Part 5 (1/2)
A troop ofas they rass They see, in rhythm with their march, touched the little bee's heart with melancholy
Few our days on earth shall be, Fast the moments flit; First-class robbers such as we Do not care a bit!
They were extraordinarily well ar died away under the leaves of the coltsfoot But soh, hoarse voice sounded, and the setically thrust aside Maya saw a corpulent blue beetle push its way out It looked like a half-sphere of dark reen and occasional black
It may have been two or even three ti could destroy it, and its deep voice positively frightened you
The song of the soldiers, apparently, had roused him out of sleep He was cross His hair was still ru little blue eyes
”Make way, _I' Make way”
He seemed to think that people should step aside at the mere announcement of his approach
”Thank the Lord I'h, swaying nook of concealment Nevertheless her heart went pit-a-pat, and she withdrew a little deeper into the flower-bell
The beetlea not exactly elegant appearance Directly under Maya's blossom was a withered leaf Here he stopped, shoved the leaf aside, and round
”Well,” she thought, all a-gog with curiosity, ”the things there _are_ in the world I never thought of such a thing Life's not long enough for all there is to see”
She kept very quiet The only sound was the soft pelting of the rain Then she heard the beetle calling down the hole:
”If you want to go hunting with ht up It's already bright daylight” He was feeling so very superior for having waked up first that it was hard for him to be pleasant
A few moments passed before the answer ca voice rise out of the hole
”For goodness' sake, do close the door up there It's raining in”
The beetle obeyed He stood in an expectant attitude, his head cocked a little to one side, and squinted through the crack
”Please hurry,” he gruerness to see what sort of a creature would coe of the blossoave her a start She wiped herself dry
Below her the withered leaf heaved; a brown insect crept out, slowly Maya thought it was the queerest specimen she had ever seen It had a plus, and a fearfully thick head, with little upright feelers
It looked flustered
”Good , Effie dear” The beetle went slim with politeness He was all politeness, and his body seemed really slim ”How did you sleep? How did you sleep, my precious--my all?”
Effie took his hand rather stonily
”It can't be, Bobbie,” she said ”I can't go with you We're creating too much talk”
Poor Bobbie looked quite alarmed
”I don't understand,” he stammered ”I don't understand-- Is our new-found happiness to be wrecked by such nonsense? Effie, think--think the thing over What do _you_ care _what_ people say? You have your hole, you can creep into it whenever you like, and if you go down far enough, you won't hear a syllable”
Effie smiled a sad, superior smile