join them.

“Hurry up, everyone, it’s time for the parade!” said Buzz.

Zap led the way as they flew over to Gonzo’s Rock. The wise old grasshopper was already there, waiting for all the bugs of Spinner’s Wood to gather.

Zap shivered as a dark shadow fell over them. He looked up to see thick, grey clouds forming in the sky. None of the other bugs seemed to notice, as they chattered excitedly.

Gonzo held up his front leg, signalling for the crowd to be silent. “Firstly, thank you for putting on such an exciting game,” said the grasshopper. “What a great way to start our celebration day – the day when we rename Spinner’s Wood.”

Zap tingled with excitement. With Spinner, the nasty spider, banished forever, the bugs of the wood wanted no more reminders of his evil existence. They were going to vote on a new name for their home.

“OK, friends,” said Gonzo. “Line up for the victory parade.”

Zap felt proud as he crawled to his place.

“I can’t believe I forgot to bring my dung ball,” said Lurch.

“You say I’m mad about food,” said Buzz. “You’re even crazier about poo!”

“Oh!” cried Zap when a raindrop fell on his head.

More raindrops tumbled from the sky, followed by a loud rumble of thunder.

“I h-hate storms,” said Crunch, hiding behind his claws.

Gonzo hopped back on to his rock.

“Everyone, take shelter,” he said. “The renaming ceremony is postponed until tomorrow.”

The sound of disappointed groans filled the clearing.

“Let’s go in there,” cried Lurch, pointing towards a hole in an oak tree trunk. The Bug Buddies took shelter inside the tree hollow.

“It’s a bit dark in here,” said Crunch, nervously.

“At least we’re safe and dry,” said Zap. “It’s raining really hard now!”

He peered outside. The leaves drooped and the branches rattled as raindrops thudded down. Zap shuddered. Suddenly, it felt eerily cold, as if trouble was waiting just around the corner …

Zap opened his eyes and stretched his wings. Along with the rest of the Bug Buddies, he’d curled up in the tree trunk and had managed to sleep through the night, despite the rainstorm howling outside. Now the rain had cleared, but where were his friends?

He crawled out of the hollow to see that the ground was covered in sticky mud.

“About time, sleepyhead,” cried a familiar voice.

Zap looked round to see Crunch and Buzz crawling towards him.

“Where’s Lurch?” he asked.

“Here!” shouted Lurch, appearing from behind a bush. He was pushing a large dung ball, which kept getting stuck in the thick mud.

“Perhaps we should rename it Muddy Wood!” said Lurch, puffing.

“I’m so excited about today, I couldn’t eat breakfast,” said Buzz.

“Really?” said Zap, surprised.

“Well … I only had one serving instead of two,” replied Buzz.

Zap laughed as he flew off. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s give this wood a new name!”

Zap, Buzz and Crunch flew towards Gonzo’s Rock, with Lurch crawling along with his dung ball beneath them. A strange glistening kept on catching Zap’s eye. He felt uneasy as he looked about. The wood seems different somehow, he thought, but I can’t quite figure out why.

Zap whizzed round a corner to fly up Leafy Lane and stopped dead.

“Whoah!” said Crunch. “What’s wrong?”

“Take a look,” said Zap, pointing his antennae.

Leafy Lane, where the box elder bugs lived, was usually full of lush trees and shiny green and white hosta plants. But now the trees were stripped of their leaves and the plants had been eaten back to their stalks.

“Giddy grasshoppers!” cried Buzz.

“Looks like the box elder bugs were even hungrier than Buzz,” said Lurch.

A group of them crawled towards the Bug Buddies. Their deep red eyes looked sad.

“It wasn’t us,” said a small box elder. “It was like this when we woke up.”

“We can’t even eat what’s left,” said another, his tummy rumbling. “Every plant is covered in sticky slime.”

Zap looked around. Trails of slime criss-crossed the lane, glistening in the sunlight. He’d seen that same glistening all over the wood this morning …

“We need to talk to Gonzo, right now!” he said.

The Bug Buddies arrived at Gonzo’s Rock to find lots of bugs crowded around the grasshopper.

“We’re starving,” said a green tiger beetle. “All our food is gone.”

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