"My bosom friends," whispered the hummingbird to the female caucus, "don't be alarmed. I will humor the males and flatter them too. And I'll bewilder them three different ways."

"Ah, yes," wheezed the spider. "We'll lead them by the nose; we'll lord it over these masters! Three different ways? Tell us how, hummingbird."

"Why," murmured the hummingbird, "first I'll tell a tale of a MALE. This will confound their expectations. Yes, though a feminist, I shall tell of an admirable male. Then, who would expect a wild and carnal bird like me to sing the praises of a virgin? Also, I will be the first to speak not of my own kind, but of ANOTHER SPECIES - a bee!

"This will take their breath away - strike them dumb. Then we'll throw one more female orator at them and we'll carry the day!"

"CARPE DIEM!" shrieked the tern.

"But that comes later, when I tell MY tale."

No. It wasn't the tern's turn. The hummingbird was up next. And this was her tale:

In ancient times the great civilizations were insect societies. The greatest was the Greak.

The rational mind was the supreme achievement of the insect race. Of all creatures that crawl the earth, swim the sea, or sweep the sky, the insects of Grease wore that golden crown of Reason. Philosophic and scientific thought began with the Greaks. Ah yes, the Glory that was Grease! That brilliant sun of freedom, new-risen on the world. Yet in the flicker of a century that flame consumed itself.

The reasons for this tragic burnout were many and complex - beyond the scope of my story, my friends. Our female caucus might organize a seminar to probe this conundrum. The status of females in Grease - and of slaves - would be an especially pertinent topic.

But my tale concerns a bug from the empire that conquered Grease. And yet this bug was a lover of Grease. Yes, Grease was overrun militarily by legions of insects. Grease was subdued politically by the bugs of Roam. But Grease conquered CULTURALLY and with ART mastered its Roamin overlord.

Many Roamin bees in long flights hauled golden pollen bags of Greak poetry and philosophy, history and science back to Roam.