(But, yep. I agree that this old histories full of literary licenses feel warm inside and are entertaining as long as we take in mind that literature is not the same as science).
The cats appear to understand the bumblebees, the bumblebees do not pay much attention to people or cats. The mint has direct relationships with both animals and insects. Unless of course if you start rooting around in their underground nests, at which point the will fly toward your head like a mimi drone and force you to stop with their persistent dive bombs. I've never been stung but they get aggressive when protecting brood.
This was at least a 3 way simbiotic relationship.
My cat passed away November 2019, mice live under the cat mint plant now.
I have kittens planned in preparation fo next year's gardening season.
Video is related (shut off audio, it's poor quality):
I can't explain the relationships but yet they still persist and can be witnessed in real time.
The truth is somewhere in the middle, probably closer to us humans than not in their emotional complexity, for many, many more animals than we give credit.
Bumblebees are bumblebees and alien, but they sometimes bond with mammals.