BUMBLEBEE!

by Whitey and Jiggles

“Springtime! Springtime!” meowed Whitey the cat as he lay sprawled in his basket, Jiggles, the Beagle, lying beside him. It was a beautiful day. The tulips and daffodils were in full bloom and a family of robins were splashing in the birdbath. Whitey stood up and stretched. “Think I'll go and check that new patch of catnip. Come on Jiggles, it's too nice to be inside.”

“Catnip! That's all you think of these days. You need to go to Catnips Anonymous Whitey. You are addicted to that stuff.”

“Am not! You are just a lazy Beagle who wants to sleep her life away. I'm going out. You can come or not” and with a fluff of his tail Whitey pushed his head through the cat door and headed for a very large and opulent growth of catnip. It smelled so good and his whiskers quivered with anticipation of the delights to come. Eyes half closed he threw himself on the savory leaves.

“Ouch! That hurt! Something bit me! There's something nasty in my catnip,” Whitey growled and sure enough, right at the base of his furry tail was a black needle, firmly embedded in his bottom. In short order Whitey had it between his teeth and with another loud ouch pulled it out, when a fuzzy kind of voice said, “Serves you right. You nearly squashed me. All I want is a little peace while my energy levels get back to normal.” A startled Whitey looked down and sure enough, the voice was coming from a strange small animal. It was lying on its furry yellow and black striped back, wings fluttering madly but the rest of its body perfectly still.

“What are you? Why are you trying to kill me?” Whitey meowed.

“I think it is the other way around. I am a Bumblebee and many times smaller than you. I had to protect myself. If you hadn't so carelessly flung your very large body on top of me it would not have been necessary to use my stinger. Why don't you look before you sit!”

“”Hmm, must admit I was perhaps over-anxious. So you are a bumblebee – very interesting, but you don't intend to sting me again, do you?”

“No. I accept your apology. We bumblebees are not fierce. I was only protecting myself. You see, sometimes when I'm carrying a big load of nectar my energy gets low and I have to work to get it back again.”

“How do you do that?” asked Whitey. “When mine gets low I head for my food bowl or go to sleep for a while.”

“Well, it's like this,” said the bumblebee.“You see, I am not like most insects. I am warm-blooded like you and I use the food I get from flowers, it's called nectar, to keep my body warm and give me energy. When I get tired and hungry I lie down on my back and I make my wings shake and shiver and that warms me up. It's a little more complicated but that's the main idea. See how I shake my wings? Look at them. I think they are quite nice if I do say it myself. I have two pairs and I have little hooks that hold them together.

“So I see,” said Whitey. “You seem to have plenty of legs, too”

“I have three pairs!” said bumblebee proudly ,“and two eyes and a tongue like you. But I don't have any ears.”

“Then how do you hear me,” asked the cat.

“I don't know. I just can. There, my body is nice and warm now so I can move off your catnip,” and bumblebee flew onto a pretty purple flower.

Whitey put out a paw and gently touched bumblebee. “You are furry just like me,” said the cat. “What do you do all day? I like to play with my chipmunk friend and sometimes I catch a mouse but mostly I like to lie in the sun and sleep.”

“Oh, my,” said bumblebee. “I have to work. Did you know that every tomato you eat has been pollinated by a bumblebee?”

“Well,” said Whitey. “I don't really eat tomatoes but that sounds very important. Is that why you sit on plants and seem to leave dust on them?”

“That's pollen. A plant has to have pollen to make flowers and tomatoes and other things. If it wasn't for the pollen dust you wouldn't have any tomatoes or any flowers or fruits and vegetables.”

Whitey looked very impressed. “I think you have a very important job,” he said and bumblebee nodded and agreed. “But now I must be going. There's lots of work to be done before I hibernate in the Fall. I am a male bumble-bee, a boy like you. If I was a lady bumblebee, we call them Queens, then I would die when summer is over but I don't do that. Maybe if you look in an old mouse hole next November you will see me sound asleep and I won't wake up until Spring. So goodbye,Whitey. Enjoy your catnip!” and with one final buzzz, bumblebee went on his way.

Whitey took a few bites of catnip and decided to tell Jiggles about his bumblebee friend. The two sat together and thought about bumblebees and other things. “I guess size doesn't matter,” mused Jiggles. “It's what you do that is important. And now there is a big dog coming down the road and I must do what is important for me and look after my property. “Woof!” and she was gone.

Whitey sat in a patch of sunshine and began to wash his face. As he scrubbed a particularly dirty spot behind his left ear he thought,” I like that bumblebee. He works so hard and if it wasn't for him and his family I guess my catnip wouldn't grow and humans wouldn't have tomatoes. Tomatoes? I guess without the bees we would be very hungry for lots of things. I must remind Jiggles to be good to my bumblebee and all his family. First I am going to refresh myself with a little catnip. But this time I'll look before I leap.”

THE END

Back | Next