Zap flew through the air, high above the treetops.
Two of his friends, Buzz and Crunch, sat on Gonzoâs Rock, cheering as Zip squeezed his tiny weevil body through a small gap between two branches.
Itâs now or never, thought Zap. He turned upside down, before flipping the right way up again. Then, beating his wings with all his might, he did another barrel roll.
Buzz the ladybird flapped his wings. âWow,â he said. âIâve never seen any weevil do two flips!â
âYouâre little but so brave,â said Crunch, a big but not-so-brave stag beetle.
Zap smiled with delight as he landed beside them on the rock.
âLook what Iâve got,â a voice sang out behind them.
Zap was pleased to see his best friend, Lurch the dung beetle, approaching. Lurch was holding the Acorn Cup. Ever since their team won the Beetle Ball final, theyâd taken it in turns to look after the trophy.
âYippee!â said Buzz. âItâs my turn for the cup! Iâm going to polish it so much that I can see all seven of my spots in it.â
Buzz crawled over to get the trophy, but quickly backed away.
âWhat have you done to it?â he cried. âIt smells horrible!â
âOops,â said Lurch, his face flushing red. âI left Ploppy inside.â
Lurch reached in and pulled out a smooth, round dung ball.
âYouâve had that thing for ages,â said Zap.
âYeah,â said Buzz. âFresh poo is bad enough, but that thing⦠Yuck!â
âPloppy is so squishy I use him as my pillow,â replied Lurch. âThatâs why pooâs so great â you can roll it, eat it and sleep on it. You can do anything with poo!â
Zap laughed. He loved his crazy friend, even though he didnât share his passion for poo.
Zap saw that Buzz was licking his lips. He shook his head â the ladybird had obviously seen something he could eat. Buzz was about to go scuttling off when Gonzo the grasshopper jumped on to his rock.
âWait there, Buzz,â said Gonzo. He looked very serious. âI need to talk to you all.â
Zapâs wings tingled nervously. He hoped that Spinner the evil spider wasnât on the prowl again.
âIâm taking my annual trip to Cowpat Pasture tomorrow,â Gonzo began.
âWhy?â asked Lurch.
âRemember,â said Zap, âhe always goes there at this time of year to feed on fresh new grass.â
âBut whoâs going to look after Spinnerâs Wood?â asked Crunch.
âYou are,â said Gonzo. âThe Bug Buddies.â
There was silence. âBut weâre not ⦠I mean â¦â stammered Zap.
The wise old grasshopper looked deep into Zapâs eyes. âI wonât always be here to protect the wood,â he said. âOne day, someone else will have to take over. But for now, you only have to look after it for a bit â Iâll be back the day after tomorrow.â
Zap held his head up high. âThen donât worry,â he said. âWeâll look after the wood while youâre away.â
âYeah!â said Buzz, standing shoulder to shoulder with Zap.
Lurch and Crunch nodded. Although Crunch didnât look quite so sure.
âThanks,â said Gonzo. âYou must take extra care â there are some newborn frogs and grasshoppers in the wood.â
âPlus a scary giant spider,â mumbled Crunch.
âDonât worry,â said Gonzo. âI shall teach you all some Bug Attack moves. But weâll have to hurry, because Iâm leaving at dawn.â
Zap gazed about as Gonzo prepared for their lesson. Spinnerâs Wood is huge, he thought. And Iâm only a little weevil. Can a bug as small as me really look after the whole wood?
Then Zap remembered that he and his friends had defeated Spinner once already. If the spider returned, they would defeat him again!
The Bug Buddies gathered round Gonzo, eager to learn some Bug Attack moves.
âYou can protect yourselves in different ways,â said Gonzo. âLetâs start with Buzz.â
Lurch chortled. âWhatâs he going to do â eat all the baddies?â
Gonzo gave the dung beetle a stern look. âThis is serious,â he said.
âSorry,â mumbled Lurch, shuffling his legs.
âLadybirds can squirt an enemy with their poison,â Gonzo explained. He turned to Buzz. âBut you need good aim.â
Gonzo rolled a small, brown pebble to the edge of his rock. He told Buzz to try and hit it. The ladybird giggled with glee as he fired shot after shot. But his oily, yellow poison hit everything except the pebble.
I know a way to get him to concentrate, thought Zap.