A Tiny Golden Hello

The afternoon breeze felt just a tiny bit chilly on Chloe's cheeks, but down near the soft ground, everything was cozy and quiet. Chloe crouched low in the grass, tucking the edges of her skirt around her sparkly pink shoes. Her long pink hair tumbled over one shoulder, trailing softly against the damp stalks.

Beside her, little Pip knelt down on his knees. He held his little brown stick in one hand, careful not to poke any sleeping bugs. Blossom hovered right by Chloe's ear. She adjusted her wide hat, tipping the leafy brim so she could see straight down into the middle of the patch.

"Look," Chloe whispered. Her bright freckles crinkled as she smiled. "Look right there, on that round leaf."

Right in the middle of the leaf sat something very small and very bright. It was not a drop of dew. It was not a fallen petal. It was a beetle, no bigger than a freckle on Chloe's nose, and its shell shone like a drop of warm honey. When the beetle turned around, its polished back caught the sun with a dazzling gleam. It tapped its tiny legs—one, two, three, four, five, six—and lifted two delicate golden feelers high in the air.

"He is dancing!" Pip whispered, leaning his nose so close that his green shirt brushed the wet grass. "Tap, tap, wiggle! Look at him go, Butterfly!"

Blossom took her thin green wand between her tiny fairy fingers. Very gently, she tapped the air. With a soft fizz, a warm yellow light drifted out from the wand's tip, hovering over the leaf like a cozy little candle. The golden beetle seemed to love the warmth. It gave a happy little spin, lifting its feelers up and down in time with Blossom's gentle glow.

Chloe did not want to frighten their brand-new friend. She leaned forward, resting her palms gently beside her feet, and dipped her head in a very slow, very polite curtsy. Her pink hair brushed the leaf tips with a quiet rustle. "Hello, little dancer," she said softly.

The golden beetle stopped spinning. It turned its shiny face straight toward Chloe. Slowly, carefully, it raised both of its bright feelers toward the sky. Then it dipped its round golden body down toward the leaf, once, and twice, bobbing in a perfect little bow.

Blossom let out a delighted, bubbly giggle and clapped her tiny hands together. Pip beamed, bobbing his own head right along with the beetle. The little golden fellow lingered on his leaf in the warm yellow glow, as if waiting to see what game the three friends might play next.