Tony and the Beetles

Tony and the Beetles is a science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick first published in Orbit Science Fiction, No.2 in 1953.

The story is told from the point of view of a young boy, Tony, living on an alien world that humans have conquered. The native species are beetle like creatures called the "Pas-udenti", some of whom Tony has befriended. He loses his innocence when they turn against him after news reaches the planet that the war has turned against the humans. The work is regarded as one of Dick's more pedestrian outings.