Bees

[Guest guest]

DALLAS—A western honeybee measuring barely one-quarter of an inch in length

and weighing approximately .03 ounces triggered panic among a gathering of

six fully-grown Homo sapiens during a picnic at Park on Monday,

witnesses reported.

" Where is it—where is it? " said 44-year-old general manager Freid,

who has been described by his coworkers and business rivals as  " ruthless, "

after the bee happened to fly in his general direction. " Get it off me! Is

it on me? "

" Jesus! " added Freid, screaming and flailing his arms as he raced to his

car, got inside, and locked the doors.

The college-educated humans, all of whom are not allergic to bee-sting venom

and possess both cerebral and muscular capacities several orders of

magnitude beyond that of the insect, proceeded to retreat in abject fright

from its half-millimeter stinger, which, when used, causes a twinge of

discomfort followed by mild irritation and kills the bee.

According to entomologists at the University of Texas at Dallas, the Apis

mellifera was most likely trying to pollinate a nearby cluster of dandelions

and was not, as alleged by 50-year-old attorney Georgia Sakko, who has twice

endured the pain of childbirth and successfully battled breast cancer, " out

to get us. "

" Don't make it angry—don't make it angry! " Sakko said. " Is it in my hair? I

feel something in my hair. Somebody get it out. Get it out! "

Airline pilot Mike Grunwold, 49, who is approximately 1,224 times the size

of the bee, said that he was " certain " the bee had landed on Sakko's back.

Fiber tests on Sakko's clothing later found no traces of a bee's presence,

but did reveal a small piece of lint and matted hair that may have resembled

an insect at a distance and in certain lights.

Civil engineer, marathon runner, and Gulf War veteran Fogel, 39,

briefly attempted to use force against the bee's non-aggressive actions,

waving it away with a paper plate. After accidently upending a container of

potato salad, which caused the bee to suddenly swerve, Fogel leaped back

several feet and dashed for cover behind a trash can.

" They're attracted to sweat, " Fogel said. " It makes them want to kill. Just

try to keep as far away from it as you can. "

After the bee seemingly disappeared, the humans—members of a species that

has crossed an Ice Age land bridge from Asia to North America, domesticated

the wolf, built the pyramids, and landed a manned vehicle on the surface of

the moon—walked cautiously back to the picnic area.

" I think it's gone, " personal trainer Marcus Weller, 32, said. " Thank God. "

A few seconds later, the bee emerged from an overturned Coke can, prompting

the humans to scream and retreat once more. They opted not to return to the

area, abandoning several hundred dollars' worth of food and picnicking

equipment. The brutalized parkgoers characterized the day as " totally

ruined. "

The bee, which was reportedly never more than vaguely aware of the presence

of other living organisms besides the blooming plants it sought, eventually

returned to its hive without incident.