THE BUGS WHO LIVED IN A CINEMA

There was an old cinema in town. Its seats were infested with bugs and rats wandered about under them. The bugs fed themselves by sucking blood from the occupants of the seats while the rats raced around underneath picking up foodstuff which was dropped or discarded.

One day the management decided to redecorate the cinema and install air-conditioning. Now, bugs and rats are tropical species. They found it difficult to survive under the new conditions. Furthermore, the seats had iron legs and were connected with iron 'bridges'. This meant that the bugs could not cross from one seat to the next without feeling wobbly in their knees and if they should fall off there was little chance that they could climb back up the cold iron legs onto the seat.

After a month, each family of bugs was isolated in its own seat. To many, this was the ideal society with every family having the same housing and equal opportunities to feed themselves. The rats thought so, too.

One week, for three consecutive days one seat remained empty. The family of bugs living in the seat was starving. The older bugs went to the edge of the seat and shouted to their neighbours, "We are starving, please let us come across and feed on the lady on your seat. At least, let the younger ones come." The leader of the next seat shouted back, "Let us think about it." They held a meeting and decided that they could not afford to create a precedent. Their answer had to be a firm "No". One bug even suggested that if their neighbours should starve to death, they could go across and occupy their seat. This would give them status over the rest of the families in the cinema.

The leader of the bugs went to the top of the 'bridge' and delivered their answer. What is more, he threatened that if they should try to cross, they would be pushed off the 'bridge'.

A rat who felt cold jumped onto the empty seat to warm himself for a while before continuing on his hunt for food. To his utter surprise he found himself bitten by the bugs. He jumped off the seat murmuring to himself: "How deprived they are to resort to biting a rat!" He was very annoyed and started to scratch himself. As he scratched he thought again: "Something must be very wrong; they must be very hungry. If they should starve to death their seat will eventually be colonised by another family and it will be the beginning of the end of their ideal society!"

He was confused and thought of calling the rats together to consult them. But after some soul searching thoughts he decided he must do something about it himself. He returned to the empty seat, hopped up, sat down and allowed himself to be bitten in order to preserve the peace and stability of their community.

0. Preface
1. The Chicken Hawk
2. The Two SparrowsHawk
3. The Bugs Who Lived In A Cinema
4. The Old Man And His Creeper
5. The Tree Who Wanted To Be A Ship
6. The Obsolescent Wahing-Machine
7. The In-between Puppy
8. Postscript

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