“Oh, Charlie, what have you managed to get yourself into this time?” I thought to myself, rolling my thousands of eyes. I had a horrible sense of direction, and I really wished the Queen would reassign me. Perhaps my black and yellow butt could be of more use if I didn’t leave the hive every day.
Only an hour previous, the Queen had sent me out to mine pollen, and here I was lost, as usual. Somehow I had managed to find the rosebush and gathered two handfuls of gold, which I was gripping tightly as I buzzed around this unfamiliar environment. I must have taken a wrong turn at the bird feeder.
Nothing looked familiar. I looked around, accessing my situation and that’s when I noticed the giant.
There was a two-legged animal of some sort that seemed very frightened of me as I buzzed by. I guessed it was a female since she was holding a smaller version of herself in her forearms as she squealed and ran away from me. There was a smaller four-legged furry animal watching me curiously from the ground, licking its chops with a huge pink tongue.
There, I could see the rosebush. I turned in its direction and, BAM! There appeared to be some sort of invisible force field between the rosebush and myself. I tried again, slower this time, with the same result. Reluctantly, I dropped one handful of gold and reached my other hand out to feel this strange clear barrier. I ran my hand up and down it, all the way to the bottom, curious to see how big it was.
“Hisss….”
Oh no! The sound had come from the foreboding hole at the bottom corner of this clear barrier. I had gotten too close. I started to back away but it was too late.
A furious tornado of legs and fur launched out of the hole toward me. Without thinking, I dropped the other handful of gold and immediately began to defend myself.
The spider came at me again, but this time I was ready for her. With a good left jab I knocked her back into her hole just long enough that I could buzz away, reluctantly leaving my gold behind.
I felt a gust of wind at my back. What now?
I turned and the two-legged giant I had seen before had returned and was waving a long rectangular object in my direction which was producing a gust of wind. Another gust knocked me away, spinning through the air. The giant was saying words that I didn’t recognize. I regained my composure and tried to focus my eyes. There it was, I could see the rosebush again! If I could just make it to the rosebush I could find my way back to the hive.
I closed my eyes and aimed myself in the general direction of the rosebush. Another gust of wind came at my back and as I opened my eyes, I was headed straight for a beautiful red petal. I made it!
From here, it would be a quick flight back to the hive. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much gold left to gather, and the Queen would be angry for sure. Perhaps I would talk to her again about switching positions.
