A DEEP PLOT
AS time passed, Betsy continued to see a great deal of Joseph Bumble.And she noticed one peculiar thing: Although he talked continually ofhis cousin Buster Bumblebee, the Queen's son, no one had ever seen thetwo together.
"How does it happen," she asked Joseph at last, "that I never find youwith your cousin? Aren't you friends?"
"We're certainly not enemies," said Joseph Bumble, "though I mustadmit that we're not quite so intimate as we might be. You see, Busterand I have different tastes. And now that the red clover is in blossomhe spends all his time in the clover field. But as you know, like you Iam very fond of flowers. And I'd far rather be here in the meadow--orthe flower garden--with you, than in the clover patch with BusterBumblebee."
Naturally such an answer was bound to please Betsy Butterfly. And afterthat she bothered her head no more about the friendship between the twocousins. Certainly Joseph Bumble's explanation sounded reasonable. Andshe had no cause to doubt his statement.
Meanwhile there were others among Betsy Butterfly's admirers who becamevery peevish on observing how much time Betsy and the newcomer in theneighborhood, Joseph Bumble, were spending in each other's society. Andthey agreed among themselves that something ought to be done to put anend to the upstart Bumble's boasting.
"Betsy Butterfly thinks the fellow is a cousin of Buster Bumblebee's,"said Chirpy Cricket. "But I've noticed that he and Buster are nevertogether. Let's ask Buster to come over to the meadow so that he maymeet this cousin of his! And then perhaps we'll learn something moreabout Joseph Bumble than we know now."
Everybody said that that was a good plan. And Betsy's admirers choseDaddy Longlegs to call on Buster Bumblebee and invite him to a party tobe given in the meadow the following day.
Daddy Longlegs agreed to do the errand, in spite of the fact that forhim it was half a day's journey to the Bumblebee's home from the stonewall where he lived. But he thought that by hurrying he ought to be ableto get back in time to put on his best coat and go to the party, thoughhe might arrive somewhat late.
"Don't forget to ask Betsy Butterfly to the party!" Daddy called, as hestarted off on his long trip.
"Don't worry! I'll attend to that myself," Chirpy Cricket promised.
"And don't forget to invite Joseph Bumble!" Daddy cautioned him.
"Oh! we don't need to ask him," said Chirpy Cricket. "He'll comewithout being invited, unless I'm greatly mistaken."
* * * * * * *
Luckily for Daddy Longlegs there was not a breath of wind either thatday or the following one. So he made excellent time to the Bumblebeehome, where he found Buster Bumblebee and gave him his invitation. ThenDaddy turned around and started back towards his stone wall. BusterBumblebee had promised to come to the party. And Daddy wanted to bepresent when the two cousins, Buster Bumblebee and Joseph Bumble,met--with Betsy Butterfly right there to watch them.