A story...

I had this great little story idea at 4:00 this morning. Here's how it turned out:
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Bumbleybee

Once upon a time there was a bumblebee. Her name was Bumbley and she was one of the busiest bees in the hive. She spent her days doing lots of what bees do best - flying around, visiting lots of flowers, and making sure they were all pollinated properly. She was a good worker bee - effecient and speedy - and had recently been given even more pollination responsibility.

One day, during a quick lunch break, she overheard two other bees gossiping about a third bee. Apparently, the third bee had been unofficially recognized by the head of the work crew. According to what the two chatty bees said, the third bee had done some truly amazing work with a field of goldenrods and word was possibly even making its way back to the main overseer.

Bumbley was crushed. She had worked so hard on her fields and she had gotten nothing. Not even a glance or an honorable mention. She hadn't even known how important it was to have someone recognize her work. Now, what was the use? She flew slowly towards her field, towards a particularly impressive milk thistle with lovely, silky strands. She knew the thistle wouldn't mind if she lighted for a moment and contemplated her sad situation.

As she stood on one of the thistle's leaves, big fat tears rolling down her face, she felt something light and soft touch her back and wings. She looked around and saw the thistle's fronds stroking her short black and yellow bristles. "Why do you weep dear one?" asked the thistle in its whispery, rustly voice. "Oh dear thistle!" hiccupped Bumbley, "All my work has been in vain! The head of the work crew never even noticed all I've done."

"Oh" said the thistle, "I am sorry you feel so badly." "Thank you" mumbled Bumbley, "I just wish there was some way for all my work to be noticed." "Well" said the thistle, "I know I am not an important personage like the head of the work crew, but I believe in your work with all my strands!" Bumbley looked up a little, still feeling dejected and lonely "Why? I'm just another worker bee, there's nothing special about me. If there was, surely the head of the work crew would have noticed."

"Well" said the thistle, "I don't know about heads or work crews or anything else like that but I know that I'm always happy to see you." "You are?" asked Bumbley, starting to feel better. "Yes" said the thistle. "You always bring pollen from the nicest flowers and you hum when you visit. I like sharing pollen with you because I know it's going to make it to other wonderful thistles. I don't know what other bees do, although I'm sure they're good at it, I only know what you do. You're the bee I know and you're the bee I love. You bring much joy and happiness into my life and I love you for that."

Bumbley was so startled that she feel off the leaf. She hovered for a moment and then lowered herself back down, looking up at the thistle fronds waving gently in the wind. "You love me?" she asked incredulously. It had never occurred to her that someone other than the head of the work crew or the other bees might have something to say about her work. Now, she was hearing these wonderful things from someone who actually saw her and knew what she did. She felt a bubbly and happy feeling rising up - this lovely flower, whom she had never before considered important, had given her a whole new perspective.

Did it matter what the head of the work crew thought or did it matter what the flowers in her field thought? Why did the head of the work crew's opinion mean anything when it was the flowers who truly mattered? The flowers were enriched by her visits, they loved seeing her and were the purpose of her work. In fact, visiting flowers was the whole reason she was here! She realized that she had lost touch with how much she loved simply visiting each flower and, as a result, she had forgotten the joy those visits used to bring.

Bumbley thanked the thistle profusely and was rewarded by seeing the silky strands turn a faint shade of blushing pink. "Oh Bumbleybee" said the thistle, "I'm just glad that you aren't so sad anymore." Bumbley checked before she left and took a load of the thistle's pollen with her as she flew off. She knew just the thistle to pollinate with this wonderful pollen and she was looking forward to another lovely visit.

Now, Bumbley is the most bubbly, effervescent bee you could ever imagine. She makes special efforts to visit flowers that others might not visit and to carry their pollen places it would otherwise never reach. She's realized that visiting different flowers, bringing joy and happiness to their lives and taking the joy and happiness inside them to other flowers is the most wonderful task she could ever imagine doing. She is so happy in her work now that the flowers seem to come to her, she never has to fly very far before someone calls out to her. She sees the beauty in every flower and is always eager to help carry that beauty to others - realizing that pollinating joy is the most important thing anyone could ever do.