Walden spotted the creature’s antennas first. Then, he saw its large head. By the time the rest of the creature’s body came into view, he knew exactly what he was looking at.
The young flea froze. The fire ant, which was more than twice Walden’s size, kept moving—but only for a few more steps. Then, without warning, it stopped and faced the tree trunk.
The ant lifted first one front leg and then the other until both were resting on the trunk. For a moment, the ant stayed with its body bent so that its forefeet were on the tree and its other feet were on the ground.
The flea watched as the ant hesitated. Did it really want to climb the tree? In the next moment, however, the uncertainty vanished as the ant started up the tree.
Walden breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the fire ant climb higher and higher. It climbed so high that Walden soon struggled to still see the insect. He stepped back and away from the trunk. But it was no use. Just like that the insect disappeared completely. That’s when Walden felt safe—and alone—once more.
But not for long.
He didn’t see it, but he felt it. That’s when he jumped!
SOMETHING touched him!
Walden turned to find a tiny bug that appeared to be much less threatening than the fire ant. Not only was it smaller than the ant, but it was afraid. Immediately, the insect backed away from Walden.
The creature which appeared to be about the same size as him, but it was unlike anything Walden had seen before, at least up close. It had a long, black, shiny shell. It also had a pair of long, black antennas. Like the ant, it had six legs, but unlike the ant its back two legs were larger than the others.
“Hi, I’m Walden,” said the flea, nervously. “What’s your name?”
“I—I’m Jumper,” replied the insect before immediately asking, “are you a flea?”
“I am,” said Walden. “What about you?”
“No, I’m not a flea,” the bug giggled. “I’m a flea beetle.”
“Really? I’ve never heard of a flea beetle before. Where do you live?”
“Oh, I don’t really live anywhere. I’m always moving around in search of food. How about you? Where do you live?”
“I live in Dogville, mostly. But sometimes I stay in Bedlam.”
“Dogville? Bedlam? I’ve never heard of them. Where are they located?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure right now.” A sad look came over Walden. His head dropped as he added, “It’s gone I guess.”
Jumper noticed Walden’s dismay. He decided to change the subject. “Well, I’m hungry. Do you want to go find some food together?”
Walden responded by telling the bug that he was hungry himself.
“I can’t wait to nibble on some sweet tomato leaves,” said Jumper, as he turned and started back the way he’d come. “They’re the best. You’ll love ‘em!”
“Tomato leaves?”
“Yeah, I eat ‘em every day.” The beetle paused and then added, “Well, I eat ‘em whenever they’re available, that is. They’re not always growing around here.”
“Where do you find them? Do you have to travel far?”
“Oh no, they’re close,” said Jumper, motioning with his head to an area behind him. “We just have to make our way over to Garden.”
Walden tried to stay close to Jumper, the flea beetle, as he hopped and jumped his way through the tall blades of grass. The idea of chewing on leaves did not appeal to Walden, but for the moment, all he cared about was that he had found some company in Lowlands, and he wasn’t about to lose that.