Honeybee Neighborhood Census (Bedtime Story)

The Honeybee Neighborhood buzzes with excitement as we set off to meet new neighbors—everyone from acrobats to beavers—while conducting a most whimsical census. Along the Honey River, postcards flutter to every door, and a surprise encounter with fairy lights turns this otherwise mundane adventure into magical one. As night falls, we cozy up in the quirky Hodge Podge Lodge, eager to see what surprises our ever-growing Neighborhood holds. - Love, Mrs. Honeybee

Featuring: Mr. Honeybee, Melodybee, Roger Robot, and Harold

Transcript

Bedtime with Mrs.

Honeybee.

Today,

In the Honeybee neighborhood,

We'll be meeting some of our new neighbors.

There have been lots of moving trucks coming and going over the last few weeks.

It's time to finally meet them all.

Yay!

I love making new friends.

Did I see a princess move in?

And a beaver?

Well,

I definitely saw a chef wearing her white chef hat.

And an acrobat.

So who knows who we might meet out in the neighborhood.

Today's adventure will be a friendship adventure.

Wait,

Why don't we have a word like that for our beloved neighbors?

There should be a word for it.

Like.

.

.

Neighborship.

Maybe because the best of neighbors become the best of friends.

But first we have to meet them,

I suppose.

Off on our friendship adventure we go.

All you have to do is close your eyes,

Get cozy,

And listen to the sound of my voice.

Mrs.

Honeybee will be your guide.

Let's begin.

You are here,

In the bright sunshine,

Walking right past our house.

Today,

You will instead meet us at the Honeybee Neighborhood soccer field,

Where a final game will decide who is playing against our team in the upcoming tournament.

The rumbling,

Bumbling Honeybee Hive is our neighborhood team,

And so far we are miraculously undefeated.

As you walk past the Honeybee Library and the Pupple Park,

You know to turn left when you see what has now been dubbed the Trampoline Park.

You know it's coming up because you can hear the quacks of distant ducks that also congregate at the pond,

And you can see excited jumpers flailing up over the roofs of houses.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the coolness of the air coming in through your nose,

Finding its way to your lungs,

And expanding your chest out.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and approach the soccer field entrance gates,

Which sit behind the tall bleachers.

Mr.

Honeybee sees you from way at the top,

Where we like to sit,

And stands up to wave his hands to get your attention.

Up here,

My little Honeybee.

You look up,

Hearing his voice,

But you walk too far beneath the bleachers to see him.

Thinking quickly,

Melody Bee buzzes down to you instead.

Haha,

You walked right past us,

Little Honeybee.

Come on,

I'll show you where we sit.

You and Melody Bee walk around the bleachers and up the many steps to the very,

Very top.

Right foot,

Left foot,

Right foot,

Left foot.

Harold and I wave when we see you and scoot over to make enough room for you to sit down on a soft,

Comfy seat cushion with your initials embroidered on it.

I made us these cushions for all the games.

I made yours in your favorite colors too.

Here,

Have a seat.

This is going to be a good game,

I just know it.

Both of these teams want to be champions so bad.

Neither has held the title before,

So it's a big deal that they're playing each other.

And whoever wins will play the hive at the championship game?

Yep,

That will be an even more exciting game,

Especially if the Midnight Ruckus wins.

Bluff,

I've never seen them play,

But I've heard them.

They are quite a team,

A little unfocused at times,

But very talented players.

I love me some football.

My dear,

This is soccer.

No,

This is football.

I'm looking right at it.

It's soccer.

You,

Melody B and Harold,

Whip your heads back and forth as Mr.

Honeybee and I determine exactly what football means in this context.

My dear,

Soccer is just one name for football.

What we tend to call football doesn't even make sense.

It hardly involves any feet.

Hmm,

I never thought about it like that.

Why do we call it soccer?

Maybe because they wear socks?

Football players wear socks.

I know,

That's what I said.

Do you mean football or soccer?

Football.

The football you play with your hands or the one you play with your feet?

As we talk ourselves in dizzying circles,

Roger Robot arrives at the bleachers and hops a single wheel up,

Step by step,

Anxious to settle the debate.

Everyone,

Everyone,

I come with answers.

Why do some call this game played with feet football and some call it soccer?

Easy,

Just do an etymology search.

Oh,

So simple.

Let me consult my infinity brain about that.

No,

Roger,

You tell us,

Please.

You know everything.

Okay,

Okay,

I take pity on the organic brain.

Anyways,

Once upon a time,

There were two footballs.

Rugby football and something called association football.

As the sport became more and more popular,

It traveled.

As it traveled,

The names morphed.

Rugby football became known as rugger and association football became known as soccer,

Short for association.

When the game spread even more,

Different variations of quote unquote soccer were invented in those regions and the name football just kind of stuck like glue.

So now we have soccer,

Which is football,

Football,

Which is football and not soccer.

And,

Well,

That's it.

See?

Easy.

We all sit back,

Somewhat satisfied with the history and somewhat confused.

The soccer,

Or rather football match starting,

Distracts us from following up.

Without picking sides,

We cheer on both teams and sit on the edge of our seats in anticipation.

At the last minute,

The midnight ruckus scores a goal and they're officially slotted in to play the Hive at the championship game.

We fold up our cushions and pack up our megaphones and foam fingers to head out to the car.

On the way there,

Mr.

Honeybean notices something.

Did you see how full the stadium was?

Our little neighborhood is growing.

Now that you mention it,

I did notice that.

I remember long ago when there was plenty of seating in the stands.

Now we had to get there early to get our favorite seats at the top.

There are so many new neighbors moving in all the time.

And they bring the best flowers,

Some I've never seen before.

I wonder how many people live in the neighborhood.

Like,

The exact number.

I'm not sure.

Wait,

You don't know exactly how many neighbors we have and exactly where they're located at all times?

Oh no,

Was that my job?

Is everyone just fluttering around willy-nilly?

What do you mean,

Melody B?

I know where every single bee in this entire world is right now.

We have electrical fields that tell us all we need to know.

About other bees,

The flowers,

Not etymology,

But everything else.

Don't you have anything like that for people?

We have a census for that,

I think.

It seems the census is long out of date.

We need to update it.

Aww,

We can meet all our neighbors in the process.

That sounds like so much fun.

Let's do it today.

We leave the game so inspired to conduct our honeybee neighborhood census that we get right to work formulating a plan.

Roger snaps his fingers and turns one of his hands into a printer.

As we walk,

We design little census postcards out loud and Roger downloads them directly into his hard drive.

He then 3D prints out thousands and thousands of them.

You take the first thousand as a bundle.

I take the second.

Mr.

Honeybee takes the third and fourth.

And Melody B struggles under the weight of the fifth.

With our 5,

000 postcards,

We set out to cover every inch of the neighborhood.

The sun is shining down on a beautifully warm day.

The perfect day to meet old friends and new.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel your chest and your spirits lift.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and knock on your first door.

It doesn't seem like anyone is home.

Let's just leave the cards for them then.

They can simply return them to us through the mail.

We'll get them all back eventually.

Oh,

Good idea.

And I'm always out and about pollinating so I can pick them up too.

Me too.

I see so many neighbors while working on different projects around the neighborhood so I'll be able to collect them.

We come upon our house and realize we haven't checked in on our very own next door neighbors.

Mr.

Honeybee,

Have you heard from Captain EJ recently?

I haven't talked to him in a while.

I wonder how he's doing.

You can ask him yourself,

My dear.

He's right there,

Up on his roof.

Oh,

Hi Captain EJ.

I didn't see you up there.

How are you?

Hey everyone,

It's so nice to see you.

I'm doing all right.

I hope the same for you.

Captain,

Are there any missions I should know about?

No,

Not yet,

Mr.

Honeybee.

Just minor missions as of late.

Thank goodness.

Good to hear.

Captain EJ,

We are conducting a neighborhood-wide census.

We have a card for you to fill out so you can be counted.

Would you please fill it out for us?

Of course,

I'd be happy to.

Here,

Hold it up real quick.

You hold up one of the census postcards for Captain EJ,

And he extends his palm out toward us and magnetizes the card up to him on the roof.

Got it.

I'll be sure to return this.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much,

Captain EJ.

You should come over for cookies soon.

Will do,

Mrs.

Honeybee.

See you later.

Bye for now,

Captain.

Bye,

Captain EJ.

Aw,

Bye,

Captain EJ.

We visit while I water his whistling thorn tree.

It's a plant that whistles to keep predators away.

A plant with real-life superpowers for a real-life superhero.

We continue on our way,

Leaving most of the postcards stuck in our neighbors' doors for when they get back home.

Before we get to the Honey River,

We pass by Yumma the chef's house.

She's not home,

But she's one of our good friends.

It looks like Yumma painted her house and redid some of the roofing.

It looks good.

Yeah,

It does.

My little Honeybee,

Have I told you about Yumma?

She's a longtime friend of mine who has been a chef since I can remember.

She's the one that taught me how to hide zucchini noodles in spaghetti.

But don't tell Mr.

Honeybee.

I heard that.

Admit it.

You like the zoodles in spaghetti.

I do not want to incriminate myself by admitting to such a thing.

He loves it,

Even if you won't admit it.

I've seen the second helpings.

I kid.

They're delicious.

Just like everything Yumma makes.

Too bad she's not home.

She usually has a new recipe for me to taste test.

We leave Yumma a census postcard and make our way to the Honey River where Mr.

Honeybee's little fishing boat stays docked.

After leaving a card at every house in our area,

We float down the river to the furthest reaches of the Honeybee neighborhood.

No matter how much it grows,

The Honey River will always connect us.

You take one of the oars and I take the other and together we row right down the river on a gentle current.

Melody Bee gathers up all the flutterers to help us get cards to doors while we're in the boat.

Little bluebirds,

Butterflies,

And more bees come to us and deliver thousands more cards on either side of the river.

When we arrive at the edges of the kingdom of Ronzio,

We see Princess Powa and King Ronzio on the docks practicing their archery skills on nearby trees.

Oh look!

It's King Ronzio and Princess Powa.

Hi,

You two.

How is everything in the kingdom?

The kingdom is great,

Mrs.

Honeybee.

It's so nice to see you.

What brings you all the way down here?

We are conducting a neighborhood-wide census.

Can you have everyone in the kingdom fill out these cards?

How cool!

Yes,

Of course.

I'll make sure everyone fills one out.

We'll send them all back up the river when they're completed.

Wonderful.

Thank you so much.

King Ronzio,

At your service.

The flutterers collect the cards and deliver them throughout the kingdom and we continue on down the Honey River.

We've spent so long delivering the cards that now the sun has begun to set.

Just think of how much fun it will be to get all of those back.

Take another slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the sensation of your heart beating once,

Twice,

Three times,

Filled with joy.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth as we pull up to our last stop.

We know to stop when we see the Hodge Podge Lodge for wayward beavers,

Maintained by our good friend,

Barry Beaver.

We stop paddling and Mr.

Honeybee docks the boat on the sandy shore.

The Hodge Podge Lodge is a beaver lodge built centuries ago at a crucial waterway juncture.

It's made out of whatever a long line of enterprising beavers could find.

Thus its name,

The Hodge Podge Lodge.

There are chairs sticking out and old wood planks.

There are bungee cords holding up more than they probably should and some moss being used as cement.

Finally,

Walking around the whole thing,

We find Barry,

Or rather,

He finds us finding him.

Oh,

Hello,

Hello,

Hello.

I was not expecting you.

Did Mr.

Roan call you because I insisted we try to flow the water in the Honey River the opposite way?

After many unsuccessful tries,

I now know that's not possible and for good reason.

So,

I promise,

I won't do it.

Don't worry,

Mrs.

Honeybee.

You tried to make the river flow the opposite direction?

How did you even attempt that?

And why?

Oh,

It seems I've tattled on myself.

Never you mind,

My friends.

What brings you to the lodge?

Need an overnight stay?

No,

Not tonight,

Barry.

We are conducting a neighborhood-wide census.

We just need everyone in your area to fill one of these out.

Beavers,

Too?

Of course beavers,

All creatures.

Hmm,

This is doable.

The eagles are a bit obstinate.

Specifically,

One,

Mr.

Roan.

But this is doable,

And even if it isn't,

I will do it.

Thank you so much,

Barry.

It's nice to see you.

I promise we'll stop by soon for an overnight stay.

You've made some serious improvements to the lodge.

It looks good.

I don't know,

My dear.

We've been out delivering cards all day.

Maybe we can stay at the lodge tonight.

I'm exhausted.

Me too.

My printer arm needs to charge.

Yeah,

I guess so.

My little honeybee,

This will be your first time visiting the Hodge Podge Lodge.

The more,

The merrier.

We tuck ourselves into the lodge for the night,

Just as the sun finishes setting.

We've met so many of our wonderful neighbors,

And we'll continue to learn about them as the postcards trickle back in.

Thinking of all the fun we had,

We are lulled to sleep under the twinkle of the nighttime sky.

Always remember,

Mrs.

Honeybee believes in you.

You are special,

And you are loved.

I can't wait to see you again.

Reviews

Loved it thank you Mrs Honeybee have a bee-utiful day.😜🐝💖

Barry tried to reverse the river?! Did you ever find out why? Spot the odd one out.

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