Sam and the Firefly facts for kids
Sam and the Firefly is a fun children's book written and illustrated by P. D. Eastman. It was first published in 1958.
What the Story is About
The story begins with Sam, a friendly owl, waking up one night. He wants to play, but all the other animals are asleep. Soon, Sam sees some bright, flying lights. One of these lights, a firefly named Gus, bumps right into Sam!
Gus shows Sam a cool trick. He can make glowing lines in the air using his light. Sam is amazed and thinks this is a great idea for fun. Sam starts to fly in different shapes, and Gus follows, drawing words in the sky. Gus enjoys this game, but he soon gets a bit mischievous.
Gus's Tricks
First, Gus flies over a busy intersection. He draws words like "Go left" and "Go right" in the sky. This confuses the drivers, and some cars crash! Sam tries to tell Gus that this is dangerous and not a good way to play. But Gus thinks Sam doesn't know how to have fun, so he flies away.
Gus continues to cause trouble. He makes airplanes fly in the wrong directions by drawing "Go up" and "Go down." He also tricks people into going into a movie theater by writing "Come in! Free Show."
Then, Gus finds a hot dog stand. He changes the sign from "Hot Dogs" to "Cold Hot Dogs." The customers get upset because they want hot hot dogs! They tell Gus to leave them alone. The hot dog man is very angry. He grabs a net and a jar. He catches Gus in the net and puts him in the jar. Then, he puts the jar in his pickup truck. Sam sees all of this and decides he must save his friend.
A Close Call
Gus feels bad about not listening to Sam's warnings. Meanwhile, the hot dog man's pickup truck gets stuck on a railroad crossing. A train is coming fast! Sam quickly breaks the jar, letting Gus out.
Now free, Gus quickly draws the word "STOP" many times in huge, bright letters. The train engineer sees Gus's message and the truck on the tracks. The engineer quickly uses the brakes. The train stops just in time, right before hitting the truck!
Everyone cheers for Gus, including the hot dog man, the engineer, and the brakeman. Gus and Sam then fly off into the night. When the sun comes up, Sam and Gus go home to sleep, as they are both nocturnal animals. But Gus still visits Sam's tree house every night to play.
