First Flight

The elderly lady-bee who helped the baby-bee Maya when she awoke to life and slipped from her cell was called Cassandra and commanded great respect in the hive. Those were exciting days. A rebellion had broken out in the nation of bees, which the queen was unable to suppress.

While the experienced Cassandra wiped Maya's large bright eyes and tried as best she could to arrange her delicate wings, the big hive hummed and buzzed like a threatening thunderstorm, and the baby-bee found it very warm and said so to her companion.

Cassandra looked about troubled, without replying. It astonished her that the child so soon found something to criticize. But really the child was right: the heat and the pushing and crowding were almost unbearable. Maya saw an endless succession of bees go by in such swarming haste that sometimes one climbed up and over another, or several rolled past together clotted in a ball.

Once the queen-bee approached. Cassandra and Maya were jostled aside. A friendly young drone came to their assistance. He informed Cassandra about the rebellion and the situation in the hive.

Cassandra, preoccupied with the events, did not pay much attention to the drone's assistance. Maya noticed the lack of courtesy and felt overwhelmed by the chaos around her. The general excitement affected her too, and she started buzzing loudly.

Cassandra, irritated by Maya's buzzing, urged her to quiet down and led her to a quieter corner. She praised Maya's unique nature and explained the importance of unity and cooperation among bees. 

Cassandra instructed Maya about the necessity of learning the different flowers that yield nectar. However, Maya's reluctance and casual attitude towards learning worried Cassandra about Maya's future.

Maya, finding the task challenging, expressed disinterest in learning the flowers immediately, causing Cassandra to foresee potential trouble ahead for Maya."Am I supposed later on to gather nectar all day long?" asked Maya. Cassandra fetched a deep sigh and gazed at the baby-bee seriously and sadly. She seemed to be thinking of her own toilsome life--toil from beginning to end, nothing but toil. Then she spoke in a changed voice, with a loving look in her eyes for the child.

"My dear little Maya, there will be other things in your life--the sunshine, lofty green trees, flowery heaths, lakes of 

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