The busy little bee flitted from
flower to flower, buzzing happily as she worked in the warm spring sunshine. A
sudden breeze, laden with the sweet aroma of nectar, puffed across the meadow
and caught the little bee's attention. She followed the tantalizing fragrance
into the boggy heart of the meadow, where she discovered the source - a thick
patch of strange, tubular plants, gleaming ruddily in the afternoon sun. Here,
the air was filled with the buzzing of other busy insects going about their
business.
The little bee alighted upon the nearest leaf and although
momentarily confused by the cylindrical shape, she quickly turned her attention
to the rich drops of nectar adhering to the leaf's surface. She eagerly lapped
up the delicious fluid and climbed up the side of the leaf, following the sweet,
sticky trail. Her path led her to a strange opening at the top of the leaf,
and there she teetered, attempting to peer downwards into the gloomy cavern.
The heady scent of nectar wafted up from the depths, but a sense of foreboding
caused the little bee to hesitate. The lure of the nectar droplets gleaming
just inside the tube was too much for her, however, and she scrambled over the
rim and climbed headforemost into the interior of the leaf.
The intoxicating sweetness led the little bee deeper and
deeper into the vertical chasm, until she felt the walls uncomfortably close.
Sensing danger, she attempted to reverse her direction but the tiny hairs lining
the walls were pointing downwards, and prevented her from backing out. The little
bee had no choice but to proceed as before and her situation was now very grim.
Her downward journey had taken her to an area of the tube where the surface
was waxy smooth and she suddenly lost her footing. In a flash, the poor little
bee had fallen and landed with a splash in the murky liquid at the bottom of
the trap. She buzzed her little wings frantically, but the sound was lost amidst
the symphony of other desperate buzzes emanating from all around her.
For this was no ordinary bog. This bog ate meat. |
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