One hot summer night, a cockroach walked slowly across the kitchen table. He ate the breadcrumbs strewn across the table by the family, who were now fast asleep in their beds. Then he heard a sound. Bzzzz, bzzzz! “What’s that?” asked the cockroach. He looked around but couldn’t see anything. Then he heard it again. Bzzzz, bzzzz! “Who’s making that irritating sound?” the cockroach whispered. “I’m a mosquito,” answered a voice. “Who are you? And why are you speaking so softly?” The cockroach looked around. “Where are you?” he asked. “You must be very small because I can’t see you. I hope you know that I am the boss here.” The mosquito landed on the table near the cockroach. “You are the boss?” said the mosquito in a mocking tone. The cockroach did not like this at all. “I am the boss here. If the humans find me eating their food, they don’t eat it anymore. It becomes mine, which shows that they respect and fear me,” boasted the cockroach. Then he turned his back on the mosquito and walked over to the sink where the dirty dishes were and started eating the leftovers on the plates.

All this time, the mosquito watched the cockroach very carefully. Then she flew around the cockroach’s head, buzzing all the time. “If you are the boss, why do you eat their leftover food?” asked the mosquito. The cockroach waved his front leg to try to get rid of the mosquito, but the mosquito kept buzzing around the cockroach. Eventually, the cockroach said, “Can you please stop making that horrible sound? If the humans find us, they will squash us both.” “I don’t fear the humans!” answered the mosquito. “I bite them and drink their blood. When they try to squash me, I dodge and swerve and disappear. And just when they think I have gone, I come back! The noise I make drives them crazy. They cover themselves with blankets even when it is hot. And when I bite them, it makes a very itchy bump.” Then the mosquito laughed and laughed. Suddenly, someone switched on the kitchen light. A man walked to the kitchen sink and filled a glass with water from the tap. The cockroach quickly dashed into a crack behind the door to hide.

The mosquito didn’t seem worried at all. She made her buzzing noise, flying here and there and all around the man as he drank the water. At first, the man tried to wave the mosquito away with his hand. But still, the mosquito buzzed around his head. The man became more and more irritated until he was waving his slipper around in a frenzy. But the mosquito calmly zigzagged around his head, buzzing her irritating buzz. In the end, the man gave up, turned off the light and went back to bed. “I think I’ll stay in my hiding place a bit longer,” the cockroach thought. “I don’t know where the mosquito went and I’m not sure that it is safe to come out.” And he was right to stay hidden because the mosquito had flown into the children’s room and was buzzing around their heads. “Dad!” one of the children shouted. “There is a mosquito in our room. Please come and help us.” This woke the whole family, and soon everyone was searching each room with pillows and slippers, ready to swat the mosquito. But of course, every time someone saw the mosquito, it would simply dodge and swerve and disappear. 

This went on for some time, but eventually, the humans gave up. They went back to bed and pulled their blankets over their heads, even though it was much too hot for that. When the mosquito flew back into the kitchen, the cockroach came out of his hiding place. “Wow, I’m impressed,” he said to the mosquito. “You had all those humans running around trying to catch you, but not one of them could.” “I told you that I fear no one. Now tell me, who do you think the real boss is?” asked the mosquito.

“It is definitely you!” answered the cockroach. “You may be tiny, but you defeated the humans.” “I am glad we can agree on that,” said the mosquito proudly. “From now on, you can call me if the humans give you any trouble.” “I will, thank you very much,” answered the cockroach as he scuttled off to find more food scraps. From that day on, the cockroach and the mosquito became best friends and they worked together to annoy the humans as much as they could!

Get story active!

• Think about all the creatures that irritate humans: mosquitos, flies, cockroaches and any others that you know. Which one is the most annoying? Why do you think so?
•  Write a poem about one or more of the creatures above. Think about how they look, how they move, the sounds that they make and the things that they do that annoy or frighten humans.
•  Make up your own insect! Draw your insect. Write down how big it is, what it eats and what sounds it makes