The Story begins...

Chapter 1

In which we meet the heroine of our story

magine yourself in the desert.  Not the desolate, empty type, but the other kind.  The kind that has secrets and surprises tucked under every rock and beyond each mountain.  Maybe some extra dust here and there to cover the secrets and surprises and make them harder to see.

The sun seems to shine a bit brighter in this desert.  You may have to squint a lot and shade your eyes.  It's harder to see things when you are squinting.  At night, when the moon and stars rise high over the mountains, their shadows seem extra dark and deep.  You can't even see most of the rocks... but you know they are there!  

Imagine you are in this desert, and it is a warm, pleasant afternoon.  The sun is shining extra bright.  Most everyone should be squinting.  You look around and see all the rocks and mountains.  You look closer and notice other things: twitchy grasses and grey-green bushes and tiny yellow flowers peeking out.  Now that you are paying attention (and not squinting) you see lizards glaring and scaly-grey on the rocks, birds flying towards the mountains, and in the dust (so much dust!) you see zillions of tiny footprints...

You follow a set of footprints.  It meanders here and there, then back, then forward, then, what's this?  Is something moving over there?  It looks like a beetle -a common, everyday, black beetle.  But remember, you are in the desert and there are surprises everywhere.  Even common black beetles have a few surprises...