The Little Orphan (bee) Prince ~ Japan (circa 1979)

Excerpt from Of Bees & Men: A Be-coming of Age Tale about Bees, Boys and the Stickiness of Love.

I started rifling through the files of my mind, searching for bee memories. We’re there exchanges I had forgotten about? When exactly did bees first fly into my life?

I had plenty of other insect stories: When my father moved out, I was designated the spider-killer for my mom and sister. On a few occasions big spiders crawled up my legs while watching Hogan’s Hero or Family Fued on the couch in our Montreal basement. I’d shrieked in horror.

I’d collected ladybugs in a jar and marveled at fireflies. I caught a big fat bumble bee once with a butterfly net. I played with wriggling worms on sunny days following long periods of rain. I’d scorched ants with a magnifying glass. Stored in my head were a typical tumble of tomboy memories.  

But honeybees?

And then slowly I remembered. They were few but significant.

1979; an unusually heavy year in current events. ABBA writes the song “Chiquitita” to commemorate the International Year of the Child; the Pol Pot Regime crashes; Patty Heart is released from jail; Iran’s government becomes an Islamic Republic, overthrowing the Shah; and the Happy Meal is born.

I am six. I am chubby. I am learning English. My favorite cartoon is also the saddest. It’s a Japanese anime, dubbed in French (and many other languages) about a young honey boy bee separated from his beautiful and regal queen bee mother when their native beehive is destroyed by an army of angry and vicious  spear-carrying Wasps.  The program is called Le Petit Prince Orphelin. The Little Orphan Prince. 

The credits open with a Japanese woman singing, “Maa- ma, ma- ma,” in a chilling Asian kind of way. The boybee named Hutch spends each show looking for his mom and running into frequently hostile incidences. Tangles with savage spiders, a menacing Praying Mantis; deceptive snakes and only the occasional benevolent butterfly thrown in for relief. Sometimes he finds his mom only to get separated again.

Pretty dramatic stuff for a six year old to watch. Even Wikipedia acknowledges “the original show (1971) is notable for it’s frequently sad and cruel scripts. In many episodes, Hutch would befriend another insect, only to see his new friend die a violent and painful death.” 

What if my mother disappeared? I needed her. Even if she did occasionally pull my hair and throw slippers and curse words my way….