The Tale of Buster Bumblebee | Page 7

Green--if he had
noticed him--would have thought the Robber Fly some sort of
bumblebee.
Since this monster was known to appear now and then in the
neighborhood, one can easily understand why Buster Bumblebee was a
bit timid when he first began to venture abroad alone. But as time
passed, his dread of meeting the Robber Fly gradually faded. Not only
had nobody seen the Robber for a long while, but some began to say
that they thought he must have met with an accident, or perhaps he had
moved to other parts, and they didn't believe he would ever be heard of
again. And Buster himself began to boast that he wasn't afraid of the
Robber Fly and said that he was sorry that the Robber had gone away
before he had had a chance to see him.
Buster's mother, the Queen, happened to hear her son make that remark
one day. And she promptly told him that he was a stupid, silly boaster.
"If you knew what happened to your poor father last fall you would
never want even to hear the Robber Fly's name mentioned again," the
Queen declared, as a shiver--or a shudder--or both--passed up and
down her royal back.

But Buster Bumblebee, being very young and somewhat stupid as well,
said "Oh, nonsense!" under his breath, so low that his mother, the
Queen, could not hear him.

IX
THE ROBBER FLY AT LAST
Though Buster's mother, the Queen, did not hear him when he said "Oh,
nonsense!" under his breath, there were others standing near him that
caught the words. And they were quite indignant that anybody should
scoff at the Queen like that.
They were workers--those that overheard Buster Bumblebee's remark
when his mother as much as told him that he had better beware of the
wicked Robber Fly. They were workers; and they did not approve of
the lazy Buster.
"Let's teach that young loafer a lesson!" they said to one another (there
were three of them). And straightway they began to scheme and plan
how they should give Buster Bumblebee a thorough fright, in the hope
of making him more respectful to his mother, the Queen.
At least, that is what the workers said. But, as a matter of fact, each of
them had reasons of her own for wanting to scare Buster. Indeed, there
wasn't a worker in the house that was not disgusted with his laziness.
And if he hadn't been the son of the Queen they would certainly have
driven him out into the wide world long before.
Of course, Buster had no idea of what was afoot. He continued to tell
everybody how sorry he was that he had never met the Robber Fly,
until a few began to believe that he must be very brave indeed. But they
were those that didn't know him well. As for the workers, there wasn't
one in the Bumblebee household that was deceived by Buster's bold
talk. They all knew him for the coward he was.
Well, the very next day after Buster's impertinence to his mother a

worker called Peevish Peggy stopped and spoke to him as he sat on a
clover-head.
"If I were you I wouldn't come near the clover patch," she said. "You
know the Robber Fly often prowls about on the ground. And it would
be easy for him to catch you on a clover-top, you're so fat and clumsy....
Why don't you dine on the hollyhocks in the flower garden? They are
high, and much safer."
Buster Bumblebee seemed greatly amused.
"Ho, ho!" he laughed--as well as "Ha, ha!" And then he said: "It seems
to me that you are the one that ought to buzz around the hollyhocks,
since you are so nervous about the Robber Fly."
The worker, Peevish Peggy, at once flew into a temper.
"You'd better look out!" she warned Buster. "Once the Robber Fly
pounces on you you'll be so frightened you can't even squirm."
"Oh, nonsense!" said Buster.
The quick-tempered worker, Peevish Peggy, looked slyly over her
shoulder and nodded slightly.
Buster did not see the form that crept nearer and nearer to him, a little
later. And he was still chuckling to himself when he heard a terrible
humming. Then all at once he felt himself seized and held in a grip like
iron.
He was sure that the Robber Fly had him at last. And he was too
frightened for anything.

X
BUSTER MAKES A SPEECH

At first, when he found himself in the grip of what he was sure must be
the Robber Fly, Buster Bumblebee was so alarmed that he could not
even scream. But in a moment or two he found his voice. And he
shrieked "Help! Help!" in a most frantic tone, hoping that