100个儿童英语小故事: The Beetle Who Went on His Travels 甲壳虫的旅行（在线收听）

048 The Beetle Who Went on His Travels

Once upon a time, a King had a horse with golden horseshoes. That horse had slender legs, bright eyes and a mane covering above its neck like a veil. It was very beautiful. <Horseshoe: a curved piece of iron that is attached to the bottom of a horse's foot to protect it.>

The horse rode through the gunpowder smoke and a rain of bullets carrying the King on its back in the battles. He beat off enemies by kicking his legs, and saved the King's life by crossing the dead bodies of his enemies. It was more valuable than anything else. That's why the horse got the golden horseshoes.

A Beetle who listened to the news came out of his barn and went to the horseshoer. "I want to have golden horseshoes like the horse has. Why can't I be as good as the horse? People always bring it food and drinks and comb its hair. I am living in the King's barn, too."

"But do you know how the horse got the golden horseshoes?" The horseshoer shouted at the Beetle. " I know I deserve better than I am treated now. I will go to the outside world and will have great success." The horseshoer yelled at the Beetle wanting him to go away.

It was not clear how far the Beetle had flown, but the Beetle arrived in a beautiful garden full of roses and lavender fragrance. The Ladybugs of the garden said, "This is such a wonderful place. Isn't it beautiful?" "I used to live in a much better place than this. I don't understand what you said." Beetle said arrogantly.

As the Beetle flew farther, a cabbage worm was crawling under the hay, and said, "What a beautiful world this is. There is the Sun with warm light. Someday, I will be born again with the beautiful wings of a butterfly."

"You will you fly like a butterfly? I am on the way from the King's barn. Even the horse that used to put on my old and worn shoes does not dream such an empty hope. That horse is now wearing golden horseshoes. Will you fly with wings? I can fly right now!" Beetle stretched his wings and flew away boastfully.

After a short time, Beetle faced a sudden shower while he was sleeping in a wide lawn. Beetle swam to avoid the rain, but it sometimes fell down and turned him over because the Beetle was soaked in rain.

After a long time, the rain abated a little. The Beetle took shelter on wet a linen wrinkled from the heavy rain. A day passed, and the sky was bright and clear. Two frogs were talking to each other delightfully on the linen.

"What fantastic weather it is. Because this linen is wet from the rain, my hind legs are wet, and I feel like I am swimming." "You are right. The air is so fresh because of the good humidity." Then, the Beetle interrupted their conversation and said, "Have you ever been to the King's barn? That place is wet and warm. Its climate is perfect for me. Is there a manure pile where I can take a rest?"

Because the frogs did not want to answer the Beetle's question, the Beetle moved to another place, and he met a couple of happy earwigs on a broken piece of flowerpot. "My son is in love. How pure he is." "My son just came out from his egg, but he can already can walk around."

The Beetle received an invitation from the earwigs, and he visited their house. But when the young earwigs tried to pull his mustache, he left the place searching for a manure pile. After a while, he met many beetles in a stream. "Maybe you come from a manure pile." The oldest beetle asked him.

"I am from the King's barn, a much more majestic place than a manure pile. I lived with golden horseshoes. But don't ask me any more. I am carrying out my secret duties." The Beetle got married to a pretty beetle, but he got tired and bored soon. He said that he would look for food, and then escaped.

While he continued on his journey, he flew into a greenhouse and fell asleep with a happy dream. Suddenly, the children of a gardener came into the greenhouse, caught the Beetle, tied him up to a wooden shoe boat with a wool string and floated the boat on a lake, so the beetle could not fly away.

At that moment, a fly came over and said, "I have to take a rest to get some sunlight here. You seem to enjoy yourself very much." "Don't you see that I am tied up with string over here?" "Oh, but I am not the one who tied you up." The fly said this and flew away.

"Now I know what the world is like. I hate it so much. I am the only one who's truly right. But everything is over." When the Beetle was muttering to himself sadly, a boat came carrying girls. "A little bug is tied up to a wooden shoe. How sad!"

The Beetle saved his life with the help of the girls, And he flew into a huge building through an open window. The place the Beetle landed was on the mane of the horse that the King loved. The Beetle seized the mane until he concentrated about himself.

"I am sitting on the horse that the King likes the most. I am like the King! Did the horseshoer ask me how come this horse won the golden horseshoes once? Now I know. This horse won the golden horseshoes to take me on his back." The Beetle became happy as he thought this way.

As sunlight spread across the King's barn, everything became bright and lively. "Travels always give you a broader point of view. Well, if you look around this world carefully, you will find out this place is not quite so bad." The Beetle muttered to himself happily bathing in the sun.