phenegher strumpand

the bug hall ball

book one in the island trilogy

All rights reserved - 1st EditionCopyright Library of Congress 2011

Printed in the United States

for Amanda, Paloma, & Beatrice

At our little house by the sea,A summer escape for our family of three,

There are mysterious woods across the way,Where all the bugs come to dance and play.

And every night I lay my head,Mother and Father are in their bed,I’m still awake and hear the sound,

As bugs come close and gather ’round.

Gently one night I closed my eyes,And there he was, a great surprise,A cricket, yes, but so well-dressed,

With coat, cravat, and a vest,And to top it all, a fine stocking hat,He was clearly there to have a chat.

“My name is Phenegher Strump,Would you be so kind,

Just grab my tails from behind,And off we’ll go,

To see the Full Moon Show,Where bugs one and all,

Gather yearly for a merry Ball,Come quick now, though,

one night only at Bug Hall.”

Now I did not know what to say,He seemed so sure to have his way,“Of course I’ll go,” I finally said,

And as I touched his long coat tail,We softly floated like a sail.

Up and up and up we went,With only the moon to guide our ascent,

Towards the woods across the way,High above the sparkling bay.

Soon I saw a wondrous sight,In the stillness of the moonlit night,

There it was, standing tall, Bright and beaming, at last Bug Hall!

Quietly we touched the ground,Bugs streaming all around,What a sight it was to see,

With candled lanterns in an old oak tree,Beetles, ants, grasshoppers, bees,

Caterpillars, fireflies, centipedes, fleas,And many, many more there were,

Finely dressed and all a-blur,As they quickly walked across the lawn,Two by two, towards Bug Hall drawn.

Quietly we touched the ground,Bugs streaming all around,What a sight it was to see,

With candled lanterns in an old oak tree,Beetles, ants, grasshoppers, bees,

Caterpillars, fireflies, centipedes, fleas,And many, many more there were,

Finely dressed and all a-blur,As they quickly walked across the lawn,Two by two, towards Bug Hall drawn.

Then I noticed as they scurried by,Something peculiar caught my eye,

I certainly didn’t want to ask,But it seemed like all the bugs wore a mask.

“Phenegher”, I said, “Is this Ball a masquerade?Because I haven’t had a costume made.”

“Why yes, of course, didn’t I say, oh silly me,Isn’t that how all good parties ought to be?”

“Now close your eyes and spin fast around,And what you see then, will truly astound.”

One, two, three times yes,Suddenly I was wearing a flowing white dress,Looking quite pleased with what he had done,Phenegher was now ready for our night of fun,

But then he very quickly said,A forgotten thought popped back into his head,

“Whatever you do when we’re in this place,Never take this off your face.”

And before I had a chance to ask,He placed on me a shiny mask,I barely heard those words at all,

I was much too excited for the Bug Hall Ball,And of course this night I would never trade,Because you see, it was my first masquerade!

We walked side by side, towards the Great Hall we went,On a long gilded path, for this one occasion meant,

And the sweetest of sounds did fill the air,Musical notes, both silky and rare,

Eighty-eight instruments all, not one less it seemed,Playing perfectly together as could never be dreamed,

And all the strange creatures with their costumes and hair,It took me great effort, not to just stare.

Finally the grand doorway we did approach,And announcing all guests was a tuxedoed cockroach,

“Master Phenegher Strump and uhhh…oh dear,How strange, the name of your guest is not listed here.”The roach looked at me closely, right square in the eye,

I was about to speak up but I didn’t want to lie.

“What did you say your name was?” the imperious cockroach did ask,Phenegher quickly jumped in, “Why it’s Lolo Le Blanc of course,

behind this shiny white mask. She has traveled from afar to this very Hall,Having heard so many wonderful things about our Masquerade Ball.”

“Ahem…”, the cockroach did say with a queer look in his eye, “MasterPhenegher Strump and Lady Lolo White,

Please enter and enjoy the merry festivities tonight.”

Once we passed through the doors, the Hall seemed to suddenly grow,

Both outwards and up, with no ceiling to show,And high up above, all you could see,

Was the fullest full moon, as bright as could be.

What a spectacle it was, you would never believe,Amazing feats in the air these bugs did achieve,

Flipping, twirling, buzzing, humming about,They performed all together with never a doubt,

And so we on the ground, all dressed up for the Ball,Just held our breath and hoped none would fall.

Then the flickering spotlights finally dimmed low,It was time to commence, all guests in a row,

Now through the crowd, which quickly did part,Came the Lord and the Lady for the first dance to start.

The orchestra conductor was a short green beetle with floppy white hair, He raised his skinny arms high up in the air,

And with one swift wave, it had begun,The grand Bug Hall Masquerade Ball, second to none!

Unknown to me, it was tradition that night,That all guests should dance with whomever they might,

So whenever I turned a new partner was there,Some danced quite slowly, others had great flair.

I waltzed with a ladybug, jigged with a flea,Tangoed a centipede, rumba’d with a bee.

I did the mambo with a firefly and his flashing yellow light,The cha cha with a mantis, it was surely a sight.

We danced and we danced and we danced some more,The enchanted sounds kept my feet from ever touching the floor,

And when it was done and I was expecting a rest,Phengher grabbed my hand and whispered, “We’re in the dance contest!”

A great circle of guests had formed in the hall,Nine other contestants, ten couples in all,

And there were so many queer faces staring at us,Chitting and chatting and making a fuss,

That I just hoped my feet would still do their part,As the music began and the dancing did start.

But then something happened, A shimmering light my dress started to make,

It guided my movements and which steps to take,We danced perfectly together in that strange place,

While a mischievous smile crept onto Phenegher’s face,The bugs in the crowd started to clap and to cheer,

No one would beat us tonight, that was perfectly clear.

So at the end of the challenge, we were first up,The Lord and the Lady presented us the Gold Cup,

And they praised our fine dancing, they said we were best,And that they only had one simple request,

It was always the custom when you came in first place,All masks were removed to show your true face.

I suddenly remembered what Phenegher had said,To never take off the mask from my head,

But the bugs were all staring, there was nothing I could do,So I slowly reached up, as Phenegher watched too.

There was a huge gasp from the crowd as they saw my face,Then nothing but silence in that whole entire place,

Suddenly somebody yelled out from the back of the Hall,“Bugs only at the Full Moon Masquerade Ball!”

I couldn’t say anything, not one little sound,The crowd pushed in closer, gathered tightly around,

The Lord of the Hall did rise from his chair,“Do you have anything to say? I will try to be fair.”

I looked up, trying to say something right,“I’m sorry, my Lord, I didn’t know the rules for tonight.”

“But Phenegher”, the Lord calmly went on, “you surely did know,That it can be only bugs at the Ball and the Show.”

“Yes, my Lord,” Phenegher sheepishly replied, “what you say is true, But I thought it would be nice to invite my friend, too.

We often visit her house in the middle of the night,So bringing her to our Masquerade Ball felt only right.”

A murmur went through the crowd as this fact was revealed,The Lord took a deep breath, his decision was sealed,“You must return Lady Lolo back home to her bed,

And hope that she forgets all that was said.”

“Bug Hall’s location must never be known,It’s difficult now, because she has been shown,

But if she’s a true friend as you did say,Then perhaps she will keep our secret and not show the way.”

With my hand on Phenegher’s arm, we walked out through the crowd,He held his head high and I too felt quite proud,

I had a deep secret that would be forever held dear,The citizens of Bug Hall had nothing to fear.

Up and up and up we went,The night’s full moon was now nearly spent,

Out from the woods across the way,Back across the sparkling bay.

To our little house by the sea,A summer escape for my family of three,

Into my bed, it was the night’s end,Farewell to Phenegher, my dear, dear friend.

The moment he left, I was asleep it did seem,And when I awoke, thought it all just a dream,

But as the sun’s first rays softly came up,There on my pillow was the Bug Hall Gold Cup!

to be continued...