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The silver dish the princess threw dropped in the middle of the long table and rolled along it to its end. The servant who was accustomed to this behavior was waiting for the dish and retrieved it before it fell to the floor. On the dish, nothing was left. The princess didn't even leave a small piece of pancake. "Bring another helping." The princess said. "We have no more helpings." The servant answered with a helpless look. "Ask the chief cook to come in here." The servant hurried to the kitchen of the castle with the dish in his hand. After a while, a man in white clothes appeared in front of the princess. He is the cook who cooked dishes before the king of this country, the princess' father, was born. The chief cook said quietly. "How about some toast instead, Princess?" "No, I want pancakes." "I can't serve you any more pancakes." "Did my father ask you not to serve me pancakes in order to keep me from developing cavities?" "No, he didn't." "Did my mother order you not to serve me pan cakes because she doesn't want me to outgrow my dress?" "No, she didn't." "Is there no wheat?" "There is wheat." "Oh, I got it. There's no baking powder, is there?" "There's still plenty of baking powder." "Eggs? Milk? Butter?" "Honey." "Oh!" The princess was struck dumb for a while with her mouth wide open. The princess eats pancakes every morning. She also eats lots of honey. She doesn't put the honey on the pancakes. Instead, she likes to float the pancakes on a dishful of honey as if a leaf had fallen onto a golden pond. Even if there is enough wheat and there are many eggs, no honey means that pancakes can't be made for her. The princess said to the chief cook. "I will wait. Make more honey as soon as possible." "Honey can't be made." "You can make anything, can't you?" "I can't make honey." "Now, call a honey maker from the town immediately." "There is no such person. We get honey from bees." "Bees?" "Yes, we get flower nectar that bees collect in their hives." "Honey bees?" "They live with many comrades and collect nectar. A bee is a very small insect that has wings." "I heard that a bee would sting us. Though I thought that it was a disgusting insect, I wouldn't be able to eat honey without bees." The princess grimaced. When she was young, she used to see bees. Insects were buzzing around her ears when she was taking a nap in the garden of the castle. Those insects were bees. "Now, order a bee to deliver honey." "The cluster of bees has gone far away. No bees remain in the castle." "Why?" "Because there are no flowers." The chief cook said in a low voice. The princess also dropped into silence. Until last year, the garden in the castle was filled with flowers. But the princess paved the garden with stones because she wanted a place to ride a bicycle presented on her birthday. Though she could ride her silver bicycle freely in the garden paved with flat stones, flowers such as roses, lilies, and sunflowers are no longer in the castle. Even the seeds of dandelions that flew with fluff can't find soil for rooting and have disappeared. The silver bicycle is left at the corner of the garden now. The princess is already tired of riding it. "No wonder I haven't seen bees." The princess said to herself and asked the chief cook. "Where are the flower gardens where bees are collecting nectar?" "Perhaps, somewhere in the grasslands in the north because Chinese milk vetches and clover are at their best now." "North grasslands?" You must go through one small village and one big forest. In addition, the grasslands are so large that it is not certain whether you can find the bees in their hives. His statement delighted her further because now she will not have cavities and stop her mother from worrying because she will not have to resize the dress. "Find a bee and get honey!" Nobody would give such an order. The princess had made up her mind. Because the princess stood up so vigorously, the chief cook was surprised and fell over. |
"There is no way but to go on the bicycle. The north grasslands are too far to go on foot. I am determined to get more honey." The princess ordered herself. The princess wore several layers of petticoats under her dress, and the dress flared gorgeously. But it was not suited for bicycle riding. On her birthday, she was presented with a pair of elegant silk trousers for riding a bicycle, but they were too tight. She couldn't wear them at all. Her mother said that the reason she couldn't wear them was that she ate too many pancakes floating on honey. The princess thought that she didn't want to ride the bicycle because she couldn't wear the trousers. There's no choice. She has no way but to go in a dress. The princess sat in the saddle of the bicycle in her dress, finally gripped the handlebars, and secretly rode out of the castle. It was easy to go down along the north road on a bicycle from the castle, which was located on a hill. The only thing she had to do was to keep her balance. The bicycle ran down the hill by itself and she didn't even have to pedal. Though she found the fluttering dress to be a little cumbersome, the wind in her hair was comfortable. The loose sleeves that were puffed up with the wind looked something like pretty balloons. "I will race over to the grasslands." When the princess said this to herself, a puffed cuff scooped something from the air. It seemed to be struggling in the sleeve. The princess stepped on the brakes, and then she tilted the bicycle and put one leg on the ground. It took a long time to stop on the downward slope. The princess pushed the bicycle down, fell to the ground, and shook the sleeve. "What is in my sleeve! Get out!" "You caught me suddenly. Don't be angry." Said a voice from inside the sleeve. "It is you that entered my sleeve without permission. Who are you?" "I'm a bee. You are making my head spin." "The princess was astonished and stopped swinging her arm." "I won't forgive you if you sting me with your needle!" A small figure jumped from the cuff of the princess' blouse. "I won't sting you because I have only one needle. How painful it was in your sleeve!" The bee was a very small creature. Though it was so small that it might sit on the tip of the princess' nose, it was a smart dresser wearing striped golden clothes. The princess stared at the bee that was murmuring in front of her face and said. "Where is the honey?" The bee said in a wondering tone. "What did you say?" "Where are your comrades and hive. It should be full of homey." The bee became silent. "Answer." In spite of her order, the bee kept silent. The princess got angry but she knew that the bee was not trained to follow her orders. The princess threw out her chest like her father so that she looked magnificent. "I know that bees collect nectar with their comrades and store it in the hive. Hand it to me. Of course, I will give you a reward in return." "No comrades." "What did you say?" "I have no comrades." "Don't tell a lie." "I like to be alone." "Is there such a bee?" When the princess stared at the bee with her eyes wide open, it turned a somersault in triumph and said. "Yes. It is best to be alone. Do you have many comrades in the place where you live?" The princess thought a minute. "I have many servants but..." The servants were not her comrades. There is only one princess in this country. She has never heard of the country where many princesses live in a castle. The princess has never had comrades. "By the way, Bee. What is a comrade?" When the princess asked, the bee laughed. "Why, your good friends, of course." "What is a friend?" She wanted to ask but she couldn't because she feared that she would be laughed at again. Instead, she said in triumph. "I like to be alone, too." The princess then picked up the fallen bicycle. "I hear that there's a cluster of bees in the grasslands in the north. Show me the way. Tell the bees in the grassland to give us some honey. The lonely bee flew around the princess as if to show its astonishment. "Are there my comrades in the north grasslands?" "I heard that there were. I heard that there were many flowers there." "Let's go. But I am not a comrade." The princess rode the bicycle. The bee was flying in front of her. The two set out toward the village. |
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