Theme: envy
The envious beetle
From the window of his burrow, the very annoyed beetle
complained aloud to himself:
- What a beautiful light! How it shines! It looks like a
tiny star fallen from the sky. It's so beautiful!
It was from the firefly that the beetle spoke with such
envy. That light that flashed on and off made him
furious because it wasn't his. The husky beetle was like
that. He always wanted to be like others, neighbors,
relatives, friends. When the grasshopper bought a green
coat and showed up at the cricket party, his mouth
dropped open. Wanting, of course, to be like the
grasshopper. He returned to the house annoyed and sad.
He didn't even enjoy the party.
- What happened? - asked his mother.
- Nothing, I thought the party was boring, that's all -
he replied, going to bed.
The same thing happened when he heard a little bird
singing. He wanted to sing anyway. And so, always wanted
to be like the others, he was a sad beetle. But what
irritated him the most was the firefly and he thought:
- I wish it was me who had that beautiful light!
The beetle's envy was so big that even with so many
reasons to be happy, he felt very unhappy.
One day, he was thinking about it so much, that he made
an unexpected decision. He decided to leave the house.
Maybe he could find a place to live alone, away from the
firefly and his light that bothered him so much. He
didn't think about his mother, or his siblings, or the
good things he had. He just flew away.
The beetle flew a lot, until he got tired. He really
wanted to go far. When he couldn't take it anymore, he
landed on a lawn and sat down to rest.
It didn't take long, an ant arrived, which smiled at the
sight of him and greeted him:
- Hello how are you? Can I help with anything? You look
tired. I'm small, but I'm very strong - said the ant,
smiling - My sisters and I can carry you if you need to.
- Hey! Thanks! But no need to bother. I am fine. Just a
little tired because I flew a lot more than I usually
do. I stopped to rest, but soon I'll be fine.
- Ah, that's good! So, you're tired for good reason,
aren't you? Flying must be amazing!
The beetle knew that not all insects flew, but he was so
used to paying attention only to what he didn't have
that he didn't remember valuing this special ability of
his.
The beetle stayed there talking to the ant for some time
and the new friend introduced him to other animals that
were approaching. He met the worm, the snail, the
ladybug, and the cricket. They were all friends and were
very friendly to the beetle.
- Your color is very beautiful. That shiny black of your
back makes you elegant. It looks like you’re in a suit,
dressed for a party! - Said the snail.
- That’s true! – agreed the others, smiling.
The beetle sensed that they were speaking sincerely and
also that they didn't mind him being that way. On the
contrary, they really seemed to like him being handsome
and knowing how to fly.
The beetle started to think about how they were
different from him. He realized that they were friends
with each other, that they praised each other, liked
each other and were happy together.
“How envious and sad I am. These little animals are not
like me, they live happily helping each other” - thought
the beetle - “I'm not right. I need to try to change.”
The beetle then decided to fly back home, where his
mother was definitely worried, looking for him.
He said goodbye to his new friends, promising to return
to visit them and, on the way, he thought:
- I will try to live happier and happier as I am, with
everything I have. I can push myself and be a strong,
beautiful beetle. I will not be saddened by the
firefly's light. I will look at him and just admire his
beauty. Who knows, I might be his friend one day!
(Adaptation of the story from the Jardim
“A” Evangelization booklet by Editora Aliança.)
Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com
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