Hello,
My name is Jacqueline and I am a very proud grandma.
I write stories for my grandchildren and I am very happy to share them with you too.
So make yourself comfortable,
Settle back because my next story is about to begin.
Louis and the Bee Are you feeling okay,
Louis?
Molly asked as they prepared for a flight in the rocket.
She twiddled some knobs on the control panel as Louis strapped himself into his chair.
Louis had felt a little agitated all day.
His mum had to go to work and left him and his sister Kelty with one of her friends.
The friend had a little girl who Louis didn't particularly enjoy spending time with because she was mean to bugs.
As she walked around her garden she would look for bugs,
Any bugs,
And she would squish them dead.
Louis had been particularly upset today when the little girl had chased a bee around the garden.
Luckily she couldn't catch it,
But it did upset Louis as he watched her.
He tried several times to tell her to stop,
But she wouldn't listen.
Before long the bee flew away,
And then the little girl blamed Louis for shouting and making too much noise,
Which she said scared the bee.
The little girl certainly didn't think she was scaring the bee by chasing it.
Several times Louis had gone into the house to be away from the little girl,
But she would call him names.
Kelty tried to help,
But the girl called her names too.
Then the little girl would start crying and tell Louis he was mean,
As he wouldn't play with her.
Louis didn't like seeing anyone cry,
So he would go back out in the garden again and try to ignore what the little girl was doing.
Eventually at the end of the day Louis and Kelty's mom came to collect them,
And they went home for tea.
As Louis fastened his seatbelt he told Molly about the little girl and how upset he had been about the bee.
The little girl really doesn't understand how important insects are,
Said Molly.
I tried to explain to her,
But she told me I didn't know enough and she'd just shut up,
Said Louis sadly.
Molly smiled as a thought came to mind.
I know what might help you,
She said,
Looking over at Louis.
Are you ready for take-off?
Yes,
Said Louis with glee,
Always excited for their trips.
The countdown began.
Five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
One,
Blast off!
As the rocket shot out into the night sky,
Louis asked Molly where they were going.
You'll see soon enough,
Said Molly as she glanced out of the window to her right.
Oh,
We're here already,
She said,
And began twiddling some knobs on the control panel as she brought the rocket down to land.
Louis looked out of the window and all he could see were sunflowers.
They had landed in the middle of a massive sunflower field.
Come on,
Louis,
Said Molly,
Unstrapping her seatbelts.
They climbed out of the rocket and all around them,
As far as the eye could see,
Were sunflowers.
Many of them stood much taller than Louis,
And all their heads were turned and faced the same way.
Wow!
Exclaimed Louis.
I have never seen anything like this before.
They are amazing and so tall.
Sunflowers can grow as tall as sixteen feet,
Said Molly.
That's slightly taller than a double-decker bus.
Louis looked around at the giant flowers,
Waving their heads in the gentle breeze as if saying hello.
Why are they all facing the same way?
He asked.
Molly explained.
Sunflowers not only look like the sun,
But they need a lot of sunlight to grow strong.
So they follow the sun.
The young blossoms will face east in the morning,
The direction the sun rises,
And follow the sun as the earth moves during the day.
And when the flowers have grown and become heavier with seeds,
The big stems stiffen in order to support the weight of the heavy flower head,
And then they will mostly remain facing east.
Louis looked around with the biggest smile on his face.
They give me a happy feeling when I look at them,
He said.
Yes,
Agreed Molly.
Sunflowers are known for being happy flowers and bringing joy to many people.
Molly started walking along a path through the sunflowers.
Follow me,
She said.
There's someone I want you to meet.
Louis followed Molly through the sunflowers.
The smaller sunflowers seemed to be smiling at him as they walked by,
And he said hello to each one.
After a few minutes,
Molly stopped in front of a sunflower not much taller than Louis.
Louis looked around expecting to see the person Molly wanted to introduce him to,
But he couldn't see anyone.
Suddenly a voice said,
Hello,
Louis.
Louis looked around again but still couldn't see anyone.
I'm over here,
The voice said.
I'm standing on the sunflower head next to Molly.
Louis turned and looked at the sunflower nearest to Molly.
There,
In the centre of the bright yellow flower,
Was a big round fluffy bee staring right at him.
Oh,
Hello,
Said Louis,
Feeling a little strange talking to a bee.
But then things were always a little strange when Molly was around.
This is Buzz,
Said Molly,
Introducing Louis to the bee.
He knows all there is to know about insects.
I'm going for a walk while you two talk.
I've always wanted to walk through a sunflower field.
And she turned and skipped along the path.
Molly tells me you want to learn more about insects,
Said the bee.
Why is that?
I know a little girl who always squishes any insects she finds,
Explained Louis.
I want to learn more about them so I can stop her doing this.
That's very kind of you,
Said Buzz.
Insects are very important,
But too many people think of us as pests because they don't realise the good we do in the world,
Buzz explained.
Humans need insects in order to live,
And so do plants and animals.
It all has to do with the circle of life,
The planet's food chain and the reproduction of plants through pollination.
Plus,
Some animals like small birds,
Frogs and other reptiles and amphibians survive almost entirely on an insect diet.
But surely slugs can't be important,
Asked Louis.
My dad always shouts at them and hates them because they eat his plants.
He says they're good for nothing.
Slugs and snails are very important,
Explained Buzz.
They help to clean up garden debris as they prefer to eat the rotting garden waste more than the living plants.
That's why it's good to have an area of waste in the garden,
So they're more likely to eat that rather than the lovely plants.
They also provide food for all sorts of mammals,
Worms and birds.
Thrushes in particular thrive on them.
Oh,
That's interesting,
Said Louis,
Fascinated by the talking bee.
I will have to tell my dad next time he complains about them.
Buzz continued.
Insects pollinate many of your fruits,
Flowers and vegetables.
Also,
Without them to help break down and dispose of wastes,
Dead animals would accumulate on your land and be very messy indeed.
Yuck!
I don't like the thought of that,
Said Louis.
Insects provide useful services to mankind and the environment in a number of ways.
We keep pest insects in check,
Pollinate crops you rely on for food and clean up waste so that the world doesn't become overrun with dung.
You know a lot about insects,
Said Louis,
Impressed by Buzz's knowledge.
Is that why Molly brought me to talk to you?
Well,
Buzz said,
Flapping his wings and rising up from the sunflower.
He flew around Louis's head and then settled back on the flower.
I don't like to be too bold or big-headed,
But we bees are the most important insect in the world.
We pollinate the most fruit and vegetable plants of all insects capable of doing that.
Without us,
You wouldn't have the variety of food that you have today.
Plus,
Who would make you honey?
Oh,
I love honey,
Said Louis,
Licking his lips.
I know that you make honey in a honeycomb,
But what is pollination and how do you do that?
Our bodies are covered with many hairs which make us look fluffy and cute,
Buzz explained,
But the hairs are for the pollen to stick to.
We can visit up to 5,
000 flowers in a day and this helps to pollinate the flowers as we move from one to another.
Pollination is necessary for the plant to produce new flowers or seeds the following year.
Pollen and nectar are also important food source for us bees.
Do you collect nectar in the same way then?
Asked Louis.
No,
Said Buzz.
We collect nectar with our tongues.
Your tongue?
Questioned Louis.
But how?
We have a long straw-like tongue,
Explained Buzz.
Look!
And he showed Louis his tongue.
This allows us to drink the nectar from deep within a flower.
That's incredible,
Said Louis,
Thinking he will never think of a bee as a scary creature again.
Any other questions before I have to go?
Asked Buzz.
Just one,
Said Louis.
How do you make that buzzing sound?
Buzz flew up in the air and buzzed around Louis' head.
I make the sound with my wings,
He said,
Coming back down and landing on the sunflower.
My wings flap around 11,
000 times per minute and creates that buzzing sound you can hear.
Pretty amazing,
Huh?
Yes,
Exclaimed Louis.
Everything about you is amazing.
Once then Molly came back to join them,
Carrying a large sunflower.
Something to brighten up the inside of the rocket,
She said,
Smiling.
Did you learn enough about insects?
She asked Louis.
Yes,
I did.
Thank you,
Buzz.
My pleasure,
Said Buzz,
Flying around Louis' head and landing on his shoulder.
Now,
When you see the little girl squishing the insects,
You can explain exactly why insects are important.
I have to go now,
Important work to do.
Bye.
And he flew off amongst the sunflowers.
It's also time for us to go,
Said Molly,
As she led the way back through the sunflowers to the rocket.
The next morning,
When Louis' mum woke him,
She found a sunflower seed lying on his bed next to his rocket.
Where did this come from?
She asked.
Louis smiled as he said.
A special friend gave it to me so I can grow my very own sunflower.
I hope you enjoyed my story.
Before you go,
I'd like to ask you a question.
Do you find insects annoying or are you fascinated by the tiny creatures?
Thanks again for listening and come back soon to hear another story from Grandma.
Bye for now.
