Pherric

Pherric was a honeybee. She served her queen well by finding flower patches and then telling everyone else from the hive where and what she had found.
Pherric was a bee scout.
Pherric was indeed related to Eric a famous half cousin who had had an accident, but it was only by chance that their names rhymed. Pherric was of the Iron hive clan, named after ferrous metals.
At the moment we take up this little tale, Pherric is flying as fast as her little bee wings will take her. A big, blue, bird is chasing Pherric. What kind of bird I don’t know; however, Pherric knew it was the bee eating kind.
Imagine a bee flying at top speed--use some imagination, and throw in ‘Flight of the Bumble Bee’ for musical background accompaniment. If you don’t know how it goes, go ahead and ask some one educated to hum it for you, you’ll recognize it once you’ve heard it.
At any rate Pherric was flying top speed, wishing for something to drink, dodging in and out of leaves and finally flying into the part of the wood where Mr. Fox (James E. Fox) lived.
Mr. Fox had bit a bee as a pup, you know how young foxes are, and having been stung, never messed with another bee since, except for the occasional “hello” to Pherric when she was in his neck of the woods looking for nectar.
Shortly there was a bee being chased by a bird being chased by a fox. This didn’t last long. Soon the bird decided Pherric was much less important than being eaten by a fox and broke it off heading for the treetops.
Mr. Fox ran `round the tree the bird flew up to, an exceptional larch, noted immediately that he wasn’t climbing up there for a bird that was just going to fly off to another tree anyway, chased his tail a couple of times for good measure and then went back to what he was doing which was getting ready for a hot date later that evening.
Pherric was very aware that she was very near the bottom of the food chain, especially on days like these, but she kept a positive disposition anyway. It was becoming clear to Pherric that she probably wasn’t going to get to die of old age, what with all the spiders, birds, and many small reptiles that thought of bees as food or snacks.
Pherric returned to the hive had a bite to eat and went to sleep. Her sisters knew not to bother her somehow.
“Lay off her, she’s had a rough day.”
A moment in the life of a bee.