The Bee-Team E-Book

Alexander Ruth

• Herausgeber: Alexaer Ruth
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Six-year-old Oskar and his four-year-old sister Romy from the Tumbawunda Valley make a dreadful discovery in the spring: there is no humming or buzzing anywhere. Have the wild bees in the garden gone? And there’s more. There are far fewer birds in the garden, fewer rabbits in the field. What’s going on out there in the wild? It’s still on their minds when they go to bed that night. They can’t get the wild bees and animals out of their heads. Half asleep, fearing for bumblebees, squirrels, hedgehogs and the like, they recite the magic code. They call out the "Bee-Team"! Before you know it, Oskar and Romy are right in the middle of it all. Together with the ninjas from the "Fantastic Ten" and the Pink Princess Gang, the "Bee-Team" shakes the entire Tumbawunda Valley up. But will that be enough to save them all? In the end, not only the Tumbawunda Valley but the whole world will be turned upside down.

Leseprobe

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Awakening

2. Call for help

3. The mysterious beam of light

4. Strange happenings

5. Gathering

6. The secret meeting place

7. "We need to get started fast!"

8. The farmers' magic potion

9. Witnesses

10. The best farmers in the world

11. The dying Tumbawunda Forest

12. Ninjas know their duties

13. A magic heart

14. The ambush

15. What's wrong with the grown-ups?

16. A new world

17. Credit where credit is due

18. It must be magic!

19. A paradise with blemishes

20. The animals' symphony of gratitude

More stories

The

Bee-Team

by

Alexander Ruth

Translation:

Julie Pollington

Vivien McCauley-Hunter

Impressum:

Alexander Ruth

Am Eichenkreuz 1

40667 Meerbusch

Germany

© April 2022, Alexander Ruth, 1. Edition

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Illustrations: copyright© Alexander Ruth (Ильгиз Сайфутдинов, Kittikiti, Le Panda)

Alle Rechte beim Autor.

ISBN: 9783754651605

Translation: Julie Pollington and Vivien McCauley-Hunter

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek; further information on this title: http://dnb.d-nb.de.

The air will be thinner and without humidity, the rivers will remain without water supply, the soil

won't allow anything else to grow. The animals will starve. The people will have nothing left other

than to die. The once-fertile earth will become desolate and empty.

Leonardo da Vinci

This story took place at a time when animals and humans lived peacefully together. A paradise full of hares, deer, bears, hedgehogs and foxes, full of wild bees, bumblebees, butterflies and birds. Full of chirping, humming and buzzing. These nature nurseries lay beautifully right next to human communities, they merged into each other, respected each other - in absolute harmony. But then people changed. They took the flowers out of their gardens, some replaced them with stones and concrete.

Beautiful green spaces were covered more and more by newly built houses. But it got much worse: to increase the harvest, farmers sprayed poison on the fields, ploughed the last open spaces, taking the last habitat. People cut down trees, drove too many cars, built too many factories, causing temperatures to rise – this led to droughts and forest fires all over the world. And this is what happened to the Tumbawunda Valley too.

Read the magical story of how the animals fought back and how they changed the destiny of the earth at the same time. They were not alone.

For this is how it happened, without a doubt ...

1. Awakening

The warm wind was blowing over the stems like a honeyed caress of the soul. The fresh fragrance of spring was drifting into every corner of the field. While one season came to an end, the next season was coming to life. Winter was fading everywhere, having lost its battle; life was defeating the deadly cold all over the Tumbawunda Valley. Spring was here at last! Green was pushing through the brown. Surprisingly, there had already been a brief glimpse of summer in February with temperatures up to 30 degrees, but that had disappeared again as quickly as it had come. The winter weather was going crazy. Strange times! But now the small white clouds seemed to be playing with the blue of the sky. The temperatures at night were already constantly above ten degrees and the daytime temperature was also quite high at times. The second heatwave of the year was already on its way, but it was clear to everybody that there was now no going back into winter. Here a rustle, there a wobble. Rabbits were plucking at their tails; hedgehogs were shaking the leaves from their spines.

Ladybirds, small firebugs, grasshoppers, all species of insects: the wild bees, the bumblebees, the butterflies and everything else that crawled or fluttered were once again taking control of meadows and fields with the wild animals. A feeling was coming over every living creature, as if you could already smell the lavender, taste the strawberries and see cherries, apples and plums deliciously dangling from the branches. Glorious, just glorious. And already the magic of nature was unfolding on this field that was waking out of its hibernation. For the first time this year, the sun's rays hit the beehive of Queen Majesta, the 723rd, and her people. It hung royally from an almost 1000-year-old lime tree: a golden palace, with golden walls, golden floors, simply everything here seemed to be golden. It was not surprising that they were the largest wild bee tribe on this field. Glorious, just glorious. She stretched and stretched, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Tiredly, she yawned, but realised that her sleep was over. Majesta wiggled her bottom one more time, stretched her legs and then looked at the bedside table next to her four-poster bed.

There it was: her golden crown. She swung her legs out of bed, grabbed her sparkling pride and joy ... and hey presto ... placed it on her head. "Let's go and welcome spring," she grinned and winked at herself in the mirror. She stood in front of her reflection checking that her black and yellow stripes were all in the right place. "Yes, ma'am." There was already a knock at the door. Majesta saluted herself with a broad grin, and then walked energetically to the door, but the knocking became louder and louder. "Alright, alright, hold on, I'm coming," she whispered. She knew it could only be Lavendula, her most diligent servant and advisor. She was probably already so impatient that she just couldn't wait for the hive to come back to life. Knock! Knock! Knock! What on earth was up with her? Lavendula didn't usually make such a fuss! Majesta had almost reached the door and was wondering if everything was OK? With a well-aimed grasp, she opened the door and looked not into the face of her faithful servant Lavendula, but into the panic-stricken eyes of big Bertha, her highest ranking general. Actually, she was a force to reckon with, nobody wanted to mess with her or her sting. Almost 30 medals were pinned to her chest. Among them was the Iron Thorn, the highest honour a soldier could receive. Wow! Yes, it was reported that she had even defeated a sea eagle in flight and had frightened the life out of a bear. She had defeated him all by herself when he had tried to get his hands on her honey. As the story goes, the bear had fled for all to witness when the reinforcements arrived. But now this strong bee was as white as a sheet, standing in front of her looking like a ghost. Big Bertha gathered all her strength and opened her mouth, but not a single word came out. She was speechless. Totally terrified. Majesta realised that Big Bertha was in shock and that really worried her. "Bertha, what's wrong?" Queen Majesta suddenly started to shake, as if her body already knew that what was about to come would be anything but good news. Big Bertha tried to start again, took a deep breath, clung weakly to the door frame and let out the earth-shattering news. "Dead, my Queen, most of them are dead!" Of the 30,000 bees that had gone into hibernation with her, only a few hundred had survived. And they too were weak, very weak. They had run out of food! They hadn't been able to gather enough pollen and nectar during the previous season. Only the crops that the farmer had planted in spring had been any good to them. And the people in the residential area bordering the field either had no flowers at all in their gardens, or they had flowers that looked beautiful but didn't provide pollen and nectar as food.

Some of the neighbours had even completely removed the greenery and put stones in its place. Front gardens with lifeless rockeries had become fashionable! Queen Majesta and her staff of advisors had known before going into hibernation that there was not much in the storerooms - but they had hoped that it would be enough to see them through the winter. They simply hadn't managed to collect any more. What else could they have done? Majesta started to feel dizzy, she no longer knew which way was up or which way was down, which way was right or left. They seemed to be on the brink of disaster without any way out. Her vision became blurred. Most of the colony of Queen Majesta, the 723rd, the wild honeybees from the Tumbawunda Valley had died over the winter. But there was even worse to come. "Your Majesty, that's not all." Not all? Majesta heard the voice of Big Bertha echoing as if it were far away. The words only sunk in slowly. Not all? What else could there be? "Outside our gates, the delegates of other wild bee species are waiting and asking to be let in. They want pollen, nectar and water." She looked into countless pairs of eyes, which all looked dull, desperate and exhausted. The front row was made up of mason bees, carpenter bees, sand bees, bumblebees, large earth bumblebees, and red-tailed bumblebees. Behind them were many, many more representatives of various species of wild bees and bumblebees. At the edge of the field, by the old lime tree in the Tumbawunda Valley, there was hardship! Great need! Famine! Drought! Thirst! Queen Majesta felt powerless. She had no idea what to do. After all, her relatives needed help, but there was nothing they could do. "I ... " she said, but immediately stopped. The representatives of the wild bees stood weakly in front of her either on crutches or supporting one another. Some of them were trembling and coughing, others were no longer able to fly. "It is a miracle that they survived the winter at all," Majesta thought. But she had enough problems of her own. Actually, that was an understatement. Queen Majesta had tears in her eyes. This was no longer her kingdom. Perhaps she was just having a dream, a really bad one, a nightmare ... and she would hopefully wake up soon! Three, two, one ... she pinched herself, but nothing happened. The smell of spring filled the air - but her relatives were standing in front of her, hungry and thirsty. What was she meant to do? She had been the most powerful queen of the largest wild bee colony in the field, but that was now history.

They were in dire need. "Majesta, give us pollen and nectar!" whispered a weak bee to her. A desperate request. The suffering in her eyes was obvious. That look, that awful look. The mere presence of Big Bertha standing beside her gave Majesta the strength to carry on. "Please give us some honey and water, at least! You have plenty, after all!" a little voice now croaked from behind. And then the next one called: "Yes, give us honey, you are the greatest colony in this field!" Hopeful looks were directed towards her. They were expecting her to have honey, she just had to have some! Slowly Queen Majesta started to feel nervous. She felt pain in her soul. She had walked through her golden palace and had seen the devastation with her own eyes. Her heart bled, because her corridors were empty. Thousands of her bee children everywhere should have been waking up slowly from their sleep, breathing life into this wonderful royal residence. But almost nothing had happened. Only here and there some workers, a few servants and soldiers were dragging themselves through the corridors. The remaining food had just been enough for them. They had been the ones to find their siblings - dead. Having starved to death over the winter. And she, Majesta, had seen it with her own eyes. Her stores were completely empty. "I ... " Majesta raised her arms. "We ... " she said, but then a shadow fell on everyone present, in the airy height, by the lime tree, in front of the golden doorway to the golden palace. The shadow became larger and larger, wider and wider. Birds! The first bees cried out, "Save yourselves, if you can!" Majesta was already waving everyone into the palace, so that they could find shelter, but Big Bertha was blocking their way! Soldiers joined her and formed a barrier! They wouldn't let anyone through! What?! What a betrayal! They were all going to be lost and be eaten by the winged brigands! Treason! "Your Highness, fear not!" said a gentle, soft voice in front of her. Big Bertha's voice sounded so calm, so sure, so reassuring. The wild bees couldn't help themselves, they stopped in surprise. They realised that the birds were not coming to attack, rather they were settling in the branches, keeping their distance. Majesta was speechless, she couldn't believe her eyes. She looked straight into the frightened eyes of robins, tits, blackbirds, wrens, greenfinches, sparrows, a full flock of them. She didn't understand. Huh? "Don't worry," Big Bertha patted her shoulder reassuringly. More and more birds were coming to settle in the old lime tree and it looked like there were also a few blue fireflies too.

Within less than a minute, there was no room left in the branches of the old lime tree. Everything in the Tumbawunda Valley that was able to fly was here. "What is this all about?" Queen Majesta looked to her supreme general, Big Bertha in confusion. She was smiling with a wisdom that very few have. "Look at what's happening on the ground too," she advised her and pointed with her finger. The morning sun was slowly rising. Down at the very bottom of the field, alert observers were able to see one small and one slightly larger dot moving in a garden. The sun's rays were just breaking through a white fluffy cloud as if shining a spotlight on the moving points in the garden of the house at the edge of the field. It was almost as if the sun's rays were magically forming two arrows pointing into that garden. Majesta's gaze was fixed on the horizon. "Look down, my Queen," General Bertha touched her gently and pulled her out of her daze. Majesta did as she was asked and could no longer contain her amazement. All the wild animals of the field had gathered there: countless pairs of hares and rabbits, partridges, field hamsters, mice, grasshoppers, hedgehogs, deer, frogs and so, so many more.

And was that a panda over there? Majesta rubbed her eyes. When the panda saw her, he waved happily, scratched his head, wondering. Then he toppled over to one side, to take a little snooze.

2. Call for help

Spring, spring at last. She had been looking forward to it for so long! Her mother had finally allowed her to go into the garden in her bare feet. The grass felt so good beneath her feet! The little fair-haired girl slid open the patio door and jumped happily into the garden. Oh, what a wonderful smell! She took a deep breath.

Sun, spring, satisfaction! She was ready to conquer the world and show everyone what she would be able to do this year. For she was now a year older than last year and that was a big deal! She was already well prepared for this spring. She had put on her pink princess dress, and more importantly, she had new sparkling chalk! Yes, this year she wouldn't just draw pictures on the patio, no, ... this time she would conjure up a proper runway for their bees! "So that you can all find your way around even easier," she mumbled with a smile. Last year, they had already grown some sunflowers which had grown to an amazing height! They had reached the sky. "Almost ten feet high," her father had said. And they were really huge. Probably a hundred times her height. Or thereabouts. They wanted to do that again this year. Everyone in the family had promised to join in. And they had already made a start by planting seeds in a growing kit. She was quite proud of that. She watered them every day. Well, most days, when her mother reminded her to do it. But sometimes she even remembered on her own. Yay! After all, she was four now. No longer still three like some of her friends. "Move!" her brother pushed her out of the way. He was going so fast that she hadn't heard him coming. Right now, he was a Ninja. He was wearing a real Ninja suit! Chasing a monster with his water pistol crossbow. The story was that the monster was trying to hold back the spring, but there was no chance of that happening. "Eeew," Romy complained immediately. If looks could kill ... . "I'll get you back later for this," the 4-year-old was adamant. But first, she needed to get her sunglasses. Gosh, it was so bright. A ray of sunlight was hitting her like an arrow. Only her. And okay: her brother Oskar too. He was standing in the middle of the withered lawn, shading his eyes with his hand. Romy swiftly turned around, dashed into the house and came back with her pink, heart-shaped sunglasses that she had got on their last family holiday. But the funny thing was that no matter where she moved in the garden, the ray of sunshine followed her wherever she went! That was really strange. But it was also a nice warm feeling. " Hee-hee," Romy giggled, jumping backwards and forwards. The sunbeam was literally sticking to her body. Oskar had now noticed this too. He did a really excellent Ninja-Judo forward roll, unexpectedly diving to the left at one point and the sunbeam still stuck to him like a magnet. "Romy, look," he exclaimed enthusiastically and took off on what might have been the fastest sprint he had ever run in this garden. He ran in a circle, made a loop, then jumped backwards ... knocking over several flowerpots. Crash, bang, wallop. "Hee-hee," Romy giggled and pointed at Oskar. That was for pushing her, but the sun's rays continued to follow both of them, no matter where they moved to. "What's going on here?" a voice suddenly wanted to know. Click ... the two sunbeams disappeared. Their mother was standing on the patio. Romy looked at Oskar in surprise. "Nothing, Mum. Nothing!" He raised his hands innocently and quickly put the flowerpots back. Fortunately, none of them were damaged. "Well, it was pretty loud out here for nothing," she whispered, and seeing that nothing was broken and nobody was hurt, she went back inside the house. Click ... the beams of sunlight were back. "Hee-hee," Romy just giggled. However, a white fluffy cloud now moved over them in the sky. And somehow, Romy got the feeling that hundreds of pairs of eyes were watching her. Not nearby, but from the other side of the field that bordered their house. Only a small hedge separated it from their garden. But at least she was able to see over it now. After all, she was no longer three and therefore no longer a little girl. "Shall we count spring bees?" Oskar came over to her. Oh, yes! They had done that the previous year, too. It was really easy. You just had to sit down in front of the blossoming rosemary and start counting. Romy and Oskar wandered through the garden, past the swing and the sandpit, and sat down in front of the green bush. A beautiful scent came from the bush with its purple flowers. Their father was a forest warden and had brought it home from the forest. Or something like that. Neither of them had really paid attention. Whatever, the rosemary had suddenly been there. Last year, wild bees had loved it. Romy and Oskar had issued themselves a bee rescue pass each, because of it and the sunflowers, but that was top secret. Strictly confidential. "Can you see anything?" Oskar asked Romy. Apart from three electric blue fireflies, there was nothing going on. "Hmm," Oskar scratched his head. He got up and took a look at the thermometer. He had already learned how to read. "But it's warm enough," he shouted over to Romy. It was more than 10 degrees, he had determined. Where were all the wild bees? This time last year, the bees had already been flying around! Strange, really strange. Oskar looked at Romy with a questioning look. In her pink princess dress, she only shrugged her shoulders sadly: "I don't know ... " She stood up and went closer to the rosemary. "Hmm" now the three electric blue fireflies had disappeared, too. Oh no, they were still there. Right at the back of the insect hotel. Romy followed them and was now standing in front of the wooden block with holes in it. It was hanging quite high up on the garden shed. Oskar came and stood right next to her. "Well, that's unusual" he scratched his head again to show that he was thinking about the situation. The holes that should actually have been open by now were still blocked. Usually, there would have been mason bees, but they should have already hatched and been on their way to eagerly fill the tubes with eggs, pollen and nectar themselves. That had always been their job, ever since the beginning of time. It was the law. "Should I lift you up and you can see if there are any in there?" Oskar suggested. "Oh yes" Romy exclaimed. Oskar was her big brother - and he was pretty strong. One, two, three… he already had his hands around her waist and she shot up. Sitting on top of the insect hotel, the three electric blue fireflies were watching her. "Nothing to see, Oskar," she shouted down from her position up high. Romy even got one eye very close to a hole in the log. It was strange. There really was nothing at all to see. Romy felt herself starting to feel sad. But they had made such an effort last year. "Ugh," came from down below. Romy looked into another hole. Nothing, absolutely nothing! "How much longer?" "There are no bees, Oskar!" Oskar groaned, as he set his little sister back down. "And now?" The answer to this question came in the form of another question: "Will you please come back in now?" called their mother. Ninja Oskar was also dejected. They had known for some time that the wild bees were unwell. That was why they had made bee rescue badges and planted the sunflowers last year! That was the reason their father had built the insect hotels with them! What could have happened to them? Had they maybe moved? Was their big garden with its four or five sunflowers not good enough? But their garden was spacious! There was plenty of mowed lawn for them to play on! The bees could also play around there! Oskar and Romy turned around one more time. That's when they noticed that the two rays of sunlight had disappeared. So had the three electric blue fireflies. Could it be that they didn't have enough tasty flowers and herbs for wild bees in their big garden after all? "Or could it simply be that they had been kidnapped by a monster?" Oskar looked at Romy in shock. "Oh dear," she exclaimed.

Oskar took up his Ninja stance again. Romy anxiously positioned herself behind him. "Then, then…" his imagination ran away with him. It must have been the three double-headed troll Martians he had chased earlier. He had had to push Romy aside for her own safety, otherwise they would have gobbled her up. But if they were able to abduct all the wild bees from the neighbouring field, maybe even other creatures as well, or even to eat them, then he was not strong enough to fight them on his own. Some kind of superhero squad would be needed. Romy realised that her brother's imagination was taking over. Oh yes, she loved that. Just brilliant! That's where the greatest stories came from! This would require a super-secret elite special gang which he could support with his Ninja powers. Something like ... "The Bee-Team," he cried out. Romy opened her eyes. "Yes, the Bee-Team!" Romy and Oskar high-fived and hugged each other.

But suddenly, a voice called out. "Children, are you coming inside?" Oh! Not now! But they missed something. Three rabbits scurried away frantically. They had been hiding in the hedge, eavesdropping. When the name "The Bee-Team" was mentioned, their eyes had grown wide. Now they were running as fast as they could. "The Bee-Team". They now had a name, and it was their only chance.

Later that evening, after their good night prayer while they were lying in bed, their mother gave them each a kiss on the forehead, then she pulled the door, nearly closing it but leaving it slightly ajar. Romy and Oskar waited until they heard her going down the stairs. "I have asked the good Lord to send the Bee-Team," Romy whispered to Oskar. He was looking up at the starry sky above their beds. He waited a moment. "Me too," he whispered back.

As he rolled over, he started to wonder what they would look like. Romy was already picturing the Bee-Team saving everyone. "Good night," she whispered, playing with the blanket with her feet. She held her cuddly toy cat close to her neck. "We need the Bee-Team," she gently whispered. Her thoughts now turned to her friends, they had to tell them about the missing bees, then they both fell asleep. Soon both of them started to dream. But they were not good dreams: there were wild bees that were being eaten up by hundreds of monsters, and others that were starving and dying of thirst in bare fields. Farmers in their welly boots stood right in front of them and mocked them as they lay dying. They pointed their fingers at them. There were neighbours screaming, "We'll show the wild bees and animals who's in charge." Then they uprooted the last flowers and bushes from their gardens, chopped down the last beautiful trees and burned down whole forests.

Once that had been done, the concrete mixers came and covered all the surfaces. Everything turned to grey. Even the gardens. They wanted space for cars and stinking factories. Not one spot was left green. Not a single one. Romy and Oskar both began to sweat and tremble in their beds. "Help, help," they murmured anxiously. They twitched. Suddenly, at the same time, they both whispered out into the night, in barely audible voices: "Help, we need the Bee-Team!" triggering a magical code. The three electric blue fireflies on the outside of their windowpane opened their eyes in surprise.

All of a sudden, there was a crackling and cracking noise in the children's room. Magic was returning to the blue planet. Thousands of little stars appeared directly above their beds, they literally electrified the air. And then it happened: suddenly the golden stars danced beautifully across Oskar and Romy's faces, then gathered in the middle of the room and turned into a rainbow-coloured ball of energy. The children's room was now a sparkling part of the rainbow magic. "Bee-Team, come," Oskar and Romy tossed and turned at the same time in their sleep and the magic coloured ball shot out into the night, deep into space. They had sent out the call for help which was known throughout the universe - the code. The code for the real Bee-Team ...

3. The mysterious beam of light

The alarm clock made Romy and Oskar jump. Boy, were they still tired! What a night that had been! "Come on, get up," shouted the "alarm clock," also known as Mum, into the children's room. Somehow, they were both feeling sleepier than usual. Romy looked sleepily at Oskar, he looked back at her. It took a while for both of them to start moving their legs. "I dreamed strange things," said Romy, looking at Oskar. "Me too," he scratched his head. They didn't get out of bed immediately, but they managed to dangle their legs over the side. "Come on, you sleepyheads!" The "alarm clock" was annoying but there was no escape. "Ugh," Romy sighed, covering her cuddly toy cat with her blanket and gently laying her head back on the pillow. At least the cat was able to stay in bed.

The 'alarm clock' poked her head back into children's bedroom. "Hurry up! Into the bathroom!" The children sighed. Romy and Oskar tiredly stumbled into the bathroom, got dressed and made their way to the breakfast table. The TV was switched on. How unusual. A news channel was showing repeat coverage of a colourful beam of light coming from the sky. It looked like a straight rainbow. The footage was showing countless mobile phone videos from all over the world. JuTube was filled with clips of it all from various angles. " ... We don't know from where the mysterious light beam originated," said the newsreader. At the bottom of the screen, the news ticker showed phrases like: "Have aliens sent a signal to Earth?", "Unknown beam of light from the depths of the universe hits Earth!", "Point of impact believed to be the Tumbawunda Valley.", "Residents should continue their normal routines.", "Experts are now arriving to investigate possible consequences." Oskar and Romy only vaguely took it in.

The children were sitting at the table, but they were both still much too tired. Besides, thoughts of the bees and of their strange dreams swirled around in their heads. They had to tell their friends about all of it. Then a voice suddenly interrupted their thoughts. "Last day today," said their mother while she was making their sandwiches. "Huh?" "Then you've made it!" Romy was dozing away, Oskar didn't understand. "Huh?" Their mother grinned. "Then it's the weekend and the start of two weeks of holiday." Aaaaah. This news made them perk up like a grown-up who had just had his first cup of coffee that day. Romy and Oskar were immediately filled with joy and excitement. This was their last day of kindergarten and school this term. "Hee-hee," Romy giggled now. They had almost forgotten about last night. Hang on, were the three electric blue fireflies sitting on the windowsill again?

And ... um ... was there a panda sitting there too, looking into their dining room? Oskar rubbed his eyes and the electric blue fireflies and the panda had disappeared. He rubbed his eyes again. But there really was nothing left. "Whoa!" he looked stunned, but then something else happened. They now spotted a TV station van slowly driving down the street in front of their house. Strange. "Did either of you notice anything strange last night?" their mother asked casually. Huh? She immediately recognised her children's questioning looks. "No, apparently not," Mum giggled and gave them both a kiss on the head. "Ready?" Romy shoved the last piece of bread into her mouth, then pushed her plate away. "I'm done!" Oskar quickly gulped down the rest of his orange juice. "Me too." Their mother quickly lifted the plates and cups and went into the kitchen. None of them took any notice of the TV presenter in the background.

"In addition to the reports of the mysterious beam of light in the Tumbawunda Valley, another worrying piece of news has reached us. All over Germany, insects are dying. Between 30 and 80 percent of all insects have disappeared. About 80 percent of the plants growing in the wild are pollinated by insects. If there aren't any insects, plants can no longer reproduce ... " Then it happened again. A panda climbed onto the outside of the windowsill and wiggled his bottom like in a traditional Hawaiian dance. This time, Romy saw him, too. Their eyes grew wide. Neither Romy nor Oskar knew how to react. They didn't need to react as the panda waved to them, but then lost his balance and fell backwards off the windowsill, right into their garden. Immediately, Romy and Oskar jumped up, ran out of the front door and around the corner. But there was nothing there. "Are you still not ready to go?"

Totally surprised, they turned around and only then, did they notice the commotion in front of their house. In front of them, the brothers Noah and Nick with their friend Dominic were already waiting on their bikes. Steven and Kevin were waiting too. But they were not alone: each of them was accompanied by at least one parent. The grown-ups whispered, chatted, looked around in confusion, because all over the Tumbawunda Valley, the streets were filled with camera vans from major TV stations. Amongst them, there were government vehicles and men and women walking around in full body protective suits, wearing breathing masks and carrying strange gadgets with antennas. They were flashing and beeping. There were people walking around with placards saying, "We are not alone!" "Take me with you!" and "The end of the world is coming!" Some of them even had homemade tin foil hats.

Others were undoubtedly hippies, dancing or meditating in their colourful clothes in the middle of the streets. Two of them had even built a shrine in front of Romy and Oskar's house and were worshipping an alien toy. Oskar and Romy were really excited. What was going on? Noah and Nick saw the surprise on their faces. "Didn't you notice anything during the night?" Their mother answered for them, "No, they were sound asleep." She already had Oskar's schoolbag and Romy's kindergarten rucksack with her, whilst pushing their bikes at the same time and somehow managing to feed Maja the cat and holding puppy Ben on his lead. "Come on, let's go," she signalled to Romy and Oskar. They tried to follow her straight away, but it was totally crazy. At the very last second, they were distracted by the panda waving. He winked at them happily! Gee whizz! What they didn't see, what no one saw, was the three electric blue fireflies. Two of them crawled into Romy's sheep rucksack, one of them into Oskar's schoolbag. As they set off, Noah came flying over to Oskar. "Something happened here in Tumbawunda Valley," he whispered to Oskar. He nodded quickly. Oh yes, there was no doubt about that ...

4. Strange happenings

That had been the strangest morning ever. The whole town seemed to be overflowing with strangers. Even soldiers were helping to direct the traffic because the police were overwhelmed. Helicopters continuously flew overhead. And of course, there were camera drones in the airspace above the city. Sophie, Paula, Isabella, Elena, Emma and Jules had been waiting for Romy at kindergarten. The girls eagerly discussed what might have happened in Tumbawunda Valley. Well, they also played through some possible scenarios because this helped them to understand the whole thing. It was also a hot topic in Oskar's primary school, but in more detail than in kindergarten.

In an area well-protected from adult eyes, Oskar had gathered his friends, the brothers Noah and Nick, Thomas and Olivia, Jonathan, Dominic, the brothers Steven and Kevin and Freddie as well during the break. World affairs were being discussed here. Top secret! "My father says it could be some kind of communication beam from a faraway civilisation," said Noah. They were crouched in a circle. Everyone nodded. While not everyone here knew what a civilisation was, others didn't know what a communication beam was. Some didn't understand any of it, but nobody let their lack of knowledge show. Of course, everyone agreed very seriously. Yes, that could be the case! "They're going to search the entire Tumbawunda Valley." Everyone agreed with that, too. Oskar told them about the horrible things he'd observed with the wild bees. They had disappeared! And again, the others agreed. Yes, they had noticed that too. It was terrible.

Olivia added that she had the impression that there were also fewer birds. And yes, the group had noticed that too. "For some reason, the other animals are also absent," said Dominic. In this secret group, everyone frowned. Yes, that was also true. Was there perhaps a connection with the colourful beam of light? Oskar was just wondering what it was he had wanted to say. What was it that he had prayed for last night? Hmm, his brain was busy working, but here in the Tumbawunda Valley there had been so much going on all morning. "No, it couldn't be true, the beam of light only appeared later," mumbled someone in the group, tearing Oskar away from his thoughts. "That's right," confirmed Nick. That beam of light didn't appear until later on. It couldn't have had an impact on the wild bees, the birds and the animals. The others nodded in agreement. One thing they definitely all agreed on was that they had only one hour of lessons left after this break! It was clear that they were all going to meet up to investigate for themselves.

After all, this was their home. And no-one knew their way around it better than they did. No one! That was obvious. After all, they had already climbed through every hedge, into every bush and up every tree. They knew hiding places which grown-ups would never think of! They knew secret tunnels and caves. Yes, this special force, which had just been formed here and now, was definitely way ahead of all the grown-ups. Everybody knew that for sure. Likewise, the grown-ups didn't have any little electric blue fireflies like the one that just crawled out of Oskar's breast pocket, sat in the middle of the circle and dreamily continued to listen to the plans here, until it realised that it was as quiet as an afternoon nap. Too quiet. Uh oh. Oskar and all his friends had spotted him! Gosh! He had been daydreaming! "Oh, my goodness. Oh dear. I have to get out of here!" And 'plop' he had disappeared with a rainbow-coloured mini starburst.

He had just dissolved into thin air! The rainbow-coloured star disintegrated into thin air and small rainbow-coloured sparkles of glitter drifted onto the ground. The concrete of the playground cracked where the glitter landed. It crunched and crackled slightly, then a mini sunflower pushed up through the concrete and seconds later it looked as if this beautiful plant had always been there. Nick raised his hand, and everyone looked at him. He took a deep breath, but then he lowered his hand again without saying anything. Then Jonathan raised his hand. Everyone looked at him too, he wanted to say something. "Um." He couldn't think of anything to say. He just lowered his hand again. No one in this group had any explanation for what had just happened. They were simply stunned. In Romy's kindergarten, however, something else had happened which hadn't gone unnoticed, but nobody there had an explanation for it either. In the middle of the outdoor playground, a golden bee statue now towered up into the air. On its shoulders were all the animals of the forest and the front gardens, plus butterflies, ladybirds and many, many more insects.

Seven times the size of the mini sunflower in the playground. Seven times as high because there were seven children - Sophie, Paula, Isabella, Elena, Emma, Jules and Romy. They had been playing in the sandpit of a large mud kitchen. Their secret ingredient was one electric blue firefly each. When the two companions in Romy's sheep rucksack had noticed that things were quite peaceful here in the kindergarten and that the teachers were watching the children but didn't see everything in detail, they had easily thrown their caution to the wind and started playing with Romy and her friends. Romy had told her friends about the missing bees and they had also noticed that there were fewer other animals and some were missing altogether. Emma had even seen a dead hare in the dried-up grass along the bicycle path; Jules had noticed dead bumblebees and bees in a front garden of stones and concrete. The only logical step would be to create some of their own.

While they were playing, the electric blue fireflies had been delighted that the girls were adding them into every sand cake as a 'treat'. From their point of view, this wasn't quite so bad. They were still able to fulfil their original task. And because they enjoyed it so much, they had put a little present into each 'cake'. Three, two, one ... their gifts had also grown in a matter of seconds, then melted together and now formed the golden statue in the middle of the kindergarten playground. At first the girls had enjoyed this, but now the first camera teams were already descending on the kindergarten.

Was that an extra-terrestrial phenomenon? People from the city council were buzzing around everywhere, the head kindergarten teacher was already in tears because of the many interviews she was having to give. Only somehow, none of the grown-ups had thought to ask the seven little friends. It wouldn't have helped anyway, because they had promised each other that they would all keep the secret and protect their new friends! Besides, they had also arranged to meet up after kindergarten to get to the bottom of the secret of the mysterious rainbow-coloured ray from outer space. This was now a matter of honour, just like with Oskar and his buddies. And besides, they all had the feeling they'd find out more than all the grown-ups put together. And luck was on their side as they heard the 'gong' of the school bell from the primary school. Hundreds of children streamed out enthusiastically. The holidays had started!

5. Gathering

The day was drawing to a close, the sun was slowly setting on the far side of the field, where three field hares were sitting. They were surrounded by everything that crept and flew in the woods and meadows, everything that buzzed and crawled around, everything that hummed and hissed. The whole animal kingdom of the Tumbawunda Valley had gathered around the three long-eared creatures at the foot of the old lime tree, under the golden palace, in the withered grass. In terms of numbers, however, there were more wild bees here than any other creature, but unfortunately that still wasn't a lot. There actually seemed to be even fewer of them than there had been a while ago. The bees that were present didn't look well either. They were light-skinned and thin, some were dirty, looking like vagabonds, others were so weak they could hardly stand up. The field hares were barely able to hop, the blackbirds and tits couldn't fly very well, the bumblebees could barely hum.

Some were coughing, others were trembling. Hunters and their prey were sitting peacefully side by side. Nobody present here attacked anyone else, as would actually have been the case in the good old days. They were simply too weak; their need was much too great - they had to stick together. But this was most clearly visible with the different species of wild bees, who were holding each other up. Some were crying, others sobbing. Some of them weren't even able to fly away to search for food anymore. Queen Majesta, the 723rd, had therefore ordered that the small amount of honey her proud colony had left over should be shared with the other wild bees and bumblebees. But there was so very little honey left that it had to be rationed. This meant that most of the honey was given to the wild bees that went out searching for food. They could only gather pollen and nectar if they had enough strength to do so. They had to cover big areas to ensure they had a chance of finding food for everyone. Unfortunately, this decision made sense. Everyone realised that.

That also inevitably meant that others received even less of what was left, but then there was an unexpected development. During the meeting, little drops of honey were being passed around! From one minute to the next, food was suddenly available. The explanation came from Brownie, an embarrassed female brown bear from the valley, who had brought along her last pot of honey. She still had it left over from hibernation. Initially, the wild bees had wanted to be angry, because they had no idea where she had got the honey from, but it didn't really matter any longer. They were all too weak to argue about it. Their joy at being able to eat honey to gain strength was greater than their anger.

Every wild bee and every bumblebee filled its belly. "And are you sure you heard that correctly?" Queen Majesta stood in front of the three hares scratching her head. "The two little human children really said 'Bee-Team'?" The long-eared hares, bouncing with excitement, put their paws to their chests. "Yes, that's exactly what they said! Honestly!"

The fox in the third row shrugged his shoulders: "I've never heard anything about a 'Bee-Team'." Neither had the two female wild ducks next to him. They quickly chattered quietly with one another, then they looked to the front again. There were serious faces in the branches above. Blackbirds, titmice, robins, but also hawks, buzzards and eagles all looked down with grim faces.

Boy, the wild ducks really annoyed them, they always had something to gossip about. Now even the wild geese looked up. But everyone knew that wild geese were just as bad as wild ducks at chitchatting - they always had something to gossip about too. The bald eagle had had enough. With his wings and feathers, he made a sign to remind the ducks and geese that he had his eyes on them. Then he grimly pointed towards the ducks and geese, as if to say: "keep it shut, got it? I'm watching you!" "Gulp," everyone in the audience understood immediately. The wild geese and ducks all drew their necks in a little bit. OK, we won't say another word! "Has anybody here ever heard of the Bee-Team?" Queen Majesta asked the assembled group.

Her golden crown didn't seem quite as shiny as it used to be. It took a little while, but then most of those present started to shake their heads. No, never heard of it. The name was not familiar to the brown or black bears, the hedgehogs, the pheasants, the vipers, the raccoons, the grasshoppers, or anyone else present. "I knew that the bumblebees wouldn't know it," whispered one bee secretly. Most wild bees thought the bumblebees weren't very bright. They were content with almost any flower; wild bees were much pickier. "My goodness, has nobody ever heard of the Bee-Team?" Queen Majesta looked at the three field hares, then desperately at Big Bertha.

She thought it over and over, then she seemed to have an idea. Bingo! Quickly the General walked up and down, her eyes wandering searchingly through the rows of those sitting on the ground. Past the deer, past the wild boars and badgers, past the blue wood bees, past the amphibians and past the various frogs. She had to be here somewhere… "Is Methusala not here yet?" she suddenly shouted. Methusala? Everyone knew her: Methusala was the oldest inhabitant of the Tumbawunda Valley. "Of course, she's here!" cried the water fleas in a squeaky voice. Great! They were so small that nobody actually knew where the voices were coming from. General Bertha activated her wings and rose into the air, her medals jingling. Immediately all the wild bees joined her and suddenly a slight buzzing filled the meeting place. Everyone was troubled. Where was Methusala?

Their gazes all pointed in one direction. The river and pond dwellers of the Tumbawunda Valley had gathered in the bottom, left corner of the field, not far from the little stream. It had dried up into a trickle, but at least most of them could still quickly sprinkle themselves with a little bit of water there. And look: Methusala was there after all! The European pond turtle who was at least one hundred years old, had also settled down here under the lime tree in the dried-up grass and was fast asleep. "Snore, snore, snore," but only those who were close enough to her shell were able to hear it. Big Bertha looked around, grabbed a small branch, flew over to Methusala and knocked on her shell. But nothing happened. "Snore, snore, snore," she continued. Now Queen Majesta landed next to Methusala. She held onto her crown as she landed, displacing Bubbles and Blobber, two rather young European pond turtles.

Everyone suspected that they were at least great-great-grandchildren of Methusala, if not even perhaps her great-great-great-grandchildren, but nobody knew for certain. After all, turtles simply laid their eggs and then disappeared. But they were definitely related. Now Queen Majesta took General Bertha's stick and knocked hard all over the shell. Knock, knock, knock. Bubbles and Blobber giggled. By now, a cluster had formed around the sleeping Methusala. Every animal and every insect wanted to know if she knew the Bee-Team. Knock, knock, knock. By this stage, Queen Majesta was holding the stick with both hands and was hammering away on the shell. But nothing happened, except, "snore, snore, snore." Ugh. Soon General Bertha grabbed a stick too and it was only a few seconds before the sounds echoed in stereo. Knock-knock, knock-knock, knock-knock.

Finally, something started to happen: slowly, very slowly, her front and back legs came out from under the shell and even more slowly a very, very old head pushed itself forward. "Did someone knock?" the old pond turtle croaked. She still only had her eyes half open, she had to find her bearings first. What planet was she on again? Oh yes, Earth. Good. Which century? Hmm, 21st? It might be. What year was it; what day of the week was it? "Come on," Methusala muttered to herself, she didn't want to have to think that much. First, she yawned heavily, then she rubbed her eyes leisurely. When she opened them properly, she was quite astonished, because in all her decades, she had never seen so many pairs of eyes looking at her all at once.

She looked left in surprise, then right. "Umm," she now looked at Queen Majesta and General Bertha of the largest wild bee colony here in Tumbawunda Valley. They each still had their sticks in their hands. "Umm," Methusala looked down at them. "Yes, how may I help you?" Queen Majesta was just turning to her proud General when someone screamed from the branches above them: "Do you know the Bee-Team?" Methusala slowly raised her head. Gosh, there wasn't a leaf left on any of the branches! Suddenly, a feather gently drifted down. Methusala croaked upwards: "What did you say?" The pond turtle granny definitely wasn't the youngest, everyone knew that and therefore it was logical that her ears did not work as well as they used to. But it wasn't all bad, she thought. It meant that she didn't have to listen to all the rubbish the young people talked about.

Boy, the female turtles could gossip about other female turtles. She hadn't been like that when she was younger. Oh, the good old days ... she was just starting to reminisce. But not for long: "Do you know the Bee-Team??" one of the racoons in the back row shouted now, using both of his paws to make a funnel in front of his mouth. Methusala gently rocked her shell to wake herself up a bit. What had the young man in the back row called out? Had she heard him properly? As if the penny was slowly beginning to drop, her eyes opened more and more in slow motion. She literally pulled them open until they were gleaming! Her eyes sparkled like the night sky! And suddenly she was bursting with energy as if she had just hatched out of an egg!

And everyone in the room realised it, some of them got goose bumps immediately. Forces gathered in Methusala that no one in the Tumbawunda Valley had ever seen enter a living being so quickly. But the pond turtle grandmother Methusala wanted to play it safe and she looked at Queen Majesta and General Bertha with a serious expression. With the calm voice of eternity, she asked, "Would you mind repeating your question?" The two of them dropped their sticks in awe, then Majesta, the 723rd, opened her mouth and whispered: "Do you know the Bee-Team?" Hush, pause, silence. Then it started to get mysterious. From one moment to the next, the ground started to vibrate and the lime tree magically started to tremble. Immediately some birds moved together anxiously, a few frogs jumped into the mud of the creek as a precaution, the bears adopted a defensive position.

The eerie feeling seemed to come from the other side of the field. Everyone who was present felt it. Meanwhile, dusk was almost over, the night was about to begin. Then it happened. First a window on the other side of the field sparkled in rainbow colours, then a magical, colourful ball of energy shot diagonally up into the evening sky, out into the vastness of space. "Yay!" the wild animals cheered. Then there was a brief moment of calm. All eyes gazed out into the universe. Eternity seemed to be determining the moment. Time no longer mattered. Words could not express this feeling. Suddenly the ground trembled again, the lime tree shook and the universe answered. A magical rainbow-coloured beam pierced its way deep out of space, coming from a distant galaxy, through this beautiful evening sky, right in front of the eyes of all the wild animals, right into the forest of the Tumbawunda Valley!

No one could possibly describe this moment. The magical rainbow-coloured beam of light blinded them, but it was the most beautiful thing any of them had ever seen. Immediately, everyone was touched, feeling the magic deep within their souls. Their hearts glowed. They were pumping. They were jumping. They were dancing. Ecstasy, perhaps, was the best way to describe it. Hope was pumping through every plumage, through every fur, through every scaly skin, through every shell. Wild bees and bumblebees, buzzards and eagles, robins and sparrows, deer and hares, raccoons and brook dwellers, all were captivated. Methuselah's strong, almost joyful, expectant, but above all overpowering voice was now audible to everyone: "Oooh yes ... I know the Bee-Team."

6. The secret meeting place

The temperatures had risen, and summer was approaching with the second unusually strong heatwave of up to 35 degrees Celsius. To everyone's surprise, they had already struggled with almost 30 degrees Celsius in February, but most people had been happy about the warm temperatures rather than worried. And with the current weather, there was a hustle and bustle among the people of Tumbawunda Valley like in an ant's nest. They were all really getting into the swing of things. Oskar ran to his mother and gave her a kiss. He had put on his Ninja suit with the Rambo Bee logo, especially for today's mission. Romy was already wearing her pink princess dress and carrying her sheep backpack. She went to her mother too, gave her a kiss and reached the front door at the same time as Oskar. "But I want you both back by 5 p.m. at the latest," their mother called after them. After their extremely short day at school, they had eaten lunch (at record speed) - actually far too early. Much to her own surprise, Romy hadn't even complained and had cleared her plate quickly as they wanted to meet up with their friends again right away. Two weeks of holidays, two weeks in which they would now be able to solve everything! Oskar and Romy ran out and jumped on their bikes.

Then they rolled down the driveway on their bikes and stopped at the edge of the footpath. The street was still busy. Crowds of people were pushing their way through the Tumbawunda Valley. There seemed to be even more visitors now than there had been this morning. No wonder! By this stage, people were arriving from all four corners of the earth. They could see a Japanese film crew over there, elsewhere Chinese UFO hunters were wandering through the crowds. They were wearing pretty stupid-looking alien scanner glasses and these were connected to their expensive smartphones. Together with the pictures they were taking of everything, they were 'analysing' the surroundings. One of them even stopped just in front of Romy and Oskar. He 'scanned' the two of them with his glasses, examined Romy and Oskar with his smartphone and then gave them a big thumbs up and a grin. Green light! "Everything's okay, you're not aliens!" But that wasn't all that was going on outside their house. The street was starting to smell like a fairground: some clever neighbours had set up stalls in their gardens and were now selling drinks and snacks to the tourists. Making money had become the order of the day! They saw their neighbours chasing away the wasps, but there were also some wild bees who were desperately trying to find some food.