Charlotte’s bees
It was Charlotte’s sixth birthday, and as usual, it was hot outside. All the birthday guests gathered in the garden to enjoy a large cake buffet.
Charlotte’s grandparents, aunts, uncles, neighbours and mother baked many of the most delicious cakes and pies. Charlotte was the first to cut the cake, and she chose her favourite: strawberries with a delicious cream cheese frosting.
“This is my favourite cake,” Charlotte told her best friend.
“Then I’d like to try it, too,” Lara replied.
Once everyone has a piece of cake or pie of their choice, the party begins. Everyone was happy and enjoying the wonderful weather.
Suddenly, Charlotte’s younger brother, Liam, jumped up. He dropped his fork and started running across the garden.
“What’s wrong with him?” Lara asked.
Liam was now running in circles and screaming.
When Lara returned with her piece of strawberry cake, she also started screaming. Sitting on her cake were two yellow and black striped insects munching on her strawberries.
“Charlotte, let them go!” Lara exclaimed.
Everyone at the table became increasingly agitated as more and more yellow and black insects came to eat the sugary food. They are also attracted by the delicious lemonade and freshly prepared fruit salad.
Charlotte’s mother is trying to calm down the birthday party guests and covers up the cake and treats, so their rowdy guests go away.
“Mom, get rid of the bees! They’re ruining my party!” shouted Charlotte, who was annoyed by the commotion.
“Your noisy guests are not bees; they are wasps. Bees are not attracted to candy and cakes. They are only interested in pollen and nectar,” mother Charlotte explains.
“I don’t really care if they’re wasps or honeybees – they’re both equally stupid,” Charlotte grumbled.
To save the birthday party, everyone was moved to the living room to eat, drink and play in peace.
Later, when the guests had said their goodbyes, Charlotte’s mother approached her.
“Charlotte, today I wish the bees would disappear sooner,” her mother began. “You are too young to understand the importance of bees, but in a few years, you will realize that bees play a very important role on this planet.”
“I don’t think so,” Charlotte said stubbornly. “Bees are so annoying. They completely ruined my birthday today.”
A few years later, Charlotte celebrated her birthday again on a beautiful summer day. The girl is ten years old. Everyone is sitting at a lovely table in the garden.
“Mom, where is my favourite strawberry cake?” Charlotte asked. So far, she has received her favourite cake every year.
“I’m sorry, honey, but there are hardly any strawberries left,” she explained. “That’s why I can’t make your favourite cake this year.”
“But where did all the strawberries go?” Charlotte asked.
“Because there are almost no bees left, flowers from fruit trees and strawberry plants can no longer be pollinated normally,” Charlotte’s mother explains. “So many of the smaller fruits grow and ripen, and the harvest is very small and is quickly used up.”
Charlotte remembers her birthday when she had enough strawberries and feels nervous.
“But if bees are so important to us humans, then surely something must be done about it. Bees must be protected!” Charlotte said with conviction. “What can we do to help them?”
“Go to the library to borrow a book about bees and find out how we can provide a place for them to live in our gardens. If you are interested in bees, you can also give a presentation about them in geography class to your classmates. Perhaps your teacher will also think of another way to prevent their extinction.”
The next day, Charlotte enthusiastically explained to her classmates how important small insects are to humans and that they must work together to protect and save the bees.
