From the crest of the hill, it looked as if the giant checkerboard stretched for miles. Squares of various shades of green, brown, and gold alternated across the gently rolling hills and valleys. It was an endless sea of color with nothing to obstruct the view. A constant breeze led in the dance twirling and dipping the grain. Green and amber waves of grain rolled sequentially with a random ripple here and there as another gust of wind cut in to join the waltz.
The colors faded into monotonous tones of golden brown. In the distance a giant grasshopper appeared. Soon it was joined by others sporadically scattered across barren land sparsely clothed in dry grass polka dotted with prairie dog holes. Some of the grasshoppers stood motionless while the heads of others rose and fell. It looked as if they would take flight at any moment.
To a little girl experiencing this scene for the first time, it was like peering through the back window into a prehistoric world when giant insects and dinosaurs ruled. In fact, not far from the giant grasshoppers was a lone dinosaur running alongside the road.
There was treasure hidden beneath the uncultivated dry, hard ground. The giant metal grasshoppers knew – Black Gold – oil, that is.