Thousands of yellow blooms bobbed atop the vast green lawn This is going to take FOREVER Bee moaned and flopped down in the middle of her last daisy I can’t face it she said even though she knew she’d eventually get up and put one mandible in front of the other After all it’s what bees were born to do But before she could take her next weary breath WRONG WAY The daisy stem trembled Something was galumphing through the flowers toward her STOP THIS SECOND 6
The gardener’s wheezy old wiener dog emerged from a patch of petunias IN THE NAME OF THE LAW Bee sat up shook off some pollen dust and looked around puzzled Who was talking The shrill shouty voice didn’t match the squat sullen dog What’s more his mouth wasn’t moving TURN AROUND NOW Who me Bee fluttered her wings in panic Not you The dog the voice yelled But you might want to move too because any second now Bee buzzed onto a different daisy just as the dog lifted his leg Ha Told ya the voice said then it went back 7
to shouting STOP IT YOU CAN PEE ON YOUR BREAK This was followed by a grumble For the love of peat moss I’ve met mealworm larvae less deaf than you dog Bee followed the sound She stared extremely hard And then she saw it a flea standing on the dog’s head But not just any flea A flea wearing purple horn-rimmed glasses and a matching purple fanny pack Bee watched as the small loud flea burrowed beneath the flop of the dog’s ear THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING she hollered
TURN AROUND At last the dog heard He spun twice on the spot Then with a high pitched moan like the air going out of a balloon he sank to the ground and fell asleep in the shade Oh you’ve gotta be kidding me The flea marched out from under the dog’s ear and down the bridge of his nose She threw her claws up in the air That’s the third nap my driver’s taken today What’s a professional parasite gotta do to get some decent help around here
