Author Information
Bears & Bees
Yolanda Chapa
Xavier Mendieta
“The bears and the bees”
When the rivers had dried,
And all the forests had turned into deserts,
When the color green turned brown, the sun was too hot to live in the surface and the nights so cold that the thickest fur could not keep you warm. The only place where life could be found was inside a cave. Inside this mystical place the last garden and the last fountain of water were protected by a pack of bears. The only two living species aside from the bears and flowers were a few fish and a swarm of bees. The bears and the bees had an agreement; the bees could extract pollen from the flowers if they gave the bears some of the honey once they were done. This process would take the bees long days of work, but the bears waited patiently, knowing they would get a juicy reward.
Meanwhile, the bees were happy because they lived peaceful lives and they didn’t fear for any predator or for any damage inside the cave.
One night, knowing little about the agreement and thirsty for something sweet, the bear cub went to the beehive, leaving their parents sleeping in the other side of the cave, and he begin to approached it.
A few moments later, the bees awoke because of a scratching sound, then temblors, and finally a fall. When they finally realized what have happened, they saw the bear cub eating their honey between the remains of their only home.
Now, bees are hard-workers and had a great patience, but the view of the beehive destruction and the not-caring bear cub infuriated them. Full with rage, the swarm attacked the bear cub.
The bear cup cries were heard by their parents. At first they couldn’t see what had happened, and then they saw their child mortally wounded by the bees, expiring his last breath.
As any parent, pain filled their hearts, and they decided to take revenge: With a fearsome roar, both bears smashed what was left of the beehive and started to kill the bees. The bees attacked too, stinging their tick fur. Because they were too big and powerful, only the sting of all the bees could bring them down. That didn’t stop the bears of attacking and they killed almost all the bees before they finally died of the attack. The bees that remained rejoiced in their victory, but then they noticed they all had used their stingers and they would die soon.
After a couple of days, there were neither bees nor bears in the cave. The flowers wilt without reproducing, and only the cold fish remained in the waters of this last life’s sanctuary.
Moral:
The world’s end would begin with rage and destruction, but at the end, just before all life vanishes, it will be pain and regret.
