Laline Paull, The Bees

"Flora took pleasure in the delicacy of her approach and studied the ways of the smallest, sweetest blooms she could find, tiny pimpernels and forget-me-nots hiding in the pockets of the fields. The energy of the sun on her body and the joy of foraging filled her soul. She flew the fields and gathered until the light began to fade and she heard the sound of her forager sisters' wings turning for home. Then she joined them."

"The man stood alone by the hive. On impulse he put his palm against the wood, as if feeling for a pulse."

"The green began to seethe."

"717! You are behaving like a demented bluebottle - stop that!"

"Awestruck, Flora stared at the dishevelled sisters with their blazing faces and radiant ragged wings, who smelled of no kin but the wild high air."