“They make a huge fuss about it.”

Snail yawned and rolled his eyeballs.

“It’s supposed to be their coming of age trial. Each one is given a unique task. If it’s done properly, they get wings. But you would think they had survived a plague and slayed a dragon to hear them talk. As if the little tasks were such valiant affairs.”

“Of course, because none of them ever has to do anything actually hard, or important anymore,”

Responded old Frog. “Life was dangerous once. They are too young to know anything about that. But in the old days, when I was a prince, you couldn’t afford to be so light headed and flighty as these young fairies are. You wet too busy surviving!”

Snail wagged its head in agreement.

Bunny added his opinion. “It’s not as if the trials were difficult, either. Pick a dying tree and cure it… find this rare flower blooming out of season… capture a wild raindrop… child’s play. I heard young Fairy Ethereal telling the story of her trial as if she had overcome demons. They were only jumping spiders. What a fuss! As if that were some sort of traumatic experience. Spiders!”

“I mean, it’s an understandable attempt to foster initiative, courage, and responsibility in a society otherwise bereft of incentives.” Frog puffed himself up for a long winded statement. “So I understand the reasoning behind the trials. They are well intentioned, however trivial. But the failure or inability to derive anything more challenging than a glorified obstacle course for these youngsters is where we have really been let down. In other times…”

Interrupted by an interesting commotion nearby, old Frog trailed off. Bunny and Snail turned to look. Underbrush was shaking in the direction of the great Bee Oak and a buzzing sound approached.

“Eeeeeee! Out of the way! Augh, watch out! Help! Run!”

A fairy boy was careening toward them through the ferns, his arms waving wildly. “BEES!”

Frog and snail deftly slipped into their nearby puddle, abandoning their mammal friend as efficiently as years of self preservation had made them. Bunny glared after them for a moment with disdain, then turned to the young fairy and offered his soft back. “Hop on, youngster, and we shall outrun the buzzers,” he said. The fairy thankfully clambered up. “Run! Oh, run fast!”

“How the devil,” asked bunny between gallops, “did you manage to arouse them?”

“It was a trial, of course. To steal a pitcher of honey and present it for the forest banquet next week. Who thinks up these things? Run!”