It started with a scream on the playground.  “Ahhh!

A bug!” I went over to the girl who had found a small green beetle by the playhouse slide. She was wailing and hopping from foot to foot, yet she had not run away from the crawley critter. 

“Oh wow,” I said. “Did you find a beetle? Can I see? I love to look at beetles!”

I scooched in close and made a show of examining the beetle. “Wow! Look at her little antennae! It is so cute how they move around like that to help her feel the world! I wonder if she would like to feel this leaf?”

By now, the girl had quieted down and was watching my every move with interest. I coaxed the beetle onto a leaf and brought it to eye level. “Hi there, little beetle friend! Thank you for choosing to walk onto my leaf!”

“She is so cute! I love beetles,” the girl cooed.

 “Where do you think she lives?” I asked the girl.