BRINA BEE FAERIE

Ani-mentals & Enviro-mentals: aiding the planet by their good attitudes.
BRINA BEE-FAERIE(Ani-mental)
Outside the little village of Spanglewood, hanging from the branches of a forty foot maple tree, was the home of Brina Bee.
The smallest creature imaginable at birth, Brina was one of many inhabitants of a very large hive. But due to a mist of fine, blue curls covering her head, and because of her diminutive size (a size she maintained even while others her age filled out and grew tall) Brina was deemed useless and unworthy to be a member in good standing of the bee clan.
Taunted by neighbors and relatives alike – some who went so far as to point their stingers at her in a menacing manner - Brina spent most of every day perched on a high limb, away from those who shunned her. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the swarm; after all they were her own kind. But her desire to distance herself came from the aching of a pain-filled heart.
Both of her parents tried very hard to console her, explaining that it was her differences that the rest of the hive couldn’t understand. But it was also her differences that made her special.
“Look at your father and I,” her mother said, “and your cousins and the neighbors. We’re all the same size and weight. Our coloring is an exact match to one another. Why I can barely tell your father from your uncle Aengus and Aengus is at least as old as dirt,” she joked. “But you, sweet Brina are petite, with shining soft locks. And one day you and everyone else will appreciate your inner beauty and goodness.”
“But it might be better,” her father added in an attempt to be helpful, “if you learn to sing as the rest of us do and forget all those high notes you stick in. Like this,” he said, a low buzz suddenly emanating from his chest.
“Yes, Father. Thank you,” Brina said politely as she hurried from the hive before her parents could see the tears forming.
Settling onto one of the lower branches of the forty foot tree, Brina watched as a shiny black carriage passed along the dirt road leading from the village. She watched as a shaggy, white dog trotted up and began sniffing the base of the tree, only to be chased away by her cousin Cadan, who returning from work tried to sting the pup on the nose.
Brina was appalled by cousin Cadan’s unkind act. But then remembering that he was one of those who would point his stinger at her when she attempted to fly with the group, she wasn’t surprised that he’d try to torture an innocent dog. And when she heard loud bickering coming from the hive, as one neighbor tried to outdo another by proclaiming he was responsible for providing more honey than anyone on his block (a wild exaggeration to say the least), Brina could tolerate her clan’s bad behavior no longer. Buzzing the tree as she got up to speed to take flight, she noticed several acres of wild flowers on the horizon. Brina made a beeline for the acreage and once there landed on the bright yellow blossom of a tomato plant.
As Wind rocked the blossom, the gentle movement calmed Brina and she began to sing one of her made-up songs about blue skies, white clouds and kindness for all. Lost in a musical world of her own making she was suddenly jolted back to earth when the tomato blossom said, “Hey, girl, that’s some snappy tune. But if you want to spread kindness like your song says, why don’t you help a feller out?”
Somewhat shaken, Brina answered quietly, “Okay, what can I do?”
“That’s the attitude, Toots; I like it when someone can make snap decisions,” Tomato Blossom said. “Well for starters, see that gangly mountain of green?”
Tomato Blossom tipped his petals toward an area strewn with rocks and overgrown with brambles.
“The tall red flower?” Brina asked.
“No, Dolly!”
Tomato Blossom tipped even further forcing Brina to dig her toes in or fall off.
“The big guy, the other tomato plant!” Tomato Blossom shouted.
“Oh, sure, I see him,” Brina said, finally locating the huge, green plant.
“Well, my friend has only a few blossoms, those brambles probably kept out too much water. Why he’d choose that crummy place to sprout is beyond me,” he muttered. “But I digress. I doubt the poor guy’s got much going for him under the circumstances and so far Wind has been in one heck of a rush to go south and hasn’t even touched my friend’s leaves. Now I’ve got me plenty of pollen which I will gladly share but it’s gonna take a third party to work the deal, know what I’m talkin’ about, here, Honeybunny?”
“I’ll help if I can,” Brina stated.
“Okay, here’s what you do, Chickie, you know how to dance, right?”
“Not really,” Brina confessed shyly.
“Well just start singin’ that song of yours and let your feet do the rest. But make sure your dance has plenty of snap to it and that you stamp your feet hard enough so that pollen comes loose and sticks to those…” Tomato Blossom looked her up and down, then said, “…dinky,…but cute, little legs of yours. Think you can do that?”
Brina blushed at the rare (but unusual) compliment.
Although never allowed to participate in hive activities, Brina had seen the dances performed by her relatives and neighbors when they mapped out the directions to blossoming gardens and flowering trees.
“I can do it easily,” Brina said proudly.
Singing and dancing her way around Tomato Blossom’s many blossoms, Brina gathered pollen until her legs felt like cement posts.
“Now,” Tomato Blossom said “fly over to my friend, land on one of the blossoms and boogie with all your might.”
The little bee did as she was told amid the giggles of the big tomato plant who screamed, “Stop it, kid, you’re tickling me!”
“Party hearty,” Tomato Blossom yelled at the top of his lungs.
Brina spent the rest of the day (under the direction of Tomato Blossom) spreading pollen from flower to flower and berry bush to berry bush. By late afternoon she was exhausted.
When she saw that Sun had traveled to Mountain and was about to slide down her bumpy back, Brina said breathlessly, “I have to go! My parents will be worried!”
“Sure, Sweetie Pie, but make sure you take some pollen to share with your hive,” Tomato Blossom said.
Brina traveled in tight circles around several blossoms until her legs were bright yellow with pollen.
“Think you can come back tomorrow?” a velvety, pink cosmo asked. “There’s lots of work to be done here, and you’re the only one that seems interested in doing it.”
“I’ll be back,” Brina promised with a smile.
As she flew back toward the forty foot tree, Tomato Blossom yelled after her, “Anybody ever tell you you’re cute as the dickens?”
Brina tipped her wings in appreciation of yet her second compliment of the day.
When Brina entered the hive she found her mother pacing the shiny wax corridor of their home.
“Brina, I’m so glad you’re okay! Your father and I were just about to come looking for you. We’ve spent the day in turmoil: something very bad has happened and it affects us all!”
“What is it? What’s wrong Mother?”
“It’s the human with the field of alfalfa. He has mowed down the whole lot early. Our supply is gone before we’ve had time to locate another. Without immediate nectar and pollen our hive is at serious risk.”
“But Mother, “ Brina said, “only a short distance from here there are acres of flowers, berries and blossoming plants and they could use us as much as we need them.”
“My dear Brina,” her mother sighed with relief, “you may have saved us all.”
And it was true, the tiny bee with the blue curls did save the hive; she guided them to the wild garden the next morning as Sun climbed up Mountain. This time the hive welcomed her help as well as her made-up songs, and within a week Brina’s queen had christened her the world’s first Bee Faerie.