3. Looking for Mother Nature
The party set out after the Council of Flowers decided to send four ambassadors--Sweet William, Tiger Lily, Impatients, and Lavender--to see Mother Nature. Heather Honeybee declared that she would fly a bit ahead as scout and check back at regular intervals to report. Bessie Mae and Rufus stayed with the four ambassadors.
It was midmorning when they started the journey. Over hill and dale, they went for several hours with the sun beaming down. Sweet William felt a bit wilted from the sun, as did Impatients. They wanted to stop and rest but Butterfly urged them on, pointing out that they should want to quickly reach their destination quickly and solve their problems.
Tiger Lily agreed. "This trip is taking longer than we thought. We should keep going."
Soon, the company found themselves in a shady glade with overgrown, tall grasses on either side of them, and creeping vines covering the ground. The dim light and profuse foliage made it hard to judge the lay of the land, so it was tricky going for the little party. Several times, Lavender stumbled, but her companions kept her steady on her feet and they forged ahead.
Bessie Mae Butterfly was circling overhead and Rufus Hummingbird was flying a bit ahead of the Flowers when a piercing shriek cut through the air. At the sound, Rufus zoomed back and Bessie Mae dive bombed down through the thick foliage to see what was wrong. One, two, three…Bessie Mae counted as she circled over head. Where was the fourth Flower? Where was Sweet William?
Lavender continued to shriek while the others stood around her, their eyes following the direction of Lavender’s finger which was pointing at what looked like a large hole under a tree. “He fell down there! Down there! Help him!”
“Shut up, Miss Thing and get me out of here!”
“How?” She cried. “You’re too far down there!”
Tiger Lily leaned over the hole as far as she dared. “Can’t you climb up?”
“If I could, I would,” Sweet William snapped. “Get me out of here, now!”
“Anybody got any ideas?” Impatients asked, his voice riddled with frustration.
All heads swiveled in her direction. Sweet William gazed up, his eyes mesmerized by her tantalizing voice.
“Please, do,” he responded gratefully. “It seems I’m surrounded by grossly incompetent traveling companions who suffer from a deplorable and utter lack of imagination. Dear lady, being at your mercy, I am yours to command.” Sweet William had turned on the charm. If he could have, he would have bowed and doffed his hat to Ananzi, the Spider.
She smiled at his words. But her smile, Rufus noted, made her look like a bloodsucking vampire. Rufus scowled and flew close to Bessie Mae, his wings going faster and faster. He had recognized her as Ananzi, the trickster. “I don’t like this. This babe is Ananzi, the trickster. Can’t trust her no kinda way. Remember the old spider and fly story?”
“Yes,” Bessie Mae said. “But what choice do we have? We don’t have a way to get him out.”
Ananzi spoke to Sweet William again. “I’ll send down a strand of my silk. You grab it and I’ll pull you up.”
Rufus whispered to Bessie Mae: “Let’s keep a sharp eye out.”
Ananzi spun a long strand of spider silk and shot it in his direction. Sweet William grabbed it and was swiftly lifted up. Ananzi angled the strand so that Sweet William was being pulled closer and closer to the glistening, beautiful web where she sat on her long, hairy spider legs. Just as he was within her reach, Butterfly and Hummingbird swooped over, took him by his tiny arms, and flew him away from her.
“What are you doing?” Sweet William demanded of them as they set him down beside his three friends.
“Yes,” said Ananzi, “I’d like to know that myself.” She looked peeved, as if she’d just missed out on a good meal.
“Thought we’d lend you a hand,” Bessie Mae explained, as she shooed the party of four on their way.
Rufus flew as close as he dared to Ananzi.“’Preciate cha, m’am, for all you done, but business calls, so we gots to slide.”
“Hmmp!” Ananzi grunted, knowing she’d been outsmarted. “Next time don’t look to me for help.”
“It’s been real,” Rufus said and flew on to join the company.
Sun’s heat began to make them wish they’d thought to bring some water for refreshment. They felt tired, but wilted and dry.
The journey had become more of a challenge than anyone had imagined.
Heather, Rufus, and Bessie Mae took a quick conference on the situation. They felt sorry for the brave foursome. Though it was not their fault, they felt guilty that the journey was so hard on the Flowers. Unfortunately, no one had an idea about how to get to their destination quicker. They had no choice but to continue on their way.
It was late afternoon when Tiger Lily looked up at the sky. It had turned the color of charcoal and smoke. Gray bar clouds floated overhead like lost ships on an angry, unpredictable sea. “Look,” she said, “at how the sky has turned dark.”
Bessie Mae, observing the clouds, felt Wind rise. “We’re in for rain, I think.”
"Oh, no!” cried Lavender. “I put on my best frock. Rain will ruin it!”
“At least we’ll get refreshed by it,” Sweet William put in as he moped the sweat from his brow.
“Maybe the clouds will pass,” said Rufus.
As the party trudged on, rain pitter-pattered down. Lightly, at first, then harder. And harder still. Wind pushed the big, fat raindrops this way and that until they gathered into a stream that swirled around their feet, then rose to their ankles and legs. To their horror, the dusty road they had been traveling had quickly become a lake. The Flowers had to make a dash to the side of the road and take shelter under a very tall bush while Rufus, Heather, and Bessie Mae clung to some of its branches. Bush, or no bush, all of them were getting thoroughly soaked.
They hovered together miserably in a steady downpour. Nobody could find a dry spot. Frustration crackled in the air. “Let’s get out of here and go home,” Impatients shouted over the heavy patter of rain.
“Fool, we can’t move til it stops raining,” snapped Sweet William. He pointed to the washed out road where rain water had made a lake. “We can’t get across that. We’re marooned.”
“But I’m all wet!” Lavender whined.
Tiger Lily growled, “You don’t say?”
“Whose idea was this anyway?” Impatients asked. “We should have never left home. This is crazy! As soon as it stops raining, I’m for heading back.”
Sweet William agreed. “This does seem to be a disastrous undertaking. We’re putting ourselves at risk. And we’re not even sure where we’re going! I vote to go back.” The other two nodded their heads as well.
“No! We’ve got to keep going! ” Urged Heather, keenly aware that this was a life or death mission for her and her bee colony. For what would honeybees do without the nectar of flowers?
“Why don’t we wait until the rain stops to make a decision?” suggested Bessie Mae.
“Yeah. Don’t jump the gun, folks just because we’ve run into a few little problems!” Said Rufus.
“Little!!” growled Tiger Lily.
For the next hour, nobody said a word. Finally, the rain stopped. But there was so much water that they would need a boat to move from the spot where they’d been marooned. The three winged companions moved into conference mode.
“We need a change of luck,” Heather declared.
"You think?” asked Rufus in his most sarcastic tone.
Rufus eyed a flock of black and white birds that had flown in and lighted on tree limbs nearby. They were magpies and they were jabbering at each other like nobody’s business. Rufus recognized the voice of one of them.
“Say, man!” said Rufus, beating his tiny wings faster and faster to hover near the four birds. “I ain’t seen you in month of Sundays! How you be?”
Next: Scene 4
photo courtesy of http://www.weforanimals.com/
