Frankie stopped writing. All in alI, the sun didn’t sound the best place for flowers to grow. “I shall have to investigate!” she announced and skipped off. “But the mysterious case of the frog in the toilet cistern!” wailed Clarence. “When are we sorting that?”
Frankie was tired and a bit hot. Investigating was fun but her head was full of spaceships and whether a flamingo could really properly fit inside one and that maybe she would need to persuade Clarence to come and help with the controls. She sat down for a rest. “Owzzzzzz” said a muffled voice from somewhere underneath Frankie. Frankie jumped up again, shook out her feathers and with a buzzzzzzzzzzzzzz a rather crumpled bee appeared.
“Oh hi Beyoncé”, said Frankie. “Where have you come from? And why are you all squashed?” “Well I was just minding my own business collecting pollen from a sunflower and you sat on me!” exclaimed Beyoncé the bee. “You mean …” gasped Frankie in a super excited way, “you have just plummeted back to earth in a space capsule after a trip to the sun?”
Beyoncé the bee looked at Frankie the flamingo and wondered if things could get any worse… She was crumpled, had a massive headache, and now this fool of a flamingo was talking about rockets and splash downs and… “Well Frankie”, replied Beyoncé in her best explaining voice. “I haven’t been to the sun, I haven’t even been to the moon. I just came to get pollen from this sunflower and… Oh. Now I get it!” Beyoncé started to laugh so much she collapsed into a puddle of water and Frankie had to fish her out.
“Let me explain! Let me explain!” squeaked Denzil the dragonfly as he did a few acrobatic twirls. “Ahem”, began Denzil as he practiced his best explaining voice. “Sunflowers don’t grow on the sun. They grow in the ground on Earth.”
Frankie tried to ignore Denzil as she always did but had to admit that maybe he had a point. After all, she herself had thought it was a bit hot for sunflowers to grow on the sun. But there was still the burning question over their name… “So, she replied a bit crossly. If that is the case why are they called sunflowers then? Why not earth flowers? Or ground flowers?” “I’ll show you.” said Beyoncé. “If you can get us to France that is”. “Sure.” beamed Frankie. “No problemo.”
Frankie, Clarence, Beyoncé and Denzil were flying across a field of sunflowers. “Look at the direction they are facing” pointed out Beyoncé. “It is south.” “South it is”, confirmed Clarence the crab. “Now let’s go and have a baguette and some red wine with my French cousins” buzzed Beyoncé, “and then we will come back here after a few hourzzz.”
Frankie, Clarence, Beyoncé and Denzil were flying across the field of sunflowers again, though not in such a straight line as before. “Now the sunflowers are facing west.” announced Beyoncé. “West it is” confirmed Clarence.
“So…” continued Beyoncé, “what rises in the east and sets in the west?” “I have absolutely no idea” muttered a disgruntled Frankie, who, quite frankly, could have done with a sit down. “I know! I know!” squeaked Denzil the dragonfly as he did a few acrobatic twirls and got into ‘best explaining voice’ mode. . “It is, ahem”, the sun.”
“Correct” pronounced Beyoncé. “It is the sun.” And they are called sunflowers because they are always facing the sun during the day. Frankie looked impressed by this fact. Denzil did a miniature fist pump. And they all flew home to the zoo.