Maya the Bee

An uproar in the bee-hive. Cassandra returns home, only to be refused entrance into the hive by the guards, although she, the nurse, once had the personal responsibility of raising them. After a long discussion Cassandra is allowed to enter, just in time to witness the birth of the new bees. One bee after the other hatches out of the combs, only one doesn't: Maya. Maya - the exception.

Summer time. It is hot, which means danger for the bee-Hive. The wax is threatening to melt. So everyone must keep together and restore the correct temperature by beating their wings faster. Maya and Willy are amazed, but they've got lots more to learn. At school Cassandra tells them all they must know about bad weather, wasps, flies and flowers.

Maya is longing for the world. She would like to be free to fly around. So she contrives everything possible to secretly run away from the hive. Rut first of all she lands in the penal comb. What is she to do now? Lazy little Willie comes to her aid. He doesn't care where he sleeps as long as he can sleep. Using a cunning trick Willie changes place with Maya.

Maya's wish is to be the captain of an ant army for just one day. After all, she did help the ants to reach land on her floating leaf. This wish is fulfilled. Maya turns out to be a trusty captain.

Maja meets Pucka, the odd, short-sighted fly. Pucka has a mine of information about left-overs from meals and particularly about humans. Humans. Maya dearly wishes to meet humans. So she persuades Pucka to show her a house. Maya and Pucka fly to a house, enter it and what do they find- the human. Maya thinks this human is huge.

Maya gazes at the world in admiration. Dandelions, sun, water. "On her travels she meets a rose-beetle and accepts his invitation into the rose-house. Maya thinks it is beautiful in here. Unfortunately, she can not stay for a meal for she must fly on to experience new adventures. Dangerous adventures. During an excursion with Willie a lady beetle is caught by a fat spider in its web.

Danger in the garden. A fire has broken out. The insects are at their wits end. Only the violin snider is glad about the fire, for she welcomes anything which distracts the insects' attention. Perhaps someone will wander into her web by mistake. The agitation grows and grows. The fire spreads and spreads. The first floor of a plant house is already in flames. The insects need help.

The fly knows of a marvelous holiday area. In the middle of a horse's back. But the only thing is she's forgotten to warn Willie and Maya about the horse's tail. Poor Willie. A heavy lash of the tail and Willie falls unconscious to the ground. Of course the ants clear him off the area: anything lying around is promptly disposed of.

Max, the earthworm, tends to depressions. Continuous rain is the cause. He knows that as an earthworm he should really feel happy when it rains, but this is just not the case. This has made him wonder wether he is of any use for anything. Maja and Willie try to cheer him up.

Maya and Willie meet a frog, a small, green frog whom they think quite cute. But this frog is everything but cute. He's got only one thing in his head: to eat Maya and Willie for breakfast. Luckily for them, this frog is not very clever and so lands at the end of our story in a dark well. Even so, Maya and Willie help him.

It's raining. It's been raining the whole day. At the beginning it's all very entertaining. The insects crowd together for shelter under a toadstool and relate their experiences to one another- that is, until Kurt appears on the scene. Kurt is a bark-beetle in love. His ravings about his loved one break up the happy group and then when she does finally turn up, the good mood is quickly dispelled.

For the first time in their lives Maya and Willie are confronted with the illuminating power of the glow worm and of course Maya promptly gets an idea. She always wanted to take a peep into the mysterious, subterranean world of the mole-cricket. Everything is strange under the earth and Willie doesn't feel happy about the whole thing altogether. And where is the exit?

One day Maya and Willie discover an unknown old lady locust. She has been left behind by the large group of wandering locusts and is now sitting rather dejected and dissatisfied with herself in the garden. Maya and Willie feel sorry for her, so build her a stretcher on which to carry her behind the wandering locusts. But suddenly the old lady reveals herself as being very robust and determined.

Big leaping competition. Of course Flip boasts terribly and considers himself to be the best, the fastest, the longest and in particular the most elegant leaper. But even Flip must learn that sometimes there are better hoppers, like a flea for example.

Maya and Willie have found a small caterpillar whom they think is homeless. So they take the caterpillar with them and look after it. They lovingly care for it and develop a fond affection for it. But one day they witness how their little caterpillar first of all turns into a monster, then a beautiful butterfly.

Maya has promised a beetle couple to look after their young. Poor Willie! If he had known difficult it is to look after a wild band of little beetles, he would have most certainly not even bothered to get out of bed.

Maja meets a sick centipede. But the centipede doesn't quite know what really is the matter with him. One of his many legs just won't work properly. The problem is that he is due to appear as a one-man band. Maya has an idea and in the end things work out well- as always in fairy-tales.

Flip is having troubles. While training for the grasshopper long hop championship he has got trapped in the grips of a carnivorous plant. Poor Flip! His end seems to have drawn near. He depicts it in the worst possible way. But a moment ago he was dreaming of a conqueror's crown.

Willie has discovered a new game. Quite unusual for him since he is otherwise too lazy to discover anything. He uses a liana as a trampoline. Maya learns this game very quickly from Willie, but as is so often the case with her she overdoes it and lands in the web of the brown spider. Kurt, the fat beetle, just manages to help Maya in time.

In the insects' garden utter chaos reigns. A storm is blowing. Maya and Willie seek shelter in a cave and so make the acquaintance of the stinkbug and also hear the sad story of the daddy-long legs who lost one of its long legs one warm summer night. In the same cave of all places where Maya and Willie have sought shelter with their friends lurks a praying mantis.

For the first time in their lives Maya and Willie hear that cicadas grow up deep under the earth. Of course this immediately awakens their curiosity and they would like to meet a cicada. Is it surprising then that Maya and Willie get into trouble right from the beginning? This time it's a land-slide which has blocked the exit of the cicada nest. What can be done about it?

Maya learns about the life of the ants which she also comes to love. Here there is always something going on. The day flies by and Maya feels happy in their kingdom. Of course, Willie is anything but in agreement, in view of his bad Experiences with the ants after his accident with the horses's tail and so he has no desire to yet again subject himself to their tiring regulations.

One day Maya discovers a small cage on a window in which a Cricket is sitting sadly drooping its wings. Today the crickets are supposed to be holding a dance and she cannot participate. So Maya decides to do something. She calls her friends together and the four of them try freeing the cricket.

Maya and Willie get lost in the fog. Everything is gloomy, sinister and strange. Flying is out of the question because you can not even see your hand before your eyes and walking is too much trouble. No matter whom they ask no one knows the direction. Does Flip know the answer this time?

Maya makes a strange discovery. Some leaves are no leaves at all, but butterflies. Some branches are no branches and there is a wasp who is not a wasp at all. The world appears completely changed to Maya. She can't cease to be amazed and must learn that even a "distorted world" can slo have its practical sides, that even the wrong wasp can help her in a threatening situation.