As time passed, Betsy continued to see a great deal of Joseph Bumble. And she noticed one thing: Although he talked continually of his cousin Buster Bumblebee, the Queen's son, no one had ever seen the two together.  
"How does it happen," she asked Joseph at last, "that I never find you with your cousin? Aren't you friends?"
 
"We're certainly not enemies," said Joseph Bumble, "though I must admit that we're not quite so intimate as we might be. You see, Buster and I have different tastes. And now that the red clover is in blossom he spends all his time in the clover field. But as you know, like you I am very fond of flowers. And I'd far rather be here in the meadow—or the flower garden—with you, than in the clover patch with Buster Bumblebee."
 
Naturally such an answer was bound to please Betsy Butterfly. And after that she bothered her head no more about the friendship between the two cousins. Certainly Joseph Bumble's explanation sounded reasonable. And she had no cause to doubt his statement.
 
Meanwhile there were others among Betsy Butterfly's admirers who became very on observing how much time Betsy and the newcomer in the neighborhood, Joseph Bumble, were spending in each other's society. And they agreed among themselves that something ought to be done to put an end to the upstart Bumble's boasting.
 
"Betsy Butterfly thinks the fellow is a cousin of Buster Bumblebee's," said Chirpy Cricket. "But I've noticed that he and Buster are never together. Let's ask Bus............