Bugs, Bugs, Bugs



Hurt No Living Thing
Christina Rossetti

Hurt no living thing;
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep.



The Bug
Marjorie Barows

And when the rain had gone away
And it was shining everywhere,
I ran out on the walk to play
And found a little bug was there.

And he was running just as fast
As any little bug could run,
Until he stopped for breath at last,
All black and shiny in the sun.

And then he chirped a song to me
And gave his wings a little tug,
And that's the way he showed that he
Was very glad to be a bug!



Beetle
Sylvia Gerdtz

A little beetle passed me by,
He didn't make much fuss,
He ran around my garden
Like a tiny yellow bus.



The Ants
Douglas Florian

Ants are scantily
Half an inch long,
But for their size
They're very strong.
Ants tote leaves
Five times their weight
Back to their nest
At a speedy rate.
They walk on tree limbs
Upside down
A hundred feet
Above the ground,
While down below
Beneath a mound
They're building tunnels
Underground.
And so it's been
And it will be
Since greatest
Ant antiquity.



Singing
Dorothy Aldis

Little birds sing with their beaks
In the apple trees;
But little crickets in the grass
Are singing with their knees.



Upside Down
Aileen Fisher

It's funny how beetles
and creatures like that
can walk upside down
as well as walk flat.

They crawl on a ceiling
and climb on a wall
without any practice
or trouble at all.

While I have been trying
for a year (maybe more)
and still I can't stand
with my head on the floor.



Ladybug
Joan Walsh Anglund

A small speckled visitor
Wearing a crimson cape,
Brighter than a cherry,
Smaller than a grape.

A polka-dotted someone
Walking on my wall,
A black-hooded lady
In a scarlet shawl.



Ants, Although Admirable, Are Awfully Aggravating
Walter R. Brooks

The busy ant works hard all day
And never stops to rest or play.
He carries things ten times his size,
And never grumbles, whines or cries.
And even climbing flower stalks,
He always runs, he never walks.
He loves his work, he never tires,
And never puffs, pants or perspires.

Yet though I praise his boundless vim
I am not really fond of him.



Hey, Bug!
Lilian Moore

Hey, bug, stay!
Don't run away.
I know a game that we can play.

I'll hold my fingers very still
And you can climb a finger-hill.

No, no.
Don't go.

Here's a wall - a tower, too,
A tiny bug town, just for you.
I've a cookie. You have some.
Take this oatmeal cookie crumb.
Hey, bug, stay!
Hey, bug!
Hey!



Song of the Bugs
Margaret Wise Brown

Some bugs pinch
And some bugs creep
Some bugs buzz themselves to sleep
Buzz Buzz Buzz Buzz
This is the song of the bugs.

Some bugs fly
When the moon is high
Some bugs make a light in the sky
Flicker, flicker firefly
This is the song of the bugs.



Little Talk
Aileen Fisher

Don't you think it's probable
that beetles, bugs, and bees
talk about a lot of things -
you know, such things as these:

The kind of weather where they live
in jungles tall with grass,
and earthquakes in their villages
whenever people pass.

Of course, we'll never know if bugs
talk very much at all -
because our rears are far too big
for talk that is so small.



What's Bugging Me
Jane Yolen

You know what bugs me?
Mosquitoes in the ear
Buzzing out a warning
That an itchy bite is near.

You know what bugs me?
A moth inside a tin
Of sugar after I just ate
Some sugar that was in.

You know what bugs me?
A cricket late at night
Who starts to sing just after
Mommy has turned out the light.



Night Song
Leland B. Jacobs

When the sun has set
And night has come,
The insect chorus
Starts to hum.

And nothing else
Is there to hear,
but the insect voices
Soft and clear.

The insects hum
In sweet delight,
Singing their praises
Of the night.