The gadfly, dormouse, mole, hare, and other creatures prepare for the elegant, glittering Butterfly Ball and Grasshopper Feast. The Butterfly’s Ball, and the Grasshopper’s Feast is a poem by William Roscoe, written in 1802, and telling the story of a party for insects and other small animals. The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast is also the title of a 1973 picture book by Alan Aldridge and William Plomer, loosely based on the poem. This greatly expanded and altered the original work, focusing more on the animals’ preparations for the Ball. Aldridge went on to create two more books based on the sequels; The Peacock Party and The Lion’s Cavalcade.