Lord of the Flies

The lord of the flies was starting to get old. He knew that his time to die was getting near. With no children to pass the throne to, he called a meeting with everybody in his kingdom. “To all my dear citizens”, he said, “my time has drawn near. I have no one to take my throne. So, I’ve decided to hold a contest. Whoever brings me the most amazing gift will take the kingdom. There will be 3 rounds.”

Immediately, Bobby the Bee stood at attention. “Wait!”, said Mike the Fly, “He’s not even a fly.”

“He doesn’t need to be a fly.” Said Lord Belvedere. “As long as he’s an insect that can fly.”

Several insects took to flight to find the best gift. Some brought back gifts that didn’t amount to much. The mosquito, in fact, brought back a drop of blood. Lord Belvedere didn’t want to touch it. “It’s fish blood. An Anglerfish at that. I had to go deep into the river to get it.” It was a lie. Everybody knew that Anglerfish lives in the ocean. It was from a human. Their village was not too far away.

The grasshopper came back with a blade of grass while the wasp returned with a piece of paper. The other bugs laughed at the craziness of these gifts. Then the bee returned. He had with him some of the honey from his own nest. “This is the greatest tasting honey I’ve had in my whole life.”, said Lord Belvedere. “However, It’s honey from a honeybee. Nothing special.”

There were a few that were worthy of passing on to the next round. For example, a dragonfly brought back a glass sculpture of a fly. The butterfly also brought back a piece of glass. When held up to the light, it created a rainbow. Lord Belvedere was stunned at the beauty of these 2 gifts. “Wow!”, he said, “You both pass to the next round.”

Right after this, all of those present took to flight as a bird and a frog landed right in the middle of the assembly. As they look back, they notice that these creatures are being controlled by Frank and Joe, the Beetle Brothers.

“I bring you a pet.”, said Frank. “A bird, completely tamed and ready to obey your command.”

“I bring you a frog.”, said Joe. “Ready to serve in your army.”

The entire kingdom is amazed. They were able to tame these wild beasts. They should have been eaten. They surely passed to the next level.

Lord Belvedere was greatly impressed. “Many gifts have been brought to me.”, he said. “I have chosen 4 to pass to the next level. Please step forward Ed the Butterfly, George the Dragonfly, Joe and Frank, the Beetle Brothers. You 4 must bring me another gift and it will be narrowed down to 2.

Both Joe and Frank flew away. Ed the Butterfly says, “I will give you something from my own supplies.” He returned with a white cube. “This is sugar.” He continues, “It’s from the kingdom of man. Taste it.”

“This is great. I’ve never had anything so sweet before.”

George the Dragonfly flew away and returned with a round piece of glass. “Look through this and you could see much further away.”

“I love it. Now me must wait and see what the Beetle Brothers bring me.”

They looked long and hard and returned with some odd-looking devices. Franks had a ball that seemed off white or cream in color. However, when the sun would go behind the clouds, it appeared to be slightly green. Joe had something that looked like a glass ball on a stick. Compared to the bird and frog, they were not all that impressive. But they were nice to look at.

“What is it?” asked Lord Belvedere.

“This”, said Frank, “Will temporarily provide light when darkness sets in. It won’t light up the sky, but it will serve as a guide.”

“I’ve seen my gift in action before.” responded Joe. “When the sun goes down, and darkness sets in, this will provide light wherever it is placed.”

“Wonderful! But we will have to wait until night to see if they work.”

“Not really. Watch this.” He used his body to cover up a black dot on the device and the light began to shine. The crowd is astonished.

“We have our 2 finalists. Joe and Frank. The Beetle Brothers. Now, you must go. You have to do better. Much better. Wow me. Return before darkness is complete. To the bestower of the greatest gift will be the throne.”

Joe looked off in the distance and saw that a storm was brewing.

“I know what I’ll do.”, he said.

“What?” asked Frank.

“Something never done, never heard of, never thought of before.”

“Tell me.”

“I will bring back lightning from that storm.”

“OK. You think you can do it?”

“I’ll try. I refuse to fail.”

“Well then, I will bring back fire from the humans.”

“You can do it, brother. I know you can.”

They shook hands and together said, “May the best brother win.” And they flew off.

Joe flew as fast as he could. It didn’t take too long to reach it. But obtaining a bolt of lightning proved to be more difficult than he thought. The first bolt came and knocked him clear out of the sky. But he was not deterred. He tried again and again. Soon he got right inside the cloud when a bolt hit him dead on.

At the same time, Frank had reached the fire. He was sure that if he could get close enough to the base, he would be able to grab hold of it. The heat coming from the flame was almost more than he could handle. But he pushed himself harder and harder. He didn’t let the fact that other bugs were being burned stop him. He continued stronger and stronger. He was more sure of himself the closer he got. He got right to the base and was engulfed in the fire.

As the last glimmer of sunlight started to sink beneath the horizon, the bug kingdom waited in shock for the magnificent Beetle Brothers to return. However, they waited in vain. The Beetle Brothers did not return that night.

“With a heavy heart”, said Lord Belvedere, “I must report that the scouting party was not able to find the Beetle Brothers. There are sources that say they were both burned, one in fire, the other struck by lightning. So, I will reward the kingdom to the Dragonfly. I believe he will be the best.”

George the Dragonfly slowly walked to Lord Belvedere. He said to him, “Sir. George of the Dragonflies, Kneel.” As he kneeled down, the crown was placed on his head. Belvedere then said, “Rise, Lord George of the Flies.”

Lord George rose. “I take the crown sadly. I do promise to rule the kingdom fairly and kindly. But I must admit that there were 2 that were more qualified than I. They will be greatly missed. My first act as Lord is to declare a new holiday. From now on, this day will be known as Beetle Day.”

As Lord George continued to give his speech, off in the distance there were 2 repeating flashes of lights. One was green in color. The other was yellow, maybe orange. They seemed to be getting closer and closer. Yet, everybody’s attention was focused on Lord George. Bobby the Bee was the first to notice anything.

“What is that?” he asked.

As the flashes of light got closer, it became obvious that they were alive. Bugs that produced their own light! They didn’t look like any other bug. But all that was needed to be welcomed into the kingdom was that they could fly.

“Welcome new arrivals.”, said Lord George.

“Lord! George!”, said the green flashing bug.

“We missed the deadline.”, said the orange flashing bug.

“They don’t recognize us.”

“It’s me! Joe. That’s Frank.”

The crowd broke out in an uproar. The voices proved who they were. They were so different now.

“First”, said Joe, “I’d like to say, Long Live Lord George.”

The entire kingdom shouted out in joy, “Long Live Lord George.”

“Second”, Joe continued, “I’d like to no longer be called just a beetle. I am a Lightning Bug.”

“And I”, said Frank, “I am a Firefly.”

Joe and Frank became the guards of the kingdom. Being able to light up the night sky, no one could use the cover of night to attack them. After that, every summer, the night sky lit by tiny flashes of light. The birth of 2 new bugs. They were the first.

The Beginning

P.S. Just to let everyone know, the Lightning Bug and the Firefly are the exact same bug. In more southern U.S. states, people call them fireflies while more northern states refer to them as Lightning Bugs.