From flower to flower and garden to garden, a hard-working bee went about her daily routine, collecting pollen, water and other supplies for a large family for whom she had worked all her life. Despite being such a useful bee, deep down she did not even feel loved, underestimating all that she had achieved over the years and sometimes reproaching the experience that, in her opinion, was of little value to her.
-I wish one day I could be like that star that everyone calls "sun"," she said, and with a slight sigh she revealed her most cherished dream.
For ever since she was a little girl, that dreamy bee had gazed with admiration at the sun, and never ceased to wonder if she might one day reach the meadows of her sweet home.
-If the sun had a huge garden in its abode, she would surely work for free just to be near it," nodded that reckless bee with a firm and tenacious smile.
Since she was aware of its existence, the sun became for this bee a source of light and inspiration, a character she admired every day for being so gallant and brilliant in her gait. In his free time the bee wrote verses and prose just for him, and in dark and cloudy times he remembered him as that great hero who would never abandon him. And in the midst of so much thinking and dreaming, one morning the bee left his routine, and set out to meet the sun.
In a trepidant flapping, the bee began to climb, astonishing all the birds that were flying around at that time. The flight of this little dreamer, who was already imagining the words he would say when he was face to face with the sun, became more and more intense. He gave up his life and his work, hoping to reach the destination his heart had longed for.
But just like that bee, the leaves of time also left in a fleeting manner, and suddenly the face of the sunset announced the sun's farewell. It was as if a light went out on the horizon of a reckless traveler, who in the twinkling of an eye found herself in the cold darkness of night.
-I must go down at once, I must return home," was the plea of a bee that had never before flown in such darkness.
Between fear and desperation, the bee could not find its way back home, and as it looked down it only saw lights of various sizes and colors, some with a welcoming tone and others with a clear warning. Until a large yellow light stood out among them all.
-That must be my house over there," he said hopefully.
But just in the middle of the landing, a great swoop was heard: ZAAAAAAAASSSS! a huge spider was about to catch the bee, who inexplicably managed to escape the attack of this voracious nocturnal enemy.
-I must find shelter as soon as possible," exclaimed the poor bee vehemently.
The bee had been flying for hours without being able to descend safely. Her wings seemed heavier than usual, and her vision was a total confusion that seemed to lead her to a tragic end. Suddenly, a flickering light was visible on the top of a tree, a faint light that, like the bee, was about to disappear.
-I no longer have the will or the strength. If this is not a safe place, then I will accept that this is the end of me.
And when he reached the point of that light that was getting weaker and weaker, he found a firefly that, although it was wounded in one of its wings, it did not stop emitting that small light that was fading little by little. The bee no longer felt so frightened or tired, and thanked the firefly for having brought it to her.
-Thank you for saving me, thank you for coming to my rescue," said the bee with great relief.
And then there was a deep silence, until the firefly answered:
-Are you not the moon who has come to my rescue? Look! I have fought with a beetle and been battered, until in my escape I looked hopefully upward and asked for someone to come down to heal my wing and also to save my life. Therefore, it is I who must thank you because you have been a beacon in the midst of my misfortune.
Thus the bee understood that, in the midst of the storm, her constancy was for someone else a light of hope that could never be extinguished, and that that faint glow that for the firefly was like a call for help, for her it meant a light that did not let her courage and her effort to continue living be completely extinguished. In that instant, the firefly was able to guide the bee to its home thanks to the light it still emitted, and the bee carried the battered firefly on its body. From that moment on, there was never again a bee that longed for the greatness of the sun, nor was there a firefly that begged the moon for a sip of hope.
THE END.