Bill’s Bugs 
 

  Episode Four: Fly Soup 

 I was so hungry that I said, “I’m starved! I didn’t eat much for lunch.  What’s for dinner Mom?” 

 She said, “Your favorite soup, Bill.” I asked, “You mean vegetable and rice? With lots of onion in it?” 


 Mom’s answer made me happy. “Just the way you like it. And I remembered to add some pepperoni this time.” 

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 “Cool! Thanks, Mom. Can I have some orange juice to drink?” Mom replied, “Of course. Good for you. A healthy choice.”  

 Then she asked my sister, Mary, “What would you like to drink?” “Mom, I’d love some iced tea. And can you put some lemon in it?” Mom said, “Coming right up.”  

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 Then Mary said, “Bill, go ahead and sit down. I’ll bring your soup to you.”  

 It was Mary’s way of thanking me for my help last night. I had taken away a couple of spiders that were “bugging” her. “That’s nice of you,” I said. “Thanks!” 

 Mary put the bowl down in front of me. I could hardly wait. It smelled really good. I said, “Mom, you’re the best cook, ever!” 

 My first taste was wonderful. Mom always makes such yummy soup. The food was so good, we didn’t speak. For a few minutes, we were just, eating! 

 Then, all of a sudden, Mary’s eyes got really big. She said, “Hey Bill. What’s that, in your bowl?”  

 She said that something was moving in my soup. Then I saw it. Something was crawling on a slice of pepperoni. I called out, “Gross, it’s a fly! There’s a huge fly in my soup!” 

 Mary started giggling. She said, “Bill, I thought you liked bugs.” I said, “I love bugs, but not in my soup!” We were both smiling. Mary said, “Yeah, I guess onions are better than bugs.” 

 Mom had walked over to the table. She said, “Well, look at that! How did that thing get in there? Did you see it fly into the bowl?” 

 I said, “No. So, that means it got into the soup pot.” Mom was embarrassed. She said, “Oh, my. I didn’t plan on cooking flies tonight. I’m so sorry.”  

 But there was no reason for her to feel bad. Things like this happen. I said, “Mom, no problem. I’ll just put it on my napkin.” 


 Mom said, “No. Flies carry lots of germs. Hand me your bowl. I’ll spoon up more boiling soup in a clean bowl.” But just then, the fly started crawling up onto the edge of the bowl. 

 Then it fell out of the bowl and landed in my lap. Mary and I started laughing. I was looking pretty goofy with that poor fly in my lap. 

 I said, “Mom, this poor fly is pushing itself hard to stay alive.” She answered, “Yes, but the little guy is messing up our dinner.” 

 Mom picked the fly up in a napkin, and she left the room. We could hear her flush it down the toilet. 

 I yelled, “That’s really cruel, Mom.” She said, “It is not. It’s just a dirty old bug.”  

 I said, “Maybe next time we can try some different bugs in the soup. What do you think?”  

 Then I said, “Yeah, how about, mosquito, wooly worm, and dragonfly soup? Doesn’t that sound really tasty?” 

1) Why was Bill so hungry? 
  He had skipped breakfast. 
  He didn’t eat much for lunch. 
  He gave his lunch away. 

2) What kind of soup did Bill like? 
  Tomato soup 
  Fly soup 
  Vegetable and rice soup 

3) What did Mom remember to add to the soup? 
   Pepperonis 
  Flies 
  Cheese 

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