Bug Wants to Sing! UFLI Foundations Lesson 123

It was a sunny spring day, and Bug had a buzzy feeling in her belly. A jumpy, fizzy, can't-sit-still feeling. She gripped her branch and grinned so big her face nearly split in two. 'I want to sing!' she yelled to no one at all. But there was just one snag. Bug had never sung one note in her life. Not a single one.

Bug found Duck by the pond, singing in the rain. 'Quack quack quack!' Duck sang, beak pointed up. Rain splashed off his back. He did not care one bit. 'Teach me!' Bug called. Duck shook his head. 'You can't sing without rain, little Bug. Rain makes a song wet and grand!' Bug looked down at her tiny wings, dripping. 'I do not want a soggy song,' she huffed. 'I want a fun song!'

Frog sat at the edge of the pond, puffing out his chest. 'Croak croak croak!' His song went on and on. It had been going since the sun came up, and Bug could hear it from far away. 'That is very long,' said Bug from the bank. 'Can you teach me a shorter one?' Frog blinked. 'A shorter one? My song has twenty verses, and I just reached verse six!' Bug backed away carefully.

Big Bird threw back her head and sang. The branch shook, the leaves shook, and Bug nearly blew off sideways. 'Tweet-tweet-tweet-wee!' Bug clapped and clapped. 'That was amazing! Teach me that!' She took a big breath and opened her mouth. Out came a squeaky note, like a hiccup with a hat on. Big Bird patted her gently. 'Try a smaller one, dear.'

Sad Bird drooped on the branch, singing a weepy song, low and slow. 'The worms are gone... the sky is dim... my wings hurt every single day...' Bug stood with her arms at her sides. A tear rolled down her cheek. 'What if we made it a happy song?' she asked softly. 'With a bit of bounce?' Sad Bird stared. 'Why sing a happy song?' she whispered. 'A sad song is so pretty.'

Then Bug heard it. A bright, ringing sound. Like a tiny bell made of sunshine. 'Chirp, chirp-chirp, chirp!' Crick sang, bouncing on his feet. Bug ran to him so fast she nearly tripped on a leaf. 'That! That's the song I want! Not wet, not long, not loud, not sad. Just fun!' Crick grinned. 'Want to know the trick?' Bug leaned in close. 'You do not find your song,' he said. 'You open your mouth and let it out.'

Bug climbed up on a rock. Her heart hammered. Her legs went shaky. She opened her mouth wide. 'Chirp!' One bright note rang out across the trees. Bug's eyes went wide. She tried again. 'Chirp chirp chirp!' Not long. Not loud. Not sad or wet. But it rang out like a bell, and it was all hers. 'I can sing!' Bug yelled, and punched the air with one tiny fist.

Bug ran back to every friend with a wild idea. 'Come sing with me!' she told them. It was a mess at first. Duck quacked, Frog went on and on, Big Bird drowned them out, and Sad Bird sang a stormy song. 'Stop!' Bug yelled, and waved her arms. 'Listen to each other!' One by one, they tried again. Duck went soft. Frog kept it snappy. Big Bird hummed low. Voice by voice, the song began to ring.

All of them sang together on the hilltop, and the sound rolled out over the land like a wave. Frog kept it to four verses. Sad Bird smiled, and no one fainted from the shock. Duck sang without a single raindrop. And in the middle of it all, one tiny chirp held them together like a thread. 'What a thing!' Bug laughed. And they sang it all again from the top.

That night, and every night after, Bug sang her song. She sang to the flowers. She sang to the rocks. She sang to a worm, who did not seem impressed but listened all the same. She flung her arms wide, tipped her head back, and let that bright chirp ring out. It was not the longest song. It was not the loudest. But if you walk past her hill on a sunny spring evening and listen very carefully... you will hear it. And you will want to sing along too.