Samy and the Very Small Beetle

In the savannah lived Samy the lion.

Samy was strong.

Very strong.

He could push big branches.

Run very fast.

And when he roared...

You could hear him almost from the other side of the river.

Samy really liked being strong.

Maybe even a little too much.

One morning, he was walking near a big tree when he saw something moving in the grass.

Something very small.

Samy came closer.

It was Rami the beetle.

Rami was pushing a small ball of dirt in front of him.

Samy stopped.

He looked at Rami.

Then at the small ball.

Then at Rami again.

"Is that what you're carrying?"

Rami kept pushing.

"Yes."

Samy looked at the ball.

"But it's tiny!"

Rami stopped.

"For you, maybe."

Samy lifted a paw.

Next to his big lion paw, Rami seemed even smaller.

"I could push a hundred balls like that at the same time!"

Rami answered calmly:

"Maybe."

Samy smiled.

"And with your little legs, you must take all day to get anywhere."

"Maybe."

Samy tilted his head.

"Do you always say maybe?"

Rami thought.

"Maybe."

Samy burst out laughing.

Then he went on his way.

"Good luck with your little ball!"

Rami started pushing again.

Very slowly.

---

A little later, Samy met Malo the monkey near the river.

Malo was jumping from one branch to another.

"Samy! Come see what I found!"

He came down from the tree with something in his hands.

It was a small round shiny stone.

It was red.

Very red.

When the sun hit it, it sparkled like a little flame.

Samy's eyes opened wide.

"Wow!"

Malo handed him the stone.

"Here."

Samy took it carefully.

He looked at it from one side.

Then from the other.

"It's beautiful."

"Keep it if you want."

Samy couldn't believe it.

"Really?"

"Yes."

Samy was delighted.

He placed the stone in a small pouch tied around his neck.

Then he ran off.

---

All day, Samy showed his stone to his friends.

To Jojo the hippopotamus.

To Baya the elephant.

To Nino the little elephant.

Even to Lila the giraffe.

"Look!"

"It's pretty!" said Lila.

Samy was very proud.

Maybe even a little too much.

He ran.

He jumped.

He climbed onto a rock.

He came back down.

Then he ran again.

And suddenly...

He stopped.

His pouch was open.

Samy looked inside.

Empty.

He looked again.

Still empty.

"My stone!"

He searched around him.

Nothing.

He went back near the rock.

Nothing.

He looked behind a tree.

Under a branch.

In the grass.

Still nothing.

Malo arrived.

"What's wrong?"

"I lost my stone!"

Malo helped him look.

Jojo came too.

Then Nino.

Then Lila.

Everyone was looking everywhere.

But the stone had disappeared.

Samy started to worry.

"I'll never find it..."

Then Jojo pointed to a small hole between two big rocks.

"Samy! Look!"

Everyone came closer.

At the bottom of the hole...

Something was shining.

Red.

Very red.

Samy jumped.

"That's it!"

He put a paw between the rocks.

But his paw was way too big.

He tried with the other one.

Impossible.

He pushed a rock.

Nothing moved.

He pushed harder.

"HMMMMMM!"

Still nothing.

Nino tried with his trunk.

Too big.

Malo reached in with his arm.

Too short.

Lila tried to look over.

She could see the stone very well.

But that didn't help much.

Samy sighed.

"It's right there..."

Then a tiny voice came from behind them.

"I can try."

Samy turned around.

It was Rami the beetle.

Samy looked at Rami.

Then at the small hole.

Then at Rami again.

Rami was small enough to fit through.

Samy hesitated.

"Do you think you can?"

Rami answered:

"Maybe."

Malo started to laugh.

Rami went up to the hole.

He slipped between the two rocks.

He moved forward slowly.

Very slowly.

Samy waited.

You could barely see Rami anymore.

Then the little red stone moved.

A little.

A little more.

Then it rolled out of the hole.

Samy jumped on it.

"My stone!"

He picked it up.

Then Rami came out calmly.

Samy stayed silent.

He looked at his big paw.

Then at Rami's very small legs.

"Rami..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Rami nodded.

Samy added:

"In the end, it's useful to be small."

Rami answered:

"Sometimes."

Samy smiled.

"And here I was thinking you couldn't do anything with your little legs."

Rami looked at Samy.

Then he looked at his small ball of dirt.

"Do you want to try pushing it?"

Samy looked at the ball.

"Easy!"

He put a paw on it.

The ball squashed immediately.

SPLAT.

Silence.

Rami looked at the flattened ball.

Samy looked at Rami.

Then Malo burst out laughing.

Jojo too.

Nino too.

Samy ended up laughing with them.

"Well..."

He looked at Rami.

"Maybe everyone is strong in their own way."

Rami nodded.

Then he answered:

"Maybe."