HOW MANY CREATURES DID LINA MEET AFTER SHE WAS KIDNAPPED?

Lina had just discovered that other human children were larger than she was, even when they were first born.  Then she was kidnapped away from her home.  It was all a great shock to her system and she wondered if she would ever fit in anywhere ever again.  She didn't meet a single human all that winter but she made friends with many other creatures.  A lady bug, some fish, a mole, a spider, some earthworms, among others.  She always wondered what it would be like to live with them for the rest of her life.  Seeing herself as very different made her worry about life sometimes.  But it wasn't her nature to worry all the time and she did like the creatures she met.  She learned to read that winter because Clarissa Mouse had some small books from a doll house.  She had brought them with her when she moved to the country.  Clarissa was happy to teach Lina to read. Lina thought it very different to live underground but she was happy to be out of the snow and wind.  She told me all this soon after she came back home the following spring.  This is Delbert Bee signing off now.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT INSECTS

I want to make sure that I am not accused of putting down any members of the insect kingdom just for being a certain kind of insect.  Each one has its place and that is important.  It was just that one bark beetle that I mentioned last time was kind of sneaky all by himself.  He just thought he was doing a job to earn some tasty bark to chew on.  Lina did have a lot of friends among the insect world.  One of her best friends was the Ladybug, Lady Lou.  She was the one who told Lina what Winter was and that it was going to come.  Lady Lou also introduced Lina to Clarissa, the mouse who sheltered Lina for the Winter.  Then Lady Lou met up with Lina again in the Spring, getting all tangled up in the spider silk Zenna wove to help everyone come back to Thimble Farm safely.  But that one beetle did cause some trouble, including trouble for me for telling about him.  It caused quite a buzz because some of my readers thought I was discriminating against bark beetles. All things need to be in balance in nature.  Camber helps to keep things in balance for his beloved trees. I do try to tell a balanced story.  I've got to go check out some new flower patches I heard of now.  Buzz at you later.

NEWS FLASH- NOT ALL INSECTS ARE AS FRIENDLY AND GOOD AS BEES!

I, Delbert, have always believed in the goodness of insects.  But I did come to realize that, just like humans or other creatures, some are good and kind.  But others are not.  The evil ones, who wanted to harm Lina, managed to get a bark beetle to spend a lot of time eavesdropping on Camber.  That is how they found out about Lina.  But not everything was known about her at first.  It wasn't even known where she lived.  After Croadine failed to kidnap her and turn her over to the evil ones some insects were asked to capture her.  These were a group of Cockchafers to try and capture her.  They were cousins to the bark beetle and he promised them special treats if they would take her to a certain cave.  But she was a little bit big for them to carry easily and they didn't trust their cousin that much.  So they set her down after snatching her off the lily pad she was sailing on.  She was using this to escape from the ugly frog who took her from her home.  When she was set down she met the spider, Zenna, a very good bug type, who became her life long friend.  I, Delbert, do hope everyone knows I am one of the best bugs there could ever be.  Better buzz off now.  Bye

WHO WILL TELL ME ABOUT THE CAVERNS?

I keep hearing about the vast network of caverns in the mountain on which Windom castle is built.  Bees do not like to fly into caves.  I have heard about fairies going into the caverns to find out what is going on down there.  I will share some of the richest honey in all of Umberland with whoever tells me more about these caverns.  This one picture that I was provided shows me that water was influential in forming the caverns.  I wonder how many entrances there are into these caves and how big they are.  I wonder if anybody knows.  I know some people who make wine like to age and store their wine in caves because of the constant cool temperature.  Are they useful?  Are they a hideout for evil creatures to do evil things?  Who knows?  I, Delbert Bee, would like to know more.  I'll be buzzing at you later.  I see some bright flowers nearby so I have to leave now.

WHO FIRST KNEW OF GERDA'S COOKIES?

Now everyone in Thimblewyck has learned to love Gerda's cookies.  I, Delbert Bee, have even landed on one of them and taken in a bit of the sweetness.  Sometimes the creatures around here argue amongst themselves about who was the first, after Gerda's husband Tom or course, to know how wonderful the cookies are.  Even the fairies come to eat cookies.  So I did some research and I found out that Thor, the big farm horse, used to help Tom eat the cookies Gerda would send with him when he went to the fair to sell eggs and produce.  I think he was the first to know about the cookies.  But it might not be so.  Adar, the swallow just told me that she had always tried to get some of the crumbs of the cookies.  If anyone else has a claim to be the first to love Gerda's cookies they can give me a buzz.  They certainly are yummy.  Maybe Gerda invented cookies.  I heard they were just little dots of dough put in the oven to see if the oven was good and hot at first. I do know that a lot of people and a lot of creatures are very glad the world has cookies.  I must be hungry.  I'm going to go hunt for some kind of snack.  Buzz at you later.  Delbert.

DO FAIRIES WORRY ABOUT SUCCESS?

Since bees go about their business of making honey day after day the main success they achieve is finding flowers and bringing nectar back to the hive to make honey.  I had never thought about success before I heard Marus and his sisters, Non Ton and Hilda, talk about being a success or failure in watching over some humans they were trying to help.  I guess when you can do a lot of different things in a lot of different ways you can have successes or failures.  Overhearing the fairies talk made me want to try a few things for myself.  Now I can fly in different patterns and can buzz with a little more variety.  Maybe tomorrow I will think of some more things I can try.  I had to have a few failures before I could learn how to do the things I was trying to do.  So I think that if those fairies would quit worrying they would be a lot better at helping humans.  Maybe the next time they try to help they will do a lot better.  I wonder if bees can be helpful.  Of course the honey we share is pretty wonderful.
I think I will go find some flowers and spend some time wondering about things as well.  Do you wonder about things?  Delbert Bee signing off till next time.

NEW DISCOVERIES ABOUT WAYS TO USE SPIDER SILK

Hilda was worrying about the way her brother, the fairy Marus had burned part of his wings.  If they were too damaged he would lose his ability to fly.  While she was looking for soothing and healing herbs to make a salve for his wings she ran into her friend, the spider Zenna.  Hilda already knew that Zenna was very creative with her webs.  Suddenly she thought that spider silk might used to mend the wings Marus had damaged by flying through a fire.  She got Zenna to give her a bunch of silk and was able to mend her brother's wings.  This gave Zenna a lot of ideas as well and she began to make all kinds of things with her weaving besides spider webs.  Ideas are wonderful things and lead to even more ideas.  I wonder if I can think of different ways to use honey. This is Delbert Bee here.  I'm going to buzz of now and think about honey.

DO BEES ENJOY SCENERY OR DO THEY JUST FOCUS ON FLOWERS?

Hi, Delbert Bee here.  Some people think that all bees know how to do is work.  Well I say that all work and no play makes for a boring day and a boring bee.  So I try to enjoy what I see as I go along.  Maybe that is why I pick up so much news.  I saw the fire in Montrachet that caused so many other things to happen.  I saw how sad Gerda and Tom were about it.  If other bees are like me, and I think they are, then bees see a lot.  So if you are planning something naughty watch out.  A bee might catch you at it.  Or a spider or a fly.  Insects do talk among themselves.  Of course it isn't every human that can understand a tell tale bee.  It still isn't a good idea to be naughty.  There were some very naughty creatures around Thimblewyck.  But they didn't get away with the things they did for very long.  Well, I want to fly over to the castle to see if there are some new roses blooming.  I really love roses.  I had better buzz off.

POLLS SHOW BELIEF IN FAIRIES IS RISING

All of my hive believes in fairies, of course.  But I decided to ask a few humans if they believed.  That wasn't easy because the only humans that understand me are the ones that live on and around Thimble Farm.  Finally I talked to Farmer Tom Thimble and he agreed to ask people about fairies when he went to town to sell his eggs.  He told me that many people said fairies were hard to see but were important because of their love of nature.  One woman said that too few humans loved nature enough and fairies were needed to remind people how important this was.  I was jealous for a bit.  Bees love nature too.  Where would the world be without us?  There would be a lot less food grown, that is for sure.  Then I calmed down.  If love for nature becomes more popular it will be good for bees as well as for fairies.  I'd better buzz off now.  I want to think of other things to research and there is some honeysuckle I can visit.  It helps me think.

Why Is Fairy Mountain So Special?

Fairy Mountain and the beautiful water feature there, Crystal Spring are very special to Fairies.  I wonder why.  I think it is because both of the fairy clans in Umberland, around Thimblewyck cooperated to keep it special.  All fairies are concerned with nature but each of the two clans are concerned with different aspects of nature.  The two clans are the Li-Su and the Petra clans.  The Li-Su are concerned with plants and animals. The Petra are concerned with rocks, earth and the weather.  Petra stands for rock in another language.  Li-Su stands for life sustaining.  You have heard of fairy gold probably.  Those fairies are of the Petra clan.  Rosequet was a Petra.  Binar and his cousins, Non Ton, Hilda and Marus were all of the Li-Su clan.  The weather is always perfect on Fairy Mountain.  The water is clear.  The plants and trees are beautiful and healthy.  I'm sure both clans cooperated to create it and keep it that way.  Maybe fairies are like bees.  We cooperate in the hive.  I'd better get back to the hive now.  Bye.

ARE THE WATERS OF CRYSTAL SPRING ALWAYS PURE?

Delbert here again with a bit of gossip.  I have only been to Crystal Spring one time.  It is kind of special to fairies and I felt like an intruder.  I did hear once that Marus, Hilda, Binar and Non Ton had to wash off mud from getting caught in a terrible flood and they nearly ruined Crystal Spring.  But they filtered it with spider silk, from Zenna or course, and everything was fine.  It is a beautiful place.  Well, I've got to go put my nose in a few things.  Delbert.

STAR QUALITY FOUND IN HILDA THE FAIRY

Hilda is the sister of Marus, the fairy.  She is the star of the show wherever she is.  She is pretty with golden curly hair and she laughs a lot.  She thought Rosaquet was her friend but that turned out to be a mistake.  I, Delbert, tried to warn her about Rosaquet but Hilda wouldn't listen.  Hilda seems to be flighty and silly but she is really a very good person.  She is also very kind.  She doesn't try to hog attention it just seems to come to her.
I'm sure Hilda will have a lot of adventures in her life.

CAN FAIRIES BE TRUSTED?

Rosequet was like many people.  She could be trusted to do things she thought were good for herself.  Unfortunately she didn't realize that it was good to have friends that were happy, or that nature is a wonderful thing.  She didn't even like flowers all that much.  I saw her sneeze and curl up her nose when Binar showed her a particularly pretty flower.  So, yes she could be trusted, but not to do good for anybody.  Sometimes she would fly alongside me and tell me I was ugly.  I believe I am the most handsome bee ever.  So I thought about stinging her.  But I didn't.  I would just sing a loud buzz song when I saw her.  Many other fairies can be trusted to be kind and helpful.  Not Rosaquet.  She thought she was too beautiful for it to matter.  Well, I had better buzz off and find some real beauty.  Your friend Delbert.

SHOULD FAIRIES LIVE IN CASTLES?

I, Delbert Bee, have never really been inside Windom Castle.  But Lina tells me it is beautiful.  She enjoys going there to visit her grandfather.  He wants her to live there all the time but she really enjoys living among the flowers.  Maybe when winter comes she will change her mind.  Maybe Lord Windom has a room with big windows where flowers can grow inside.  I know the gardens are great.  I fly around in them all the time.  But I hear talk about the caverns that are under the castle.  It is said that mushrooms grow in some of them.  They also say that some are so deep that nothing grows except stalactites and stalagmites.  Well, I won't be going there and you probably shouldn't either.  But you could come and visit me among the flowers.  I'd better buzz off now.

IS WINDOM CASTLE TOO ELEGANT FOR COMMON CREATURES TO VISIT?

Lord Windom was the only nobleman in this distant part of Umberland.  He befriended the band of fairies that moved there to escape a volcano eruption.  He was Lina Thimble's grandfather but it took some time for them to meet each other.  He was a kind man who didn't look down his nose at any person or creature. When the area around Tom Thimble's farm came to be called Thimblewyck every one considered Lord Windom to be part of the group, one of it's citizens.  He has always planted bee-delicious flowers around the castle.  I buzz up there every so often.

CAN SMALL CREATURES HAVE A BIG IMPACT?

I, Delbert, am small.  The fairies are small, about 4 to 8 inches tall at the most.  Zenna the spider is small.  She has done many things with her weaving that are amazing, from making clothes, to stopping violence.  Small creatures should never be dismissed as being powerless.  Sometimes they just have to find out how to use their power.  This may be a big world but all creatures, large or small are important.  I hope all of my readers feel important.  Gotta buzz off now and find some more flowers, or news.

WHO PROVIDED MATERIAL TO REPAIR FAIRY WINGS?

A fairy's wings are precious beyond words.  Not only are they important to a fairy for flying.  They are also part of a fairy's beauty.  Marus was a courageous fairy who flew into a fire to rescue Lina from being incinerated even before she was born.  As a result his wings were damaged.  But Hilda, one of his sisters, had the idea to ask Zenna for some spider silk and she was able to repair his wings with that silk.  In the Thimblewyck stories there are many instances of Zenna's wonderful weaving being important in many ways.

ARE BIRDS BETTER AT GOSSIP THAN BEES? WHAT IS YOUR VERDICT?

Adar the swallow tried to keep up on everything that went on around Thimble Farm.  Then she would sit on Gerda's windowsill and chatter away.  Gerda was lonely on the farm and couldn't talk to any of the animals except Adar.  Communication was hard at Thimble Farm until the big flood.  Then the fairies had to put a spell of enchantment on the farm to help everyone escape.  After that every creature and human and fairy could talk to each other.  Gerda thought of Adar as her best friend.  I think I, Delbert, am better at gossip, however.  Adar pretty much kept her news among the other swallows and Gerda.  I'll tell everyone anything they want to know.  Unless it's a secret, of course.

IS THIS THE NAUGHTIEST BOY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

Karl Thimble was a grandnephew to Tom Thimble.  He was so rowdy and apt to run away that his mother and grandmother finally had to put him in a large basket-like trunk to make sure he stayed with the family as they traveled to Thimble Farm.  His mother, Bettina, gave birth to his little sister Tamara as soon as they arrived at the farm.  His grandmother had the burden of driving the cart as fast as she could. Neither had been able to handle Karl and make sure he was safe.  When Lina helped Tom get Karl out of the basket it took a lot of Tom's energy to make sure the boy didn't run away again. At first Tom was upset that Karl had been locked in the basket but after chasing Karl around a bit he came to understand the reason for that. Karl's name for Lina was 'Doll Lady'. Karl was just four when he came to Thimble Farm.  He became a very important part of Thimblewyck.

SACRED SANCTUARY REVEALED AT LAST!

Camber is a wood sprite who protects all trees, especially a small forest at the edge of the first Thimble Farm.  He is Tom Thimble's best friend as well as being close to the fairies.  He can do two kinds of illusions.  He can appear to be human.  He impersonated Tom several times to help him out.  He can also look like whatever a person or creature fears the most.  Evil fairies could never follow into the wood to eavesdrop on matters that concerned Lina.  Messages can be sent from trees far away to and by Camber carried on the wind.  He just has to listen to the rustle of the leaves.

CAT VICTIM OF WOMAN WHO THREW MULTIPLE BREAKABLE OBJECTS

I, Delbert, have a hard time finding this cat anytime I want to interview him.  He stays away from the cottage at Thimble Farm.  He doesn't want to anger Gerda ever again.  The night Lina came into the world, cradled in the bloom of a flower, the cat jumped up on the sill of the open window and ended up landing on the table where the flower pot was sitting.  He knocked over the flowerpot and Gerda started chasing him.  The handiest thing to throw at him was her big pile of cookies.  So she threw them, one by one.  You can read about in in Thimblewyck:The Origins.  Remember, you heard the buzz here first.

WHO RESCUED LINA FROM KIDNAPPER BY SKIN OF THEIR TEETH?

The evening of the day Sara and family came to live at Thimble farm Lina was snatched from the window sill, where she was eating supper in order to be safe from Sara.  This evil frog snatched her to force her to marry the frog's son.  The frog glued her to a lily pad with stinky horrible frog phlegm.  But the fish in the pond used their teeth to gnaw off the stem of the lily pad so Lina could float away.  They tried to wash Lina off first by splashing with their tails but the smell remained for some time. Every one at Thimble Farm,including the fairies, searched for Lina but she was gone for a good long time.  Now you know about the evil frog sent by a villain, as yet unnamed, and you learned it from me, Delbert.Bee, source of the best gossip in the hive.  Gotta buzz off now.

WHO HAS A NOSE FOR THE BEST NEWS?

I am Delbert Bee and I have my nose into everything.  I think it was a shame that Binar didn't know he was a prince, a wonderful fairy prince, until Lina found out for him.  But his parents died when he was a baby and the proof he was a prince was stolen.  Like all fairies he has his own individual  power. All fairies can fly, be invisible and create illusions.  But apart from that their powers are different for each individual fairy.  Some will share some of the same powers but each fairy is unique.  Like all magical creatures.  Binar's special power is that he can influence plants in wonderful ways.  I like that because sometimes he influences a whole hillside of flowers in a special way so my hive can make loads of magical, wonderful honey.  Keep looking here for the latest buzz.

IS THIS COTTAGE HAUNTED?

This was the original cottage at the first Thimble Farm.  The evil flood that caused people to move may have left misfortune behind.  I don't like to fly there.  I think it's a scandal that the original lilac bush wasn't kept up.  But Gerda did have the sense to put a lilac bush by the new farm house.  This cottage is where Lina came into the world, cradled in a flower.  The seed was given to Gerda by the fairies.  Lina was saved from being incinerated in an evil fire by the fairies, who snatched her from Heaven on her way to Earth.  They had to infuse the soul into a seed so it wouldn't just spread out into thin air. Because she was born from a seed Lina was as small as the fairies even though she was a human child.
Keep up with my buzz and learn more here. Delbert Bee.