ast in his
long, spiny feet had only a very slight chance of getting away from him.

No one of the Bumblebee family knew where the Robber Fly lived. But it
was said that he often lurked on the ground, watching for victims. And
when he spied one he would fly quickly up with a loud buzz and dart upon
the unfortunate.

He had big, keen eyes which enabled him to see very clearly. And he had
long, narrow wings which bore him through the air with great swiftness.
And he had--worst of all--a sharp, piercing beak which was most frightful
to gaze upon.

Now, in spite of his name the Robber Fly looked like no fly that was ever
seen in Pleasant Valley. Strange as it may seem, in spite of his cruel
beak, his long wings, and his spiny feet, he looked not a little as if he
might have been a near relation of Buster Bumblebee. Of course, any
member of the Bumblebee family would have known at a glance that he was
not one of them. But probably Johnnie Green--if he had noticed him--would
have thought the Robber Fly some sort of bumblebee.

Since this monster was known to appear now and then in the neighborhood,
one can easily understand why Buster Bumblebee was a bit timid when he
first began to venture abroad alone. But as time passed, his dread of
meeting the Robber Fly gradually faded. Not only had nobody seen the
Robber for a long while, but some began to say that they thought he must
have met with an accident, or perhaps he had moved to other parts, and
they didn't believe he would ever be heard of again. And Buster himself
began to boast that he wasn't afraid of the Robber Fly and said that he
was sorry that the Robber had gone away before he had had a chance to see
him.

Buster's mother, the Queen, happened to hear her son make that remark one
day. And she promptly told him that he was a stupid, silly boaster.

"If you knew what happened to your poor father last fall you would never
want even to hear the Robber Fly's name mentioned again," the Queen
declared, as a shiver--or a shudder--or both--passed up and down her
royal back.

But Buster Bumblebee, being very young and somewhat stupid as well, said
"Oh, nonsense!" under his breath, so low that his mother, the Queen,
could not hear him.

IX

THE ROBBER FLY AT LAST

Though Buster's mother, the Queen, did not hear him when he said "Oh,
nonsense!" under his breath, there were others standing near him that
caught the words. And they were quite indignant that anyb