“Then you’ll have to draw lots,”
the Queen told them severely.
When the honey-makers heard that, one of them tried
to slip away. But the Queen saw her and called
her back.
Then they drew lots. And strange to say, the
worker who had tried to escape proved to be the unlucky
one who was doomed to go to the clover field with
Freddie Firefly and gather clover nectar until midnight.
Unluckily for Freddie, she was the worst-tempered
person in the whole Bumblebee household. And
when she saw that she alone of the whole family was
going to lose half her night’s sleep you may
be sure she felt very surly.
Freddie noticed a wicked gleam in her eyes. And
he began to wish he had gone to the dance over near
the swamp.
PEPPERY POLLY
Freddie Firefly felt quite uncomfortable as he started
off toward the clover field, together with the angry
honey-maker. It had not made him feel any more
at ease when the Queen of the Bumblebees told him the
worker’s name. It was Peppery Polly.
“Don’t go too fast!” Peppery Polly
told Freddie Firefly. “And I’ll tell
you now that I’ll make it warm for you if you
try to play any tricks on me to-night.”
As a matter of fact, Freddie hadn’t thought
of such a thing as playing a single trick on her.
But Peppery Polly’s warning at once put that
very idea into his head. So he began to try to
think of a good joke that would bother her. And
before they had crossed the meadow Freddie Firefly
turned to Peppery Polly Bumblebee and said:
“That light off there must be in the farmhouse.”
Now, never having been out at night before, his companion
wanted to see all the strange sights. So she
stopped at once and looked around.
“How bright the light is!” she said.
“Are you sure the farmhouse isn’t on fire?”
Not receiving any answer, she turned her head.
And to her dismay, she couldn’t see Freddie
Firefly anywhere.
“Oh! Oh! Where are you?” she
cried. She was terribly frightened to be left
alone in the dark. “Come back—please
come back!” she begged.
“Why, here I am!” said Freddie Firefly.
And wheeling about quickly, Peppery Polly found him
clinging to a blade of grass right behind her.
Freddie had been hiding under a plantain leaf, so
that she couldn’t see his light. But Peppery
Polly didn’t know what had happened.
“Did your light go out?” she inquired
anxiously.
“If it did, I never noticed it,” he replied.
“Well, don’t you dare to leave me alone,
no matter what happens!” Peppery Polly Bumblebee
cried. “If you did, I’d never be able
to find my way home in the dark.”
“Don’t worry!” Freddie said.
“You’re perfectly safe with me. ...
What I’m wondering is whether I’m perfectly
safe with you.”
“You are—so long as you behave yourself,”
she declared. “But remember! I’ll
make it hot for you if you try any tricks on me!
Don’t forget that I carry a sting! And
what’s more, I know how to use it.”
