Part 10 (1/2)
CHAPTER VII
IN THE TOILS
After herwith Puck the fly Maya was not in a particularly happy fra herself to believe that he was right in everything he had said about huht in his relations to them She had formed an entirely different conception--aher mind harbor low or ridiculous ideas ofHoas she to knohether or not the oould like it? And she wouldn't for all the world hts went back once ood 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 theh for the winter, they provide us with shelter against the cold, and guard us against the hosts of our ene the animals
There are few creatures in the world who have entered into such a relation of friendshi+p and voluntary service with hu 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 hus, 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, reed for honey”
That is what Cassandra had told Maya about hus, and until Maya had convinced herself of the contrary, she wanted to keep this belief in the 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 relory of countless blossoainst the blue of the heavens The delicious perfuet the rapture of it as long as she lived
As she flew she thought of how all that beauty would colory of the great world in which she was perarden shone the starry tufts of the jasmine--delicate yellow faces set in a wreath of pure white--sweet perfus of the breeze
And weren't there still some trees in bloohtedly of the big serious lindens, whose tops held the red glow of the setting sun to the very last
She flew in a forth green berries and yielding blossoain to reach the jase to the touch suddenly laid itself across her forehead and shoulders, and just as quickly covered her wings It was the queerest sensation, as if her wings were crippled and she were suddenly restrained in her flight, and were falling, helplessly falling A secret, wicked force sees in invisible captivity But she did not fall Though she could no longer ht by asoftness and delicacy, raised a little, lowered a little, tossed here, tossed there, like a loose leaf in a faint breeze
Maya was troubled, but not as yet actually terrified Why should she be? There was no pain nor real discomfort of any sort
Si bad seeet on If she tried very hard, she could, assuredly
But now she saw a thread across her breast, an elastic silvery thread finer than the finest silk She clutched at it quickly, in a cold wave of terror It clung to her hand; it wouldn't shake off And there ran another silver thread over her shoulders It drew itself across her wings and tied thes were powerless And there, and there!
Everywhere in the air and above her body--those bright, glittering, gluey threads!
Maya screamed with horror Now she knew! Oh--oh, now she knew!
She was in a spider's web
Her terrified shrieks rang out in the silent doreen of the leaves into gold, and insects flitted to and fro, and birds swooped gaily from tree to tree Nearby, the jasmine sent its perfume into the air--the jasmine she had wanted to reach Now all was over
A s like copper on its wings, ca very close
”Oh, you poor soul,” it cried, hearing Maya's screaht ”May your death be an easy one, lovely child I cannot help you Soht, I shall meet with the same fate But et the sunshi+ne in the deep sleep of death”
And the blue butterfly rocked away, drugged by the sunshi+ne and the flowers and its own joy of living
The tears streamed from Maya's eyes; she lost her last shred of self-control She tossed her captive body to and fro, and buzzed as loud as she could, and screamed for help--frohter she enony, Cassandra's warnings went through her mind:
”Beware of the spider and its web If we bees fall into the spider's poe suffer the ruesome death The spider is heartless and tricky, and once it has a person in its toils, it never lets hireat flare of e desperate effort So, heavier suspension threads snapped Maya felt it break, yet at the same time she sensed the awful dooled in it, the ave up, in complete exhaustion
At that moment she saw the spider herself--very near, under a blackberry leaf At sight of the greatthere as if ready to pounce, Maya's horror was indescribable The wicked shi+ning eyes were fastened on the little bee in sinister, cold-blooded patience
Maya gave one loud shriek This was the worst agony of all