Maya is a bee born in a bee hive during internal unrest: the hive is dividing itself into two new colonies. Maya is raised by her teacher, Miss Cassandra. Despite Miss Cassandra's warnings, Maya wants to explore the wide world and commits the unforgivable crime of leaving the hive. During her adventures, Maya, now in exile, befriends other insects such as a rose-beetle named Peter and braves dangers with them. In the climax of the book, Maya is taken prisoner by hornets, the bees' sworn enemies.

Prisoner of the hornets, Maya learns of a hornet plan to attack her native hive. Maya is faced with the decision to either return to hive and suffer her due punishment, saving the hive, or leaving the plan unannounced, saving herself but destroying the hive. After severe pondering, she makes the decision to return. In the hive, she announces the coming attack and is unexpectedly pardoned. The forewarned bees triumph over the hornet attack force. Maya, now a heroine of the hive, becomes a teacher like Miss Cassandra and shares her experiences and wisdom with the future generation.

All published appearances of Maya the Bee from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

Some notable appearances are listed below:

* Die Biene Maja und ihre Abenteuer (1912)
* The Adventures of Maya the Bee (1922)

*Adventures of Maya the Bee (1926)

* German director Wolfram Junghans made a 1926 silent film version ("starring" real insects). The film was lost for a decade until the only original copy of the film was found in Finland.

*[https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Adventures_of_Maya_the_Bee/LyYFAQAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 Google Books]
*[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_the_Bee Wikipedia]
*[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22354 Project Gutenberg]
*[https://comicvine.gamespot.com/maja/4005-85018/ ComicVine]
*[https://mayathebee.fandom.com/wiki/Maya Maya the Bee Wiki]
Category:Literary Characters
Category:German Characters
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