This is a story, told by the beetle Lispy as an adult, years later, about a colony of beetles which gets trapped under a big leaf and is forced to seek shelter underground. The elders of the colony gather to plan 'the grand escape' to get back to the world of light. Eventually, after a hard climb, everyone makes it up into the world of light. The beetles sing out of joy and gratitude. However this is short lived, as a storm moves in on them. The beetle colony is swept away in the turbulent wind of the storm. Lispy, his friend and the teacher fall back to the ground where they seek shelter under another leaf. And so the story starts all over again!