Tim-Tom the Tumblebee

Once there was a little bumblebee who was very clumsy. When he flew, he didn’t say “Buzz,” like most bees. He said “Zubb.” When he aimed for a flower, he often missed and found himself trying to suck nectar from a lamppost or a fireplug. And he was always tripping over his wings and hurtling down like a falling star.

When he was first hatched, his father called him Tim and his mother called him Tom, and after a horrible fight, they decided to call him Tim-Tom.

Tim-Tom’s parents were embarrassed that he was so clumsy. They didn’t think he was really a bumblebee. “Bumblebees are such light and graceful creatures,” they said. So they tried to figure out what kind of thing Tim-Tom was. They called him a “Clumsybee,” but that didn’t sound quite right. So they called him a “Stumblebee,” but that didn’t sound quite right either. Finally, they had it. Tim-Tom was a Tumblebee.

Tim-Tom didn’t like being a Tumblebee. He wanted to be a bumblebee like all the other little bees. But the name stuck, and all the little bees, and even some of the big ones who really should have known better, called him Tim-Tom the Tumblebee. Pretty soon Tim-Tom didn’t have any friends at all.

That made him sad, so he decided to leave the hive and live in another place, where people would accept him for who he was, where he would be loved and cared for, where he wouldn’t have to hear a buzz of gossip behind his back at every turn.

So, he set out to find his true home. He zubbed here and there all day. He tried to make friends with the wasps, but they were even meaner than the bumblebees. He tried to make friends with the butterflies, but they only wanted to talk about makeup and new clothes. He tried to make friends with the spiders, and barely escaped with his life.

He zubbed around until the sun went down and it became dark. Tim-Tom had never been out in the dark before, and he was confused and frightened. He tried to make friends with some fireflies, but they kept disappearing just as he was getting into a serious conversation.

Finally, he zubbed over to a busy road. He started to cross the road, and saw two bright eyes rushing toward him. Confused, sad, and scared, Tim-Tom thought that they belonged to a huge, friendly bug who was rushing over to comfort and help him. So Tim-Tom turned and headed straight for the oncoming lights.

Of course, it was a lorry. Tim-Tom was flattened on the windshield and the lorry didn’t even stop to say sorry.

And that was the end of Tim-Tom the Tumblebee.

Moral: It’s probably better to stay where you are, even if people call you names.