LITTLE BEETLE'S BIRTHDAY

Written by Jennifer McCormack

There was a little beetle

So that Beetle was her name.

She lived on a big leaf

And she played lots of games.

She was given a big red coat,

On the day that she was born.

And she loved that big red coat,

It was worn, and worn, and worn*(adapted from A.A. Milne)

When Little Beetle was born she was given some lovely new clothes to wear: a big, bright red coat, a big shady black hat and 6 pairs of shiny black boots!! She loved her big, bright red coat most of all and wore it all the time.

She put her 6 big, shiny, black boots on.

She put on her big, shady black hat.

She put her big, bright red coat on.

And that, she said, is that! *(adapted from A.A. Milne)

She wore her big, bright coat so red

She wore it always, even in bed!

She wore it when she went to play

She wore it always – every day!

She wore her big bright red coat through Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer!

She washed her coat lovingly and treated it carefully, and when she had worn it for a whole year it still looked like brand new.

But the day after she had worn it for a whole year she saw something different– a big black spot!

“Oh no! My coat is dirty!” she cried.

She tried to wash it but no matter how hard she scrubbed the spot, it would not come off.

“Whatever is the matter Little Beetle?” her mother and father asked.

“My coat won’t come clean!” she answered.

Her mother and father looked at the spot on the big bright red coat and smiled.

“AH! That must be your Birthday Spot! All Beetles grow a new spot every birthday!”

They were so excited that they made a cake and sang in joy:

Happy Birthday Little Beetle!

You’ve grown up such a lot!

Happy Birthday Little Beetle!

You’ve grown a Birthday Spot!

And today we celebrate another little beetle, Little [Jaiah] Beetle, who has worn her coat through:

Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer , Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer!

So Little Beetle has [2] spots! Happy Birthday Little Beetle!

Notes for this story:

This story was told simply to the children – the verses sung to the tune of Melanie’s version of A.A. Milne’s Alexander Beetle Poem.

I would make a little beetle in a leaf beetle house and hide it somewhere near us. After the story it would ‘appear’ from a pot plant, or behind a child, and it was presented to the birthday day child.