By Naramsetti Umamaheswararao
A tiny honeybee once wished to fly on her own and see the world. She longed to gather nectar from flowers and store honey by herself. After persuading her mother, she flew out of the hive.
As she flew around, she spotted a bright red rose blooming in one place. She immediately tried to land on it. But the rose closed its petals at once.
“Oh, little honeybee! Have you come to sip my nectar so easily? Give me what I want, and then take what you want,” said the rose.
“What can I give the rose?” the honeybee wondered.
Just then, a rabbit appeared beside the bushes. The honeybee asked, “What should I give the rose to make her happy?”
“I don’t know. I have to collect roots,” said the rabbit and hopped away.
A little further, the honeybee saw a cow grazing. She asked, “What should I give the rose?”
“How would I know what a rose wants? All I know is grazing and giving milk,” said the cow.
The honeybee felt disappointed by this answer. As she flew ahead, she saw a peacock. “Peacock! Do you know what I should give the rose?” she asked.
“I’m not sure. But if you want, take one of my feathers and try giving that,” suggested the peacock.
The honeybee brightened up. She happily took the peacock feather and flew to the rose.
“Look what I brought for you!” she said, showing the feather.
But the rose said, “This is not what I want,” and closed her petals again.
This time the honeybee saw a parrot and asked for help.
“Children love my playfulness. Take this ripe guava I’ve pecked. Give it to the rose. She will surely like it,” said the parrot.
The honeybee felt hopeful and took the guava to the rose. But the rose frowned, “I’m a flower. Do you think I eat fruits?”
Discouraged, the honeybee settled sadly on a nearby bush.
“In this huge forest, doesn’t anyone know what the rose wants? How will I sup on nectar?” she cried.
A sage meditating in a nearby hermitage heard her voice. He called her close and told her what the rose truly wished for.
Immediately, the honeybee flew to a meadow where little children were playing. She played with them for a while and then asked them to come to the rose plant.
When they hesitated, she said, “There are guava, orange, and banana trees. You can eat plenty of fruits!”
Hearing this, the children followed her.
When they reached the garden, they laughed, clapped, and shouted joyfully, “This place is so beautiful!”
The honeybee went to the rose and said, “You wanted children’s laughter, didn’t you? Look over there.”
Hearing the children’s joyful laughter, the rose blossomed happily.
The honeybee gently landed on the flower and drank nectar to her heart’s content.
The children picked the fruits they liked and went home.
After a while, the honeybee too returned to her hive and shared many stories with her mother. The mother bee felt proud of the little bee’s kindness.
Naramsetti Umamaheswararao has written more than a thousand stories, songs, and novels for children over 42 years. he has published 32 books. His novel, Anandalokam, received the Central Sahitya Akademi Award for children’s literature. He has received numerous awards and honours, including the Andhra Pradesh Government’s Distinguished Telugu Language Award and the Pratibha Award from Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University. He established the Naramshetty Children’s Literature Foundation and has been actively promoting children’s literature as its president.
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