Jimmy hears a scary whistling sound going whizzzze!

Jimmy is on a vacation at his aunt’s ranch. He has been chasing a purple grasshopper out in the meadow and he stops running to listen. He wonders where the whooshing sound comes from. He looks all around but sees nothing?

He is in the middle of the field carrying a spool of thread and a needle that his Aunt Mary had him borrow from her neighbor across the meadow. He is still unsure where the sound is coming from and it seems to be growing louder. He thinks he should run? He sees the grasshopper landing.

Jimmy watches the grasshopper turn itself in circles looking for whatever is making the whistling sound. Jimmy thinks the grasshopper better hide as the noise could be made by the wings of a big bird they don’t see. A bird would eat the grasshopper.

Jimmy yells towards the grasshopper, “Hide!”

The grasshopper doesn’t pay attention. Jimmy has always liked all bugs and he wouldn’t have hurt the grasshopper if he could have caught the winged insect. He even likes spiders. His schoolteacher said if something didn’t eat the bugs, there would be so many there wouldn’t be room on earth for people.

The whistle sound grows real loud. Jimmy looks up into the blue sky to see what kind of bird is making the whistling noise. He doesn’t see a bird. Over his head he sees a giant pair of binoculars falling fast and it is coming right down at him. Jimmy leaps to the side and he lands sitting up on the ground.

The gigantic black pair of binoculars crashes the ground beside him and break in two. One huge part stays beside him where it hit the ground. The other black part sails away and he watches it fall and disappear into the tangle of brown bushes.

His aunt had told him to never go into the tall bushes as they are loaded with big spiders that bite. She had said, “Some of them are harmless, but some spiders are poisonous, so keep away from the brown bushes.”

Jimmy stares at the huge half of the binoculars that have landed right beside him. Jimmy gets to his feet to find the big end of the black binocular is taller than his head. And the crash has broken out the glass lenses on both ends.

Jimmy looks inside the hollow tunnel. It is empty but at the small end he sees the purple grasshopper with the green head. Its big round eyes are peering at him. And it looks to be as big as he is. Jimmy guesses it is because they are looking at each other through the binocular.

The grasshopper says, “This thing almost fell on me!”

Jimmy is surprised. He looks around but there is no one to see? Jimmy looks back through the binocular and asks the grasshopper, “Can you talk?”

The grasshopper nods using its whole body to bob up and down. “Sure, always could talk. How come you can hear me?”

Jimmy says, “I can hear everything.”

The grasshopper scolds. “You didn’t hear me when I said to stop chasing me.”

“Oh, a little while ago? I’m sorry. I was just playing. My name is Jimmy.”

“I’m called Hopper. But that type of play is dangerous. I go flitting around in the air some bird could grab me. Wow,” he said, “This black thing is sure big. Some giant must have dropped it from his flying saucer?”

“I think you’re right,” Jimmy agreed.

Hopper looks curiously at Jimmy. “How did you get so small? You were real big when you chased me.”

“I’m not small. I’m still big. It’s funny. Looking at you through this half of the binoculars, you look as big as I am?”

“I wish I was big. If I were big, I’d go step on all those nasty spiders in the brown bushes. They always try to catch me. The glass is broken out. Why don’t you walk through it and be small with me. We could have fun playing.”

Jimmy hesitates. “No, you walk through and be big with me. We’d have more fun.”

Hopper sighs. “If I had a purple head, I would. Purple-headed grasshoppers are very brave. I’m not, or I’d hop right through this tunnel and play with you.”

“You have a purple body?” Jimmy reminds him.

“I’ve been eating grapes near the spider’s brown bushes. I have to be careful. Grape juice gets on my wings and draws ants. Brown grasshoppers are strong, but they are not as smart as green and purple grasshoppers. I’m really a green color.”

“Who made you green?”

“My mother, Katy, did. Are you afraid to walk through?”

Jimmy doesn’t want a grasshopper to think he is afraid. He drew himself up tall to say, “I’m not chicken.”

“YEOW!” Hopper screeches and leaps away from the small end. He files up in the air and it’s a full minute before he is back and peering through the binocular. He says, “Chickens eat grasshoppers. Where did you see one?”

“There is no chicken,” Jimmy calms him. “It is just a thing you say about being afraid. When I said, I’m not chicken, I meant, I’m not afraid to walk through this thing. I’ll come through and show you. Then we can both come through it to my side and be big. I gotta get this needle and thread to my aunt.”

“All right, you come first,” Hopper agrees.

Jimmy carefully walks through the hollow binocular and when he reaches the small end he doesn’t have to duck his head to step out. He expected he would be tiny. He is now the same little size as the green headed grasshopper whose large brown eyes are gigantic. They stare at each other.