Monday, September 08, 2008

Bingo Bugs

One sunny day, the bugs assembled to vote. They were not much larger than a fingernail and yellow, like fireflies, only with hard wings, like ladybugs. They liked being tapped on their backs, which would make them arch and half-open their wings. They didn't flash when they were tapped, but instead gave a strong impression of purring.

They gathered together onto bingo cards and we counted how many were in each cell. Quite a few didn't get into cells; they stood, straddling the line between two or more. When this happened, we bent the cards along the cell borders, trying to force the bugs to vote one way or another. At a safe distance, circling around us, black crows watched with keen interest. They wanted to eat the bugs and hoped to peck the straddlers off of the creased cardboard -- but they'd just as happily eat the other bugs, too.

We tried shooing the crows away, but they kept returning.

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