The Tale of Buster Bumblebee Read online

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  _SLUMBER-TOWN TALES__(Trademark Registered)_

  THE TALE OFBUSTER BUMBLEBEE

  BYARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

  Author of"SLEEPY-TIME TALES"

  (Trademark Registered)ILLUSTRATED BYHARRY L. SMITH

  NEW YORKGROSSET & DUNLAPPUBLISHERS

  Made in the United States of America

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  Copyright, 1918, byGROSSET & DUNLAP

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  _TUCK-ME-IN TALES_(Trademark Registered)

  byARTHUR SCOTT BAILEY

  author ofSLEEPY-TIME TALES(Trademark Registered)

  The Tale of Jolly RobinThe Tale of Old Mr. CrowThe Tale of Solomon OwlThe Tale of Jasper JayThe Tale of Rusty WrenThe Tale of Daddy LonglegsThe Tale of Kiddie KatydidThe Tale of Buster BumblebeeThe Tale of Freddie FireflyThe Tale of Betsy Butterfly

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  Buster Bumblebee and Chirpy Cricket Have A Chat._Frontispiece_--(_Page 9_)]

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  CONTENTS

  I THE BIG FAMILY 1II CHIRPY CRICKET'S ADVICE 6III THE RUDE TRUMPETER 11IV BUSTER FINDS A SISTER 16V MR. CROW TO THE RESCUE 21VI JOHNNIE GREEN IS STUNG 27VII A JUGFUL OF BUMBLEBEES 32VIII BUSTER THE BOASTER 37IX THE ROBBER FLY AT LAST 41X BUSTER MAKES A SPEECH 45XI THE DRONE 52XII THE CARPENTER BEE 56XIII THE CARPENTER'S PROMISE 61XIV BAD NEWS 64XV THE PRISONER 69XVI THE TWINS IN THE CLOVER PATCH 74XVII BUSTER LEARNS OF THE RAISING BEE 81XVIII FOLLOWING THE CROWD 86XIX THE FEAST AT FARMER GREEN'S 91XX BUSTER AND THE FIDDLERS 96XXI THE BUMBLEBEE IN THE PUMPKIN 101XXII SOMEONE'S MISTAKE 106XXIII MAKING GAME OF OLD DOG SPOT 111

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  ILLUSTRATIONS

  Buster Bumblebee and Chirpy Cricket Have A Chat. Frontispiece_Frontispiece_--(_Page 9_)Buster Thanks Old Mr. Crow For His Advice. (_Page 25_) 23Buster Shouted For Everybody to Keep Quiet. (_Page 48_) 47Buster Listened to Mrs. Ladybug's Suggestion. (_Page 56_) 56

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  THE TALE OF BUSTER BUMBLEBEE

  I

  THE BIG FAMILY

  When Mrs. Field Mouse moved from her home in Farmer Green's meadow to themore fashionable neighborhood near the gristmill, she had no idea thatanyone would care to live in the little old house that she had left.

  So she was much surprised, the following summer, when she heard that anew family was occupying her former home.

  "If it's a small family they'll get along well enough," she remarked toAunt Polly Woodchuck, who had told her the news.

  "Small!" Aunt Polly exclaimed, lifting both her hands (with the blackmitts on them) high in the air. "They say it's a dreadful big family--atleast two hundred of 'em, so I've been told."

  Well, for a moment Mrs. Field Mouse couldn't say a word, she was soastonished. Then she managed to gasp:

  "What's their name?"

  "I declare, I can't just remember," said Aunt Polly Woodchuck. "But it'sa name that rhymes with _apple tree_--though that's not quite it....They're a very musical family, I understand. My nephew, Billy Woodchuck,passed right by their door only yesterday; and he says he heard music andthe sound of dancing from inside the house."

  "Two hundred of them dancing in that little house!" cried Mrs. FieldMouse. "Why, it's positively dangerous! I should think they'd trample oneanother."

  And Aunt Polly Woodchuck agreed, before she went off towards her homeunder the hill, that there were queer goings-on over there in the meadow.

  Later she sent her nephew Billy to tell Mrs. Field Mouse that on her wayhome she had remembered the name of the big family. It was _Bumblebee_.

  "They must be an odd lot," Mrs. Field Mouse remarked to her husband."Farmer Green's meadow is becoming more unfashionable than ever. And Ishall never regret having moved away from there."

  So that was Buster Bumblebee's first home--the old house in the meadow.It was true that the Bumblebee family numbered at least two hundredsouls. Nobody knew what the exact count might have been; for in thedaytime all the members of the family were bustling about, never stayingin one place long enough to be counted. And at night they were all toodrowsy to bother their heads over anything but sleep.

  It was true, too, that the Bumblebee family filled their house almost tooverflowing--especially when they began to store away great quantities ofhoney in it. But they never seemed to mind being crowded. And if any ofthem wanted more room he had only to go out of doors and get it.

  Buster Bumblebee's mother was the head of the whole family. Everybodyalways spoke of her as "the Queen." And she never had to lift her hand,because there were other members of the family that were both ready andeager to do everything for her. She was really quite a fine lady.

  And it was generally understood that her son Buster favored his mother.Certainly he was--like her--very handsome, in his suit of black andyellow velvet. Like his mother, too, he never did a stroke of work. Andalthough everybody said that Buster Bumblebee was a drone, he neverseemed to mind it in the least.

  II

  CHIRPY CRICKET'S ADVICE

  If the summers in Pleasant Valley had been longer perhaps thehoney-makers in Buster Bumblebee's home would have taken a holiday nowand then. But they knew that every day that passed brought cold weatherthat much the nearer. So they never once stopped working--except to sleepat night. And, like Farmer Green himself, they felt that they must notwaste any of the precious daylight by lying abed late in the morning.They wanted to be up and in the clover field as soon as it was light.

  Now, with Rusty Wren living right beneath his bedroom window to wake himat dawn, Farmer Green had no trouble in getting up in good season. Butthe Bumblebee family were in no such luck. Even if Rusty Wren had livednear them in the meadow they could scarcely have heard his dawn song,because their home was beneath the surface of the ground, in the oldhouse that had once belonged to Mrs. Field Mouse.

  If they could have found an alarm clock somewhere it would have been easyfor them to rise as early in the morning as they wished. But lacking aclock of that kind--or any other--they had to find a different way ofwaking themselves.

  That was why the workers chose one of their number to be a trumpeter. Andit was her duty to get up bright and early, at three or four o'clock, andtrumpet loudly to rouse all the other workers.

  How the trumpeter herself managed to awake is something that neverbothered anybody else. It was her business not to oversleep. And she knewthat it would be very unpleasant for her if she failed even once to doher duty.

  Now, it was all well enough for the workers to have the morning silencebroken by the blare of trumpeting. They were eager to get up and begintheir day's work. But Buster Bumblebee did not like that arrangement inthe least. He preferred a good, long night's sleep. And since he neverdid any work he thought it was a shame that he should be rudely awakenedin such a fashion.

  At home, however, he did not men
tion his grievance to anyone. But hetalked the matter over with a number of his friends--outside the family.And one and all agreed that something ought to be done to put a stop tothe trumpeter's noise.

  "Why don't you have a pleasant talk with her?" Chirpy Cricket suggested."Perhaps she would be willing to trumpet a little more softly if she knewthat she was disturbing you."

  That plan did not quite suit Buster Bumblebee.

  "It would be hard to have a pleasant talk with the trumpeter," he said."She's quite likely to lose her temper. And she might sting me if shebecame angry enough."

  "Then you must first put her in a good humor," Chirpy Cricket told himcheerfully. "Begin by saying what a good trumpeter she is and tell herthat her hat is _very_ becoming."

  Still Buster Bumblebee was a bit doubtful of the outcome of the scheme.But at last he agreed to give it a trial. "Though I must say I feel quitenervous," he added. And all Chirpy Cricket's sprightly jokes failed tomake Buster smile.

  III

  THE RUDE TRUMPETER

  Yes! At last Buster Bumblebee was worried. Every time he looked at thetrumpeter she seemed in a more peppery temper than ever. Beside her, someof the other workers appeared positively pleasant. But the trumpeter worea frown. And what was still worse, she wore no hat.

  How, then, was Buster to follow Chirpy Cricket's advice and tell her whata becoming hat she was wearing?

  "I'll have to think of some other way of making her feel happy--sinceshe's bareheaded," said Buster.

  Now, without thinking what he was doing he had spoken his thought rightout loud. And since he was quite near the trumpeter and staring directlyat her, it was no wonder that she heard what he said.

  "Don't be impertinent, young man!" the trumpeter snapped, growingsomewhat red in the face. "I'm sure it's no affair of yours whether Iwear a hat or whether I don't. And if you want to make me happy, I'lltell you the best way in the world."

  "Oh! Will you?" cried Buster Bumblebee hopefully. And in his eagerness hedrew even nearer to the trumpeter, who actually smiled at him. But therewas something in her smile that sent a shiver up and down Buster's back.It was not at all a pleasant smile.

  "If you want to make me happy all you need do is to keep out of mysight," said the trumpeter rudely. "You're just a lazy, good-for-nothingdrone. And for my part, I don't see why you're allowed to stay in ourhouse. If I had my way you'd be driven out into the world to shift foryourself.... And I know others who say the same."

  Upon hearing that disagreeable speech Buster Bumblebee jumped backquickly. He was not angry--but merely disappointed, for he had expectedsomething quite different.

  "You--er--you trumpet beautifully," he stammered, remembering that thatwas another remark which Chirpy Cricket had suggested as being likely toput the trumpeter into a pleasant frame of mind.

  At that the rude creature laughed most scornfully.

  "I'd like to know how you can say _that_," she sneered. "You're so lazyand such a sleepy-head that you never hear me when I wake the household.In fact, I don't believe you would ever wake up enough to crawl out ofbed if you didn't get hungry--and goodness knows you do love to eat."

  "No such thing!" cried Buster Bumblebee.

  And happening just at that moment to spy an unusually tempting clover-topclose beside him, he lighted upon it and began to suck up its sweetjuices.

  The trumpeter at once screamed joyfully and pointed a finger straight athim.

  "There you go!" she cried. "You have to stop and eat even while you'retalking with a lady! Why, you eat and sleep so much that you don't knowwhat you're doing or saying half the time."

  One might naturally think that such a remark would have angered Buster.But he was not one to lose his temper easily. And he merely looked at thetrumpeter sadly and said:

  "Don't speak to me like that! I'm a queen's son. I'm a gentleman."

  IV

  BUSTER FINDS A SISTER

  Buster Bumblebee's announcement that he was a queen's son--and agentleman--seemed to amuse the trumpeter hugely. She held her sides andlaughed uproariously.

  "That's nothing!" she said at last. "I'm one myself!"

  "One what?" Buster asked her quickly. "You're certainly no gentleman--foryou just referred to yourself as a lady not two minutes ago. And neithercan you be anybody's son, I should think."

  "I mean I'm a queen's daughter--though maybe you didn't know it," thetrumpeter replied.

  And Buster Bumblebee answered in a dazed fashion that he had had no ideashe was of royal blood, like himself.

  "It's true," the trumpeter assured him. "You'd never guess it; but I'myour own sister."

  Well, Buster Bumblebee was so surprised that he almost fell off theclover-head on which he was sitting. It was really a sad blow to be toldthat that disagreeable, vixenish trumpeter, who awakened the workers eachmorning, was so closely related to him. But it was no more than he mighthave expected, living as he did in a family of more than two hundredsouls.

  "It's--it's hard to believe," he gasped, shaking his head slowly.

  "It certainly is," said the trumpeter. "I don't understand how my ownbrother can be so lazy as you are."

  "It's not that I'm lazy--it's the way my mother brought me up," Busterprotested.

  "_Our_ mother, you mean," the trumpeter corrected him. "Maybe you'reright.... After all, you'd only be in everybody's way if you tried towork--you're so awkward and clumsy. So maybe it's just as well for you toplay the gentleman--though you must find it a dull life."

  "It suits me," said Buster. "But I do wish you could manage to rouse theworkers in the morning without disturbing me." He was bolder, now that heknew he was talking to his own sister.

  The trumpeter pondered for a little time before replying.

  "It's my duty to trumpet loudly," she said at last. "The summer is nonetoo long. And there's a great deal of honey to be made before fall....Have you thought of stuffing your ears with cotton?" she inquired.

  "Why, no!" said Buster Bumblebee. "That's a fine plan, I'm sure. And I'llfollow it this very night."

  So he thanked his new-found sister and said good-by, for he wanted tolook for some cotton at once.

  "Goodness me!" the trumpeter exclaimed as soon as Buster had left her."Here I've wasted a precious quarter of an hour when I should have beenworking." Thereupon she began gathering nectar as fast as she could, andforgot all about Buster Bumblebee and his trouble.

  When he left the trumpeter in the clover field, Buster was feeling quitecheerful. Although Chirpy Cricket's advice had been of little use to him,Buster's talk with the trumpeter had ended pleasantly enough. And now heexpected that he would be able to sleep as late as he pleased--with thehelp of a bit of cotton.

  Buster flew fast, as he left the fragrant clover behind him, to hunt forthe cotton that he needed. But he soon paused in his rapid flight and satdown on a sprig of honeysuckle, to think.

  He was puzzled. He hadn't the slightest idea where he could find anycotton. So what was the use of hurrying, if he didn't know where he wasgoing?

  V

  MR. CROW TO THE RESCUE

  As Buster sat on the sprig of wild honeysuckle, wondering where to lookfor a bit of cotton with which to stuff his ears, a bird fluttered downand perched upon the old stone wall to which the honeysuckle clung. Thename of the newcomer was Jasper Jay. And Buster Bumblebee was glad to seehim, because he wanted help from somebody and he didn't care who it was.

  "Where could a person get a small piece of cotton?" he asked Jasper Jay.

  And Jasper--who would gladly have made a lunch of Buster, had he not beenafraid of getting stung--Jasper promptly replied with another question:

  "What do you intend to do with cotton?" He was a very curious fellow,this Jasper Jay.

  Buster Bumblebee had no objection to explaining everything to him. Andthen--and only then--was Jasper willing to tell what he knew.

  "Cotton--" said he--"cotton grows in fields. I know that much. And what'smore, I know it doesn't grow in Pleasant Valley
, for I live here thewhole year round and I've never seen any."

  That was bad news for Buster.

  "What do you advise me to do?" he inquired anxiously.

  "Ask my cousin, Mr. Crow," said Jasper Jay instantly. "He's a greattraveller. Spends his winters in the South, _he_ does. And no doubt hecan help you."

  Buster Thanks Old Mr. Crow For His Advice. (_Page 25_)]

  "Where can I find Mr. Crow?" Buster Bumblebee asked.

  "I don't know of any better place to look than the cornfield," Jasper Jaytold him.

  Luckily Buster knew where the cornfield was. So he started off at once tofind Mr. Crow.

  And sure enough! as soon as Buster reached the edge of the cornfield,there was the old gentleman, sitting on the topmost rail of the fence andlooking as if he had just enjoyed an excellent meal.

  As soon as he saw that Buster Bumblebee wanted to talk with him, old Mr.Crow was willing enough to listen, for he always liked to know aboutother people's affairs. He kept nodding his head with a wise air whileBuster explained to him how he wished to find some cotton, with which tostuff his ears every night, so that he might not be disturbed when thetrumpeter aroused the household at three or four o'clock each morning.

  "That's a splendid plan," said old Mr. Crow when Buster had finished. "Anexcellent plan--but you may as well forget it, because there's no cottongrowing in these parts. Cotton grows in the South, more than a thousandmiles away. Next winter when I go to the South I might be able to findsome for you, and bring it back with me in the spring. But that wouldn'thelp you now."