Maya the Bee and the Dragonfly (3/17)

With high spirits and a lot of enthusiasm for a new adventure, Maya flew over the green meadows. On the way, she had already encountered many other insects who often greeted her cheerfully. She loved enjoying her freedom, but sometimes she also felt a little guilty, knowing that her bee colony accomplished their busy work every day.

maya de bij en de libelle

At the edge of a pond, Maya landed to rest under the leaf of a water lily. She was just smoothing her wings when a blue fly landed on the leaf next to her.

“What are you doing on my leaf?” asked the blue fly grumpily. Maya was taken aback and shouted in a louder tone than she had intended, “Is it so bad if I rest here for a while?”

Miss Cassandra had told her that bees were seen as important in the insect world and were treated accordingly. Now she could see if that was indeed true. The blue fly did indeed seem uncomfortable. She could see that clearly. He hopped from his leaf to one above Maya and said, “You should be working. As a bee, you should certainly be doing that. But if you want to rest, that’s fine. I’ll wait here for a while.”

“There are plenty of leaves, aren’t there?” Maya remarked.

“They’re all rented out,” said the blue fly. “These days, you’re happy to be able to call a piece of ground your own. If my predecessor hadn’t been eaten by a frog two days ago, I still wouldn’t have a decent place to live. It’s really not pleasant to have to look for a new place to stay every night. Not everyone has such an organized life as you bees. But let me introduce myself, my name is Jack Christopher.”

Maya fell silent and thought about how terrible it must be to fall into the claws of a frog.

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“Are there many frogs in the lake?” she asked, moving towards the middle of the leaf to avoid being seen from the water.

The blue fly laughed. “The frog can see you from underneath when the sun shines, because then the leaf is transparent. He can see you perfectly sitting on my leaf.”

Suddenly Maya didn’t feel very comfortable on the leaf. She was about to fly away when Jack Christopher was picked up by a large, sparkling dragonfly. Without thinking, she shouted, “Let the blue fly go immediately! You have no right to want to eat someone at random!” The dragonfly turned to Maya. She was startled by her large size and shook like a reed. “Why not? What’s going on, child?” asked the dragonfly in a surprisingly friendly tone.

“Please let him go,” Maya cried, tears welling up in her eyes. “His name is Jack Christopher.” The dragonfly smiled. “Why, little one?” Maya stammered helplessly. “Oh, he’s such a nice, charming gentleman, and he’s never done you any harm, as far as I know.” The dragonfly looked thoughtfully at Jack Christopher. “Yes, he’s a sweet little guy,” answered the dragonfly and SNAP! Jack Christopher went down her throat. For a moment, Maya didn’t know what to say. She listened in horror as the dragonfly nibbled and gnawed. She looked at the dragonfly, stunned.

“Don’t be so sensitive,” said the dragonfly. “Your sensitivity doesn’t impress me. You bees aren’t any better. What are you doing here? Apparently, you’re still very young and don’t know much about life. Everyone here in nature has their own place and their own task. You probably have a lot to learn. So stop lecturing me.”

“Don’t you dare take a step closer,” Maya shouted, “because if you do, I’ll use my stinger on you.” The Dragonfly gave her a stern look and spoke slowly and menacingly, “Dragonflies and bees get along well and don’t threaten each other.”

maya de bij tekenfilm

“Well, that seems very wise,” said Maya.

The Dragonfly prepared to fly away, spreading her crystal wings to fly over the lake. The sunlight on the water created a glimmer on her wings and it was such a beautiful sight that Maya momentarily forgot her friend Jack Christopher and her fear.

“How beautiful!” she exclaimed.

“Do you mean me?” the Dragonfly asked, surprised, but quickly added, “Yes, I know I look fantastic. Recently, I was spotted by people on the riverbank, and they talked about my beautiful appearance.”

“People?” Maya exclaimed, because she was very curious about humans. “Have you seen people?”

“Of course,” said the Dragonfly. “But you’re probably more interested in my name. I’m called Lovedear.”

“Oh, tell me more about people instead,” Maya interrupted the dragonfly. “Do humans have stingers too?”

“Oh no, definitely not,” replied the Dragonfly, settling on the leaf beside Maya. “No, humans have worse weapons against us. They’re very dangerous. There’s not a soul who isn’t afraid of them.”

“Do they try to catch you?” asked Maya excitedly.

“Yes, don’t you understand why?” Miss Lovedear glanced at her wings. “I’ve rarely met a human who hasn’t tried to catch me.”

“But why?” asked Maya, trembling.

“Well, you see,” said Miss Lovedear with a modest grin and a sidelong glance, “there’s something attractive about us dragonflies. That’s the only reason I know.”

“To eat you?” asked Maya.

“No, I don’t think so,” said the Dragonfly. “As far as I know, humans don’t eat dragonflies. It’s more of a sport. Humans are bloodthirsty. They do it for fun. But I can see from your face that you don’t believe me?”

“Of course I doubt it,” Maya exclaimed indignantly. Miss Lovedear shrugged her glittering shoulders. “I’ll tell you a terrible story. My brother had a promising future ahead of him, but one day he was caught by a child. He was put in a jar with the lid on. My poor brother soon ran out of air and died. That’s such a terrible way to die, don’t you think?” A tear rolled down the Dragonfly’s cheek. “I think about him every day.”

“Terrible,” whispered Maya, feeling miserable from the sad story.

“Have you ever had sadness in your life?” asked the Dragonfly.

“No,” said Maya. “Actually, I’ve always been happy until now.”

“Then you should be grateful to heaven,” said Miss Lovedear. “But now I must go. If you want, I’ll tell you more another time. Goodbye, Maya!” And then she flew away.

Maya heard her singing a song. Then Maya thought it was time to fly away herself and lifted her own wings to continue on her own path.


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