To All a Good Knight

“Put me down! Put me down!” Austin shouted, as Fredrick grew smaller and smaller.

The Ladybug did put him down on a huge green leaf with nibble marks all over it.

“What do you want?” Austin cried, holding his small arms up to protect his head. But it was not his head he should have been protecting.

“I have wanted a pair of red boots for as long as I can remember, and nobody has them. But look at you. You have not one, but two red boots.

“But you have six feet,” Austin argued, lowering his arms.

“That I do, and all but two have a shoe. See, one’s green, one’s yellow, and two are blue. With your red boots, all my feet will be covered.”

“But then what about me?” Austin argued.

Ladybug rocked back on her wings, pensively. “Hmmm. Yes. You have a point. How about this? I will trade you my two blue shoes for your red boots.”

“I don’t want your two blue shoes,” Austin shouted.

“A green one then?”

“No. I don’t want a blue one, a green one, or a yellow one. I want my red boots.”

“Surely you can give me one. That way, you’ll have one and I’ll have--”

Just as Ladybug was about to say “one,” again, another Ladybug flew up and landed nearby. “Lady, you must come.”

“What is it Dee?” Ladybug asked.

“Fireflies!” the one called Dee answered.

“No! Not fireflies! Sorry boy-with-red-boots, but I must fly home soon before the fireflies get there, otherwise my house will be on fire and my children will be gone!”

And as quickly as they came, they were gone.

“HELP BULL, HELP!” Austin shouted. From a distance Bull bulldozed his way through the garden, flattening everything in his path. 

Austin watched as he approached. When he got close, Austin saw Fredrick on Bull’s head and waved frantically.

“Over here! Over here!” he shouted, just as Fredrick took a flying leap, landing right beside him.

“Are you alright?” Fredrick yelled. Before Austin could answer, a huge mosquito the size of a helicopter, hovered over them.

Austin grabbed Fredrick and stuffed him in his pocket. “I’ll protect you, Fredrick!” he shouted as the mosquito lowered a long straw toward him.

Just as Austin felt himself being sucked up into the mosquito’s straw, pulling at his hair, the world suddenly went dark.

Austin clung to whatever he could hold on to, crinkling his nose. “We’re in some sort of wet cave, Fredrick,” he called, trying to pull himself from the sticky surface he was stuck to.

“What sort of cave,” a muffled voice answered.

“A slippery one!” Austin shouted, as they slid down a long, slimy tunnel and landed