The most fearsome creature

Do you know what the most terrifying creature on the earth is? The answer may surprise you. It is . . .


The beetle.

Our tale begins Conference weekend in April. On that Sunday, we made Porter and Dallin lay down for their resting time. Joe also fell asleep. As soon as he thought everyone else was asleep, Dallin snuck out to ride his bike on the dirt trail in the empty lot across the street from our house. I saw him go and, after a few minutes, decided to go collect him. I went out to look for him and couldn't see him. I got nervous and started hurrying over to try to find him. As I got closer, I saw him walking with some teenage girl and he was crying. I asked what happened and he was sobbing and she said that she thought he had fallen off of his bike. I started walking him home and, when he had settled down, asked him what had happened and if he was hurt. He sniffled and said that he was riding when he saw a poison beetle. He screamed for help but no one was there. He jumped off the bike and tried to run away because the beetle was trying to bite him and then Dallin bit his own arm to demonstrate. When the girl found him, he was hysterical and she couldn't understand that the beetle was trying to kill him.

We did not see the beetle again for several weeks. However, last week, Porter was riding his bike through the empty field when he came across a dead mouse. He came home to tell Dallin about it and mentioned that its feet were all gone. Porter didn't know what happened to its feet but Dallin almost immediately gasped and shouted, "the beetle!"

Everyone who lives nearby by, beware. There is a poisonous beetle living in the field, menacing people and animals alike.