Maya the Bee

Spring has come again and Maya and her friends awake out of hibernation. When Maya goes to wake her friend Flip, she learns that he has not been seen since he saved the Rednose family during a fire. Maya and Willi.go off to look for him and find him with a little, grey mouse. The mouse is called Alexander the Great and seems to be very educated.

Whilst gathering maize with Alexander the mouse, Willi and Flip, Maya discovers a garden with huge vegetables. When Flip wants to try some of them he is warned by mother ladybird. Her son Herrmann has become fat and arrogant as a result of eating the vegetables. She is in the depths of despair.

On a wonderful summer evening Maya and Willi hear music drifting across the meadow. Thekla the spider is practising for the annual open- air concert. Whilst at the rehearsals,they discover Alexander who obviously also knows a great deal about music. He promises Thekla to find her a first class soprano for the concert, namely Clothilde the cricket.

One hot summer's day the whole meadow was groaning because of the terrible heat. Without telling the others, Alexander takes Maya to see an uncle who lives in a cool, most gentlemanly villa. But Willi has heard everything and feels annoyed. It is indeed cool in the villa, but it, is also noisy because other insects live there as well. Meanwhile Willi and Flip have decided, together with all the in

One day Alexander brought home a horrible, stinking cheese and explained that it would be ripe in a week's time when it would stink even more. Maya and Flip ran away from the stench horrified, and even Willi couldn't endure it either. But a week later Alexander came to the others in a rage and said someone had stolen his cheese. At once he started to suspect everyone.

Maya and Willi are collecting pollen when suddenly, screams and laughter are heard coming from the meadow. Filled with curiosity they fly over there. Two acrobatic fleas are performing their tricks and all the meadow creatures are standing around and clapping applause.

A large gathering takes place on the meadow about the occasion of the annual harvest thanksgiving celebration. Thekla the spider insists on performing her violin solo, but everyone is against this. Alexander suggests organizing a game with the winner receiving a medal. Everyone agrees enthusiastically and all agree on holding a marathon.

One morning the inhabitants of the forest glade discover footprints. They are afraid that there are humans in their forest glade who will crush and destroy everything as they did once before. All the beetles panic and decide to leave at once. Only Maya, Willi and Alexander want to stay behind and wait. Meanwhile mother ladybird tells her children about the damage humans can do.

Maya and Willie are looking at clouds moving across the sky and thinking up stories. Alexander comes and joins them, taking the opportunity to join in their game and tell stories yet again about his ancestors. This becomes too boring for Maya and Willie so he tells them about Queen Cleopatra the honey bee who lived on the Nile in Egypt and who was a renowned beauty.

Alexander is fighting with Withy over a wooden button when he suddenly smells something sweet. He follows the smell and comes upon a bottle of strawberry 'pop' in front of which a long queue of ants are waiting patiently for a sip. As usual Alexander pushes in front, crawls into the bottle and drinks almost the lot. After he has finished he finds he can't get out - he has become too fat.

One day Alexander receives a letter from the city which announces a visit. After he had floated over the waterfall he had drifted, right into the city. A mosquito, a harvest spider and a wood-louse saved him from being eaten by a water rat. To show his thanks he had invited them to the poppy meadow and now they wanted to come and visit him.

Honey has been stolen from the bee's store-house. In order to stop this happening again the guards have to be increased. Willie volunteers for service. The next day Willie is found asleep and the remaining honey has been stolen. Willie is chased away with abuse and shame. He is never to come back to the hive. Poor, homeless Willie wanders around and feels unfairly treated.

One day Alexander tells Maya about a being from another planet which came to the earth many years ago. Not long afterwards Willi appears and talks about a monster. When Maya and Alexander go to look at this monster they find an extraordinary, glittering, green animal. They are both convinced that this is the being from another planet.

Whilst visiting Dr. Schnecke Maja and Willie see something fall from the sky. It is Freda the fly who has been sprayed with insecticide. But Freda has other reasons for being unhappy. She finds life as a fly unpleasant because nobody likes flies. Maja asks Puck the fly to cheer up Freda. But neither is he able to provide Freda with more self reliance.

Maja, Willi and Flip are together with Alexander again and Alexander starts philosophizing about flying. Willi challenges him to have a go at it himself. Alexander, who does not wish to lose face, asserts that he can still do it. Whilst he is practicing Maja fetches all the beetles and the ant army with jumping sheets. Finally, with the aid of a leaf, Alexander does manage to fly a little.

Maja and Willi have hidden the princess of the cow flies at home. She has run away from her father because he is bad and all the world hates him. Ketty feels very happy amongst the inhabitants of the poppy meadow and has no desire to return to her father's castle. She only agrees when Maja and Willi promise to accompany her and explain everything to her father.

Alexander receives a visit from his brother Melvin who lives in a pig sty on a farm. Alexander is, however, not overly enthusiastic about this visit. Melvin laughs a lot and is rather coarse. He doesn't exactly make friends for himself at a party organized by the meadow inhabitants especially for him, as he makes loud jokes and smacks his lips noisily.

One day a giant beetle appears in the poppy meadow. He looks more dangerous than he really is and soon everyone is accustomed to the un-talkative glutton. There are more important things to be done. There is a rumor that the robber ants are approaching. Then Flip brings the news: "They're coming". In despair he asks the giant beetle to help.

Kurt is trying to explain to his son Willibald how one rolls a hall of dung correctly. Unfortunately Willibald is not interested in this work and prefers to play with the ball. Maya, Willi and Flip who are feeling terribly bored are watching them both. Even Alexander who has come by doesn't know what one can do. Suddenly he has an idea: one could organize a football match with the dung ball.

One stormy day, Alexander and Flip promise mother Ladybird to look after her children during their midday nap. It's a demanding job, for the children want to hear a story and then they both have to sing a duet. After the children have finally gone to sleep, Flip and Alexander can have a rest at last, But not for long.

It has been raining for days and just doesn't seem to want to stop. Maya, Willie, Flip and Alexander decide to put on a play. After a long debate they agree that the plot should show how the poppy meadow was cultivated many, many years ago. Alexander is the producer and Willie is to be the leading actor. The preparations are begun eagerly.

Maya and Willie are having a flying competition for fun. This gives Alexander an. idea - a flying competition is to be organized for all the insects in the meadow. Everything with wings can compete. Puck is the first to start. But something is not quite right, for all the competitors lose their way after a short while. Bennie is the only exception.

After it has rained for two weeks without interruption, the meadow inhabitants organize a great picnic on the first fine day. After the meal Maya and Willi play football with the ladybird children. They disturb a golden beetle who has been hit on the head by the ball accidentally. His name is Hans and he claims that he brings luck to everyone he meets.

After a whirlwind has flung them far away, Maya and Alexander find themselves on another planet - well, that's what Alexander thinks. All around them nothing but sand. So they both set off to look for water and food. At last they find green plants which Alexander uses to make a sun-hat.

Whilst seeking cover during a downpour, Willi, Alexander, Flip and Maya discover an ant bear. He is called Emil and is very unhappy because he has to live underground and everyone runs away from him because he is so ugly. Maya feels sorry for him and asks him to come along to the poppy meadow. This he does willingly and next day he is happier.