Why Bees Tell Rainbows — Under the milkweed’s peppery leaves, Elowen tapped a petal and whispered, “Your turn.” She had invented a game called Pass-the-Gleam: each flower gave one tiny shine of rainwater, and she carried it to the next bloom on her fuzzy knees. Read the full story →
Under the milkweed’s peppery leaves, Elowen tapped a petal and whispered, “Your turn.” She had invented a game called Pass-the-Gleam: each flower gave one tiny shine of rainwater, and she carried it to the next bloom on her fuzzy knees. Elowen wanted every blossom along the border to feel the sparkle before the sun slipped away, but the tall grasses kept swallowing her path with a hush-hush rub.
Then a warm stripe of light bent over the meadow, so bright that Elowen’s wings buzzed like a silver comb. She could have tucked the glow inside one poppy and rested. Instead she zigzagged from daisies to bells to clustered little stars, humming, “Share it wide!” The rainbow leaned lower, listening, and the flowers opened their faces until the air smelled sweet and wet.
Ever since that afternoon, bees do not keep big joy in one place. They dance directions from bloom to bloom whenever rain and sun make colors in the sky. Next time you see the striped bee beneath the arch, can you spot where Elowen’s Pass-the-Gleam is starting under the milkweed’s peppery leaves?
