The Great Yellowjacket
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retold by Faolan, Chris, Juanita, Marcelina, Justin, Kaila, Jordan, Edna, Chris, Ashley, Megan, Nalisha, Kyle, Amber, Lynsey, Ellisa, Brandon, Quentin Long ago, in the Cherokee village in the mountains, in Nantahala, North Carolina, where Franklin now is, on the old Oconoluftee river, in the summer, there lived a big bee. It was named the yellow jacket, sga-ee. The yellow jacket inhabited a cave. It had baby bees. It was as big as a house. The bee would approach and snatch the children from their play. The bee was hungry, so it took the kids to the cave. It ate some and saved some for later. |
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Whenever
the yellow jacket seized the children, the people couldn't see
where the cave was. It hustled away too fast and they couldn't
see where it traveled. It rose way up in the sky. The kids
were frightened when the bee lugged them way up in the sky. It
carried them so swiftly they didn't even notice they were there
until they arrived. The kids worried if the yellow jacket
would sting them or not. When the bee took them up in the
sky, they started screaming because they were so scared.
They worried if they would ever would get back home. They
wondered where it would carry them. They wondered if somebody
would rescue them. The kids worried if it was going to gobble
them up or not. The kids worried if they would slam into
something. They worried if the bee was going to drop them
or not. The bee did drop one of the kids in the water.
The kid couldn't swim, so he drowned. When one of the women
went to get some water, she found the body lying on the bank.
The people were frightened. They decided that they had to kill
the bee.
They shot a squirrel. They tied a string around its neck to discover where the bee was going. The bee grabbed it off the tree. He darted off so swiftly they couldn't see where it was going. They searched all over for its home. They captured a turkey. They tied a string around it that was longer. The bee scooped it up. He took off so fast you couldn't see where it was flying. They were going to follow the string, but the bee flew so fast that it appeared invisible. They killed a deer and cut off its back ham. They tied a longer string to the deer ham. He swooped down and grabbed the deer leg and flew so fast they wondered where he went. The bee gave the deer ham to the babies, and to the queen bee who makes the babies. The people roasted the rest of the deer for supper. But they shot another deer with their bow and arrow. They laced another string to the deer. It was so heavy that the bee couldn't lift it high. It had to fly low and it flew slowly so the people could spot it. Then the people chased the string. They followed it halfway to Franklin and then they discovered a cave. They heard the children squalling inside the cave. They had to cross the river to get to the cave. There were baby bees in there. They sent somebody in there to sneak and steal the children. Somebody rescued the children and they rushed down the mountain. They swam across the river. Then they made some torches. They found a bunch of twigs and leaves and tied them together with some of their deer skin clothes. They sent someone to get some coals from the village. They lit the torches and set them a little ways inside the cave. They smoked them. All the bees inside of the cave got smothered. The bees still outside the cave survived. The bees made more babies. They increased, and that's why they are all over the world now. The giant bee is dead. There are no more giant bees. Now there are just little yellow jackets in the world. |
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