23 The Bone

The Bone written by John Lockyer illustrated by Michael Cashmore-Hingley

Snick was a space bug. He lived on a planet in the middle of the Milky Way. Every day, Snick took his ship into space to explore.

One day, when he got back from a trip, two guards grabbed him. They put him in a shuttle and took him away. "What's happening?" asked Snick. "Where are you taking me?" "To see the Queen," said the guards.

When Snick saw the Bug Queen, she was not happy. "What's in your bag?" asked the Queen. "A bone," said Snick. "Where did you get it?" she asked. "I found it on a new planet," Snick said. The Queen took the bone and asked, "What new planet?" "It's called Earth," said Snick. "It has water, mountains, ice, and deserts. It's not a good place for space bugs."

The Queen looked at the bone. "What lives there?" she asked. "Earthlings," said Snick. The Queen sniffed the bone, and asked, "This bone belongs to the Earthlings?" Snick said, "Yes. I landed my ship beside some trees. The Earthlings were digging up old bones. They were very happy when they found one."

The Queen asked, "How did you get this one?" Snick said, "When it was night and the Earthlings were asleep, I grabbed it." "Not all of them were asleep," said the Queen. "One saw you." "No!" Snick said. "Yes!" said the Queen. "The Earthling came back with you."