The Dragonfly

One day I was jogging through my neighborhood (a very enjoyable activity that is called Playing when kids do it and Exercising for adults) when I spotted a little boy all alone in a field. He was wearing unusual clothes. Since he looked so curious and since it is curious for a Child to be Out Alone without an Adult, I decided to be curious myself and go see what he was doing.

"Hello little boy," I said, coming to a stop on the sidewalk close to him.

"I'm not a little boy," he replied.

"What do you mean?" I asked. "You are the same size and shape as a little boy, you must be one."

"Ah," said the little boy who said he wasn't one, "But I'm the wrong colour, see? And I have wings and big compound eyes, see?"

I, being a fairly clever Adult, was not so easily fooled. "You're the right colour for a little boy covered in grass stains." I said. "And you're wearing coloured pool goggles intended for someone much bigger than you."

"But see, I have wings! And too many legs for a little boy," he insisted. Indeed, his green clothes had several pairs of clear wings attached, and there was a pair of dangling black legs attached just below his arms.

Here I remembered that sometimes even clever people who can tell when little boys are really little boys have to pretend, so I asked "If you aren't a little boy, what are you?"

"Silly, can't you tell?"

"Silly is not my name," I pointed out.

"But you are Silly, because if you weren't Silly you would be able to tell what I am," he countered.

I had no argument for that. Instead, I said "How do I know you know what you are?"

"Of course I know what I am!" he said right away. "I'm a Dragonfly."

"Aha!" I said. "Now I know what you are, so I'm not silly anymore!" I exclaimed.

"Only a silly person would think that," said the Dragonfly.

"I am not silly," I said, stomping one foot to show I was serious. "Not silly at all."

"You're being silly about this right now," said the Dragonfly.

I changed the subject. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?"

"I'm a Dragonfly. Dragonflies can be out on their own."

"But you are a little Dragonfly. Even Dragonflies have parents," I said, rather cleverly. "Where are your parents, little Dragonfly."

The Dragonfly pointed.

"Do they know you're out here all alone?" I asked.

"I'm not alone, Silly. You're here," the Dragonfly said, quite correctly.

"I mean don't they mind that there's no Adult with you?"

"Silly! You're an adult and your with me, aren't you?"

"Well, yes, but you know little boys--er, dragonflies--shouldn't be out on their own without a Grown-Up," I said.

"Really? Well, then it's a good thing you turned up then, Silly," said the Dragonfly.

"I'm not silly," I insisted. The Dragonfly laughed and ran off, holding out his arms and making a buzzing noise.

"Hey, wait for me!" I called after him.


Continued.