BOASTFUL BEE 

“Hey, wooden-head, what are you doing today?” 

Augie: 

“You are very rude. Each day you visit my flowers, and you always say something to hurt my feelings.” 

 Boastful Bee: 

“You are a wooden-head. Every part of you is wood. Just an old donkey cart put together by the master. You hold flowers and stand still in the hot sun.” 

Augie: 

“That’s true. I am not busy and I cannot fly. Does that make me less important then you?” 

Boastful Bee: 

“You have no value. You will fall apart and the master will throw you away one day and build something else that will stand still in the hot sun.” 

Augie: 

“When you are busy in the world and you have a place to go, does that increase your worth?” 

Boastful Bee: 

“Silly wooden-head, of course it does. I am busy every minute. I make honey and spread pollen everywhere. Because of me, there are sweet things on the master’s table to eat.” 

Augie: 

“If there were no flowers, you would have nothing to do. Then, would it be right for me to call you a lazy bee?” 

Boastful Bee: 

“There are always flowers, wooden-head. You have no right to call me names. I am much more important then you. If I do not come back to your porch, your flowers will not spread. That makes me better then you.” 

Augie: 

“The master plants the flowers and has chosen me to hold them. Even though I’m made of wood, you and the others like you still come back to me, and other places where the master plants more flowers. It is very simple to me. Without the flowers, you would die and, with my cart empty, I would rot away to nothing. You need me as much as I need you. Each of us has a very special purpose. We are equal, Boastful Bee.” 

AUGIE’S MORAL: 

It is rude to call each other names. No matter what our purpose may be, we are very valuable to each other. With too much to do, you will always be in a tizzy. But you can never be more important, then someone who is not busy.