The Cutest Cockroach
This week's Small Small Rainbow features a very small pal... (and there's an audio version too!)
Charlie was the cutest cockroach you’d ever seen. He was shiny and smiley and had the sweetest little antenna on top of his head. He wasn’t great at flying, but neither are kittens and people still love them. Charlie was certain that he was the most lovable, adorable insect in the world.
The trouble was, the world didn’t agree. When people saw Charlie, they would shriek and sometimes try and stamp on his head. Charlie would look up in confusion, and wave one of his wee front legs to show that he was nice, but that only seemed to scare the humans more. One day, he sadly trotted up to his Mum and told her how he felt. He explained that it really hurt his feelings when people freaked out at the sight of him.
His Mum tilted her head to one side and said kindly: “ach, Charlie. Humans have learnt to be scared of tiny creatures like us. They don’t understand things which scuttle and so they try to hurt us. It’s not our fault that the sight of us makes them feel all squiggly.”
Charlie decided he was different. There was a child who lived in the house on the other side of the skirting board, and he was determined to make her realise that he, Charlie the Cockroach, was an absolute delight. He’d seen her watch animal programmes on TV, and heard her squeal with delight when someone showed her a picture of a puppy, so why not him? He decided to approach the child while she was brushing her teeth, by gently patting her foot to let her know he was there.
She gasped with surprise and nearly choked on her toothpaste before looking down at the curious creature. He waved his leg, but this time he wasn’t met with screams. The girl bent down and waved back, then held out her hand for Charlie to crawl on. She lifted him up, right up to her face and talked gentle human words while he made teeny tiny chirping noises. A friend, thought Charlie happily. Together we’ll build a better world, where humans and cockroaches can be besties! Where anything can happen when old differences are put aside…
He was still thinking lovely thoughts like this as the child politely threw him out of the window and carried on brushing her teeth. Charlie landed in a bush and wondered, quite rightly, if the problem was that he was just TOO cute? Probably, Charlie. Probably.
Have a chat!
Now you’ve read the story, have a wee chat about it, maybe? Here are some questions to get you started…
Which animal do you think would make the worst pet?
Would you have been friends with Charlie the Cockroach?
If a cockroach touched your foot, what would you do?