"Do you think we should make an example of him as we did to the other teenager that was once a menace like him?"
The stern lizard lifted his hands.
"I think we should unleash the animal system on him. We will make his own matter more serious and strenuous than the last boy's own. We cannot remember when last a boy had been this evil to insects," Mr lizard, the chief representative of the lizards said.
The boy every animal was talking about was a teenager who was equally a menace as Manny. His name was Jerome.
Jerome was even worse than Manny.
He would purposely go to the river and catch fishes and make them stay out of water for a long time and throw them in when they are on the verge of death.
Jerome would put fire in the bees house and watch it burn in ecstasy, but that is a story for another day.
"Apart from the bees, this boy made an attack on our colony. He scattered our colony and killed a lot of baby ants," the chief of the ants reported.
"That's not all. He grabbed baby ants from the female ants and put them out in the sun. Then he laughed and took them inside to their mother after tormenting them," the chief of the ants said.
"Also, we have gotten a report from the head of domesticated animals that he is equally rude and evil to his beloved domesticated pets," the chief of domesticated animals reported.
There was a huge gasp in the crowd.
"What of his mother, father? What do they have to say about this evil? Why have they not cautioned him?" A stern female ant asked with a shrill voice.
She had to be given a portable microphone, so the crowd could hear what she was saying.
"The child is not just wicked but evil! Look at his history!" A random voice from the crowd yelled.
So many insects and animals had a lot to report about this boy. He was equally a terror, and he had to be taught a lesson.
"Mrs Elephant, what do you suggest? Do you think we should go ahead with probing his boy?" Sid the snake asked.
"With the reports we have gotten from some insects and animals, I say we should go ahead," the elephant replied.
She wore a pink hat on her head with pink heels and carried a light red handbag.
A delicate butterfly flapped her wings and demanded attention to speak. Her wings were shimmering with shiny hues, and she stood and fluttered to the center of the hall for some attention.
Her name was Luna, and she was the only one that dared to speak up for Manny.
"Please," she pleaded with her voice trembling slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Snake for giving me this opportunity to speak. I have to defend the boy. I pray the audience hears my plea. Manny was once kind to me, he protected me from a hungry bird."
"Why won't he?! Are you not iridescent and shiny?" Mr lizard yelled from the background and the crowd burst into serious laughter.
"Mr Lizard, if you are jealous that I look more beautiful than your wife, then just say so. I don't know why an old man would be envious of a young girl like me," Luna the butterfly fired back at him.
"Am I the one that asked your wife not to have a skin care routine of flowers and nectar? That is what happens when a lady chooses to mingle in horse shit rather than have a good skincare routine. Send her to me, let me teach her how to glow," Luna the butterfly continued.
The crowd burst into serious laughter, but Mr Lizard would not let down without a fight.
"Says the butterfly that has refused to get married but flaps her wings from colony to colony looking for more men to admire her," he shot back at her.
"How am I sure that you're not one of my secret admirers?" The butterfly asked and flapped her wings around in pride.
"Nice one, girl! Deal with that old man!" An attractive silkworm encouraged from the audience.
"Silence everyone!" Mr Sid the snake announced again.
The butterfly continued to speak, "I believe in him and he should be given another chance."
A collective murmur rippled through the crowd. Manny's reputation was far from spotless. He was known for his wickedness and evil, his disregard for the environment and his vicious treatment of bees, worms, ants and other insects.
His victims kept recounting their tales of terror and attacks.
"He's a menace," growled a huge grizzly bear. "He has destroyed plenty of hives, trampled plenty of ant colonies and has even fished for worms with a hook. It is time for justice."
The discussion was heated. While some argued for immediate punishment, others proposed mercy. Luna, however, remained steadfast in her belief that Manny could change.
She recounted the day he had saved her from a predator.
A wild owl, perched on top of a branch by the side of the hall contributed, "his actions have caused irreparable harm. We cannot allow him to go unchecked."
"Perhaps there is a spark of goodness within him. We should not be so quick to judge."
The meeting continued for hours until Mrs Jane the bee interrupted.
"The queen is gravely ill. And as her second in command, I should be back at the hive to restore calm to the chaos.
"Mrs Jane, please step forward. From our statistics. The boy has to be put in his place," the lizard said.
"But as a father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather to many beautiful lizards. I would suggest we give the boy one last chance. Just the last chance to prove himself."
"If after the last chance, which will be a week, he does not repent of his evil ways, we will have no choice than to unleash the animal system on him."
Mrs Jane was then given a chip. It looked like a Merritt card and she was handed an instruction manual.
"The boy, you know his room, right?" Mr. Lizard asked.
"Yes," Mrs Jane the bee replied.
"Thank you, Mr lizard, I will take it from here," Sid the snake continued.
"If after a week he does not turn a new leaf, this is the animal system, you are to plant it on his scalp. The boy is quite behind on hygiene and some lice have already marked their territory on his scalp, so
it will be easier to put in his blood."
"All in favor of this action say yay!" Sid the snake asked.
"Yay!!!" The crowd chorused thunderously.