zz that yet sounded slightly
anxious, little Maya raised her gleaming wings and flew out into
the sunshine across to the flowery meadows to cull a little
nourishment.

Puck looked after her, and carefully meditated what might still
be said. Then he observed thoughtfully:

"Well, now. Well, well.-- Why not?"

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VII

IN THE TOILS

After her meeting with Puck the fly Maya was not in a
particularly happy frame of mind. She could not bring herself to
believe that he was right in everything he had said about human
beings, or right in his relations to them. She had formed an
entirely different conception--a much finer, lovelier picture,
and she fought against letting her mind harbor low or ridiculous
ideas of mankind. Yet she was still afraid to enter a human
dwelling. How was she to know whether or not the owner would
like it? And she wouldn't for all the world make herself a
burden to anyone.

Her thoughts went back once more to the things Cassandra had
told her.

"They are good and wise," Cassandra had said. "They are strong
and powerful, but they never abuse their power. On the contrary,
wherever they go they bring order and prosperity. We bees,
knowing they are friendly to us, put ourselves under their
protection and share our honey with them. They leave us enough
for the winter, they provide us with shelter against the cold,
and guard us against the hosts of our enemies among the animals.
There are few creatures in the world who have entered into such
a relation of friendship and voluntary service with human
beings. Among the insects you will often hear voices raised to
speak evil of man. Don't listen to them. If a foolish tribe of
bees ever returns to the wild and tries to do without human
beings, it soon perishes. There are too many beasts that hanker
for our honey, and often a whole bee-city--all its buildings,
all its inhabitants--has been ruthlessly destroyed, merely
because a senseless animal wanted to satisfy its greed for
honey."

That is what Cassandra had told Maya about human beings, and
until Maya had convinced herself of the contrary, she wanted to
keep this belief in them.

It was now afternoon. The sun was dropping behind the fruit
trees in a large vegetable garden through which Maya was flying.
The trees were long past flowering, but the little bee still
remembered them in the shining glory of countless blossoms,
whiter than light,