Greg laughed nervously. "My name is Greg. What kind of creature are you?" he asked wearily.

"I'm a stickbug," he replied. "What kind are you?" He had a shrill, high-pitched voice which made Greg wince.

Greg laughed again. "Oh, I'm not a bug. I'm a human being. How tall are you? Is that a costume?"

This time it was Stickly's time to laugh. "I'm 7 inches. I'm the smallest in my family, but I'm going to grow bigger. This isn't a costume. This is my body." His face turned from happy and gay to serious. "Now we have to get out of here fast before Spindly catches us!" With that he scooped up Greg's hand and began running.

It was hot and humid, and the farther they ran, the more hot and dry it got. Greg's lungs hurt and he was wheezing. When they finally stopped, they both fell to the ground on their knees and took the air in deeply. Through breaths Greg asked who Spindly was. Stickly replied, "Spindly is a mean spider. He is small and has sticky powers. He captured our princess last month and our land became his. Many insects have died of starvation. Others have disappeared when trying to rescue Gina, our princess. Spindly has taken all our food and our homes to build his sticky webs on. We were forced to move to this area which is the . . ."