on her clipboard The Case of the Missing Spiderweb She paused to savor the moment Solved by Agent Bee Yeah yeah Flea Bee's best friend and co agent was pouting Rub it in why don't ya She was sitting on a beam in Shedquarters the garden shed the insects used as a home base curled up in a big armchair made from a nibbled mushroom and staring miserably at the wall Bee hadn't meant to gloat but since beginning her work in backyard law enforcement she'd carefully followed every policy and procedure She'd done mountains of meticulous paperwork But she'd solved hardly any cases Flea was usually the one doing the exciting work of stopping bug burglaries and rescuing lost ladybugs In fact 6
just that morning Flea had heroically prevented an attempted plant murder by brushing a fungal parasite off a lavender leaf before it could do its dirty work Sure Bee was on top of routines and regulations but Flea was the heart and soul and namesake of the f l e a She seemed to have forgotten that though And all because Arabella Arachnid had been so grateful to Bee for finding her web which hadn’t really been missing just see-through and kind of hard to spot that she’d insisted on spinning six stylish spider-silk leg warmers as a thank-you gift Bee had been wearing the leg warmers proudly all afternoon but now she began to peel them off hoping she could tuck them away in the corner for the night without Flea seeing 7
Acorn Trophy No such luck It’s just hard Flea wailed suddenly SO hard To work so tirelessly and never be truly thanked To feel so unappreciated To have such cold cold legs Flea waved her forelegs and back legs dramatically But you wouldn’t understand would you Bee Flea flopped back into the chair with a huff But Flea Bee pointed above her friend’s head to a storage shelf made of twigs part of which was loaded down with awards for Flea what about your Acorn Trophy for Ensuring Squirrel Safety And look at this one Bee picked up a dried flower bloom They don’t give the Solid 8
Marigold Award to just anyone It’s a real backyard law enforcement honor Those Flea waved a dismissive claw They’re nothing And you know I don’t do it for the glory Bee Bee rolled her eyes but she knew better than to argue when Flea was in such a funk Besides it was getting late You really have had a long hard day Bee said as sympathetically as she could manage And it’s getting dark Why don’t you hop into your nice warm bed and I’ll tell you a story Oh all right Flea crawled into the bottom bunk of the bug-beds she and Bee shared and pulled the covers up to her chin Go ahead she said glumly Bee placed her clipboard on the shelf and flew 9
