Hoppersville?

Olivia and I had been on many adventures the past few years, but riding on the back of a beetle was something that we never even considered as a possibility before. It was thrilling. We zigged and zagged through the air. Eventually the beetle landed in a grassy area. It looked no different that any other surrounding grass area. So, Olivia and I were confused. "Here we are." "You sure this is the place?" Olivia asks. "You wanted to go to Hoppersville, right?" "Yes." "Then here we are. Now get off." We reluctantly slide off the beetle. "It's just... where is everybody?" I ask. "Sleeping. You came during winter, now what did you expect?" I shake my head and rummage through my pockets. I hand him what little money I have. His eyes widen. "That's it?" "I'm afraid so." I say. The beetle mutters "tourists" under his breath. "There is a little flap by my neck. Place the money there." I tuck the money under his shell, by his neck. The beetle takes out his wings.  "Wait, before you go.." Olivia says. "What? What do you want?" "Well, do you know of anything we can do around here?" The beetle rolls his eyes. "I don't stick around here very often, but there is a bar right there." He says, pointing his head to a grass hut. "Anything else?" "No, that'll do." Olivia says. "Good." The beetle takes off without saying another word. Olivia turns to me. "Want a drink?"

Waiting For a Taxi

"I'm surprised you're taken aback by all this." Olivia says. "I'm not taken aback. It's just, really, a taxi? Out here?" "It does seem a little far fetched. Perhaps she was joking." "Perhaps."  "At any rate I don't think it will do any harm hailing a taxi for a minute or so." "I suppose not. "I say. I stand next to Olivia and hail as best as I can. I feel foolish. There are absolutely no taxis in sight. I know I'm wasting my time. Then I feel foolish for feeling so foolish, and thinking such things. A taxi may never come, but I wave my arms as best as I can. We did this for a minuet. Nothing showed up. We decided to be on our way as we laughed at ourselves for being so silly. We picked a random direction and started walking. We figured that eventually we would bump into a sign indicating where Hoppersville is.  It didn't take long before a giant, black beetle swooped out of the sky and landed in front of us. Not knowing much about beetles, we were terrified. We stood, frozen, unsure if it would attack. It appeared to be studying us. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, it spoke. "Come on. I ain't got all day." "Excuse me?" I say. "You heard me. You think you're the only stop I' v got?"  "You're the taxi?" Olivia asks. "What? Were you expecting a Lady Bug?" Olivia and I look at each other. "We don't know what we were expecting." I say. "You two are not from around here, are you?" "No, we're not." Olivia replies. "Whatever.  Makes no difference to me. Hop on." Olivia and I comply. We start to climb onto his back. "No, not my back! That's where my wings are! Behind my head." We take a seat behind his head. There isn't much space there, but at least there are groves in the shell to hold on. "Where to?" He asks. "Hoppersville" Olivia says. With that our taxi flies us off into the sky.

Little Us

Within minutes Olivia shrank to my size. Her clothes also shrank with her. It made no damn sense , but it sure was convienent. Olivia and I marveled at our surroundings. It was like being in a real life version of Honey, I Shrunk the Kids. There were gigantic blades of grass and massive craters, that I'm assuming were caused by our shoes. It was glorious. Olivia let out a loud whistle. "I'll admit. I'm impressed. " "Yeah, I just wish she told us how to get to Hoppersville from here." I say. "Who cares, we'll find it." "You are rather adventurous all the sudden." Olivia shrugs. "Thought I'd start trusting Hilda. That drink was painful,but it was worth it. My goodness, look at this." "I guess you're right. Shall we start off in that direction?" I say , pointing. "Sure." I start walking. Olivia stops me. "I know Hoppersville is the goal, but we should enjoy all of this. We might never see this again." She informs. I take a deep breath. "You're right." We start walking. Hilda' s voice cuts in. "One more thing." I look around to see her face, but I cannot. She must be closer to the Willow tree. "You are the perfect sizes to enter Hoppersville, but you'll need a taxi to take you the rest of the way. They shouldn't be too hard to find. They are everywhere. Ok that is all for now. Have a wonderful time. Bye." I wait a moment to see if Hilda has anything more to say. She doesn't doesn't , so I comment. "A taxi? Now that's looney." My comment falls to deaf ears. I turn around to see Olivia standing with her thumb out. She stares at me blankly as if she's surprised that I'm not doing the same thing. "You heard the lady. Start hailing."

Disappearing Boy

It was a few moments of agonizing pain, and then I shrank. I shrank until I was no larger than an ant. Mysteriously and convinetly my clothes shrank with me, so it would be easy for one to assume I vanished into thin air. Indeed, that's what Olivia thought. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HIM?" Olivia's booming voice nearly knocks me off my  feet. "I didn't do anything with him." Hilda says innocently . "THEN WHERE IS HE?" "He's right here." "SHOW HIM TO ME. POINT HIM OUT."  Hilda bends down. Her giant face is inches from my tiny body. "Hello, little friend. Do you see him now?" She says, turning to Olivia. Olivia jumps back. "Don't worry you're not going to step on him. I'd warn you if you were close." "Why did you do that?" Hilda looks confused. "Didn't the two of you say you wanted to go to Hoppersville?" "Yes, but-" "I mean you weren't expecting to enter as two fully grown humans, were you?" "I guess I was." Hilda half smiles. "An honest mistake, but I assure you this is how you get to get to Hoppersville." Olivia stares at her bottle. "I don't know about this." "You don't have to do this, but honestly he's fine." "Is he?" "See for yourself." I wave my arms, and I try to shout to get her attention. "I can't hear a word he's saying, but I guess he's ok." Olivia sighs. "Guess, I'm doing this then."

Mysterious Drink

Neither Fredder or Norm had any interest in going, but Olivia at least showed a slight curiosity, and that was good enough for me. We said our goodbyes and exited the Willow tree. "You have no idea where you are going, do you?" "I'm not entirely sure." "Did Hilda or Jacob tell you where it is?" I look down. "No." Olivia sighs. "Hey, we'll find it." I assure. "How?" "We'll start walking and then when we see a group of grasshoppers we'll ask them about Hoppersville." Olivia shakes her head. "Lead the way." I start walking forward, but I look at my feet the whole time so as not to step on any friends. A moment later Hilda runs out of the Willow tree carrying two green, glass bottles. "Wait." She says, rushing up to us. "You forgot these." "What are those?" I ask. "They're gifts." "Oh, thank you." I say taking a bottle. I'm about to take a swig. Olivia stops me. "Aren't you gonna ask what it is?" "It's so you can find Hoppersville."Hilda says."Good enough explanation for me." I take a giant gulp. It wasn't the best flavor, but I appreciated the gesture all the same. Then all the sudden my bones felt as if they were shrinking. I was soon unable to stand, and I found myself hunching over. Even that was soon too painful. I was now down on my hands and knees, regreting my decision.

Consulting With the Gang

"Hoppersville?" Olivia says with a tone of "Are you serious?" "Yeah, Hoppersville." I reply. "What is it? Some grasshopper utopia?" Norm snickers. "Something like that." "Count me out. I'm not into that whole hippy business." He says. "They're not hippies, but whatever. What do you think, Freddy?" "Stay here. Good food. Warm bed." He says, curling up under the blankets of the king sized bed. "But they have warm beds and good food there." "Nope. He has spoken." Norm shouts. I shake my head. "What about you, Olivia?" "I don't know. Is this something you want to do?" "I am curious." "And we can come back?" She asks. "That's what Hilda told me." Olivia shrugs. "Then maybe we should go."

Hilda's Words

Admittedly, that eccentric grasshopper peaked my interest. However, I wanted to find out more information before committing to a vacation spot. Fortunately, Hilda was not hard to find this time. She was baking cookies in the kitchen. The scent wafted in to the lounge. It picked me off my seat and brought me to Hilda. She smiled tenderly when I saw her. "I see you've met Jacob." "I have. He seems interesting. He was telling me a bit about his home town. He suggested I visit." "Hoppersville?" "I guess. He didn't say the name." Hilda nods. "It is lovely." "So, you've been there?" I ask. "Oh yes, many times. Good dining." "That's what he was saying." "I take it you'll be leaving then?" "Maybe. I don't know." Hilda looks up at me. "You can go. You won't offend me. You can always come back." "I know it's just -" "It's just what, dear?" "It's gonna sound silly, but I don't know if it's safe. I suppose you don't know what I'm talking about." Hilda stops stirring.  "Of course I do. That bomb that went off could be heard from here." "Then how come Jacob has no idea what I'm talking about?" I ask. "Because he's a grasshopper. When he leaves this house he's his normal size and therefor he has a different perspective." "So he wouldn't have seen or heard anything?" Hilda shrugs. "He might have heard something, but he wouldn't have known what it was. He would be in a  different world." "Huh. Perspective really is an interesting topic." Hilda nods in agreement. "It is, but Hoppersville is even more interesting." She says. "So, it's worth seeing then?" "I think so." "Good, I'm going ask my crew about visiting then."