Long Beach—March 20—SPRING!!!!
In the years that I taught wee ones, mid morning outside play was fluff time. Spring flowers seduced bees to come thither, hence bee speeches were necessary on a daily basis.
“If a bee comes to you, stand quietly and let him or her BE. When the bee discovers that your sweetness is just YOU and not a flower, he or she will fly away and find a real flower. You mustn’t whisk him or flap about or run. This is important.”
The children obeyed and nary a mishap in all my years.
On the other hand…the rule was different for teachers…as was noted by the children…(SORRY!)…this one, meaning myself, could not hold still if a bee found me, in fact lightening reflex into scrambling to safety.
Little did I know that elephants and I have this in common.
I am exonerated.
Elephants are so terrified of bees that they will flap their ears, stir up dust, make a noise and turn and flee. They associate the sound and smell of bees with PAIN, and hysterics overcome them when they hear or smell them!
Maybe I was an elephant in a past life.
In any case now, this very trait has saved their lives. Another example of prism facets.
There are farming communities in Africa that are in grave danger of mass starvation because elephants sneak in at night and devour the produce. Outrage then propels serious action on the part of the humans, resulting in permanently removing the elephants…meaning killing them. BUT the infiltration of this information on the frenzied senstivity to bees has inspired the African villagers to build BEEHIVE FENCES which deter the elephants from midnight feasting, THUS saving their lives.
The hives of bees are strung up between posts and linked together by rope and wires. When the fence is disturbed by an elephant, the hives sway, the bees get irritated and flee the hive in a buzzing panic and the elephants run!
I would be with them.
I do forever apologize in my heart to the children, that I was not a perfect example to them.