Melodybee's Stinger (Bedtime Story)

A perfect day of relaxation takes a surprising turn when an accidental bee sting sends everyone into a buzzing frenzy. While Mr. Honeybee insists he’s fine, Melodybee spirals into guilt, trying everything from honey to homemade remedies to make amends. By the end, they realize that even the little mishaps among friends can bring everyone closer, and with a bit of care, every sting heals. - Love, Mrs. Honeybee

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

Transcript

Bedtime with Mrs.

Honeybee.

Today in the Honeybee neighborhood,

We've set up a day of relaxation.

Absolutely nothing on the schedule today,

But one thing,

Let me check.

All it says is,

Fun.

Let me guess,

We'll be able to find you in the hammock,

My dear?

The weather is perfect for it.

But of course,

I'll be in the hammock with my latest book.

Hammocks are for laying,

But beautiful days are for buzzing.

Wow,

It's really bright out here,

Isn't it?

I can hardly see.

Mr.

Honeybee,

Can I wear your sunglasses again?

They make me look famous.

Yes,

You can,

Melody Bee.

Here you go.

It looks like we're almost all ready for our day of relaxation in the sunshine.

I'm going to grab my book from upstairs,

Then I'll meet you outside.

I bet you can't catch me,

Mr.

Honeybee.

Oh,

Yeah?

Watch me.

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,

Arriving at our brightly colored front door.

Harold sounds much further away than usual today,

Which brings you to the conclusion that we are out in the backyard.

Instead of knocking,

You walk along the porch to the gate at the side of the house and let yourself in,

Like you always know you can.

Once inside the gate,

You assume Harold will hear you,

But he's much too focused on the rousing game of tag that is going on between him,

Melody Bee,

And Mr.

Honeybee,

Who currently seems to be it.

The fruit trees on the side of the house have grown tall,

And they shade you from the bright sunshine.

As you stroll along,

The walking path stones turns into a whimsical hop,

Right foot,

Left foot,

Right foot,

Left foot.

From the hammock,

I see you hopping and wave hello as you hop all the way to the second hammock beside me.

Hello,

My little Honeybee.

I wish I could always look up and see your smiling face surprise me.

It's so nice to see you on this beautiful day.

You lean into the hammock,

And with a final little hop,

You let it carry you fully while it sways back and forth,

Back and forth,

Slowly coming back into a gentle balance with the warm breeze.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

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

Making its way to your lungs,

And slowly but surely expanding out your chest.

Then,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth,

And let yourself feel heavy in the lines,

With birds singing above and sun shining through the leaves.

It looks like Mr.

Honeybee is tired of being it.

Oh,

Goodness.

He's getting the hose.

Dear,

Remember to turn it back to the shower setting so it's gentle.

So what's gentle?

Oh,

Hi,

Little Honeybee.

Just as Melody Bee and Harold see that you've arrived and join me on the hammocks,

Mr.

Honeybee poses them down with a gentle setting.

For the moment,

They forget they were coming over to see you,

And run as fast as they can away from the sudden hose shower.

But Mr.

Honeybee will not let them get away.

Who's it now,

Huh?

Hehehehe.

We giggle to ourselves,

And Melody Bee and Harold risk hose water to the face as they get in close,

Trying to wrangle the hose handle from Mr.

Honeybee.

We look away just as Melody Bee attempts her secret tactic of a bee buzz to the ear.

As we chit-chat about the day we are having,

And how wonderful it is to be out in the sunshine,

We hear the sharp transition from friendly antics to a worried kerfuffle.

Goodness,

Oh my goodness,

Mr.

Honeybee,

Are you okay?

Oh my goodness,

I'm so,

So,

So,

So,

So,

So sorry.

Are you okay?

Harold bee-lines towards us,

Asking for help,

Because something has gone terribly,

Though accidentally,

Wrong.

We bolt up from the hammocks and rush to Mr.

Honeybee and Melody Bee with Harold.

I'm totally fine,

Melody Bee.

I'm totally fine.

It's just a little,

Oh,

Just a little,

Oh,

Sting.

Just a little one.

Phew,

That stinger is in there pretty good,

Isn't it?

Oh my goodness,

I'm a criminal.

I'm a criminal.

Lock me up.

That's the end of Melody Bee.

How can I call myself a BFF?

I can't.

I just can't.

What happened?

Mr.

Honeybee,

Are you okay?

Your face is flush.

I stung him.

I stung one of my very best friends.

He's stung,

Mrs.

Honeybee.

He needs to go to the hospital.

He's hurt.

I hurt him.

Melody Bee,

I'm fine,

Really.

I've been stung before.

Really,

It's no big deal.

What are you talking about?

No big deal?

This is the highest order of offense.

You're in pain,

So much pain that you can't even admit it.

You do seem to have some swelling,

My dear.

Let me go in and grab some apple cider vinegar and aloe vera for the skin.

When I return from the kitchen with our homemade remedy,

I return to a much different scene.

Mr.

Honeybee's face and hand have swelled up like a red balloon.

He tries to talk as he normally does,

But his slurred speech betrays how not well he is.

I'm fine.

I'm fine.

I'm so sorry,

My dear.

It looks like this was a double-header stinger.

You had one in your hand,

Too.

Oh,

My goodness.

I'm going to pass out.

Melody Bee nervously watches on while we gently hold ice packs up to Mr.

Honeybee's stings.

To help process and ease the pain,

We slow our breathing down so we can respond to the rapidly developing situation.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Bring your awareness to the coolness of the air coming in through your nose and the ice packs in your hands.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and use your own calm to calm the entire situation and mostly,

At this point,

Melody Bee.

Oh,

My goodness.

Mr.

Honeybee,

I think you might be allergic to bee stings.

Really?

I didn't use to be.

It's just me.

You're allergic to me.

No,

I'm not,

Melody Bee.

My dear,

Are you having any difficulty breathing?

How do you feel?

I'm just fine.

I promise.

I would tell you if I wasn't.

Call the ambulance immediately.

More like the wham-bulance.

And I think you need to order me,

Melody Bee.

What?

He said.

.

.

He's just kidding,

Melody Bee.

He said you need the wham-bulance.

Do you need us to get you medical care,

My dear?

No,

No.

Just the wham-bulance for Melody Bee.

Please call me three wham-bulances.

I need emergency treatment.

We continue to monitor Mr.

Honeybee and apply cold compresses to his bee stings and Melody Bee continues to panic.

You think that it might help if she had a job to do,

Somewhere to channel the nervousness.

So you ask her to hold the compress while you get more aloe vera.

She rushes to Mr.

Honeybee's aid and then gets a better idea.

Oh,

Get some honey from the jar,

Little Honeybee.

It's the most powerful antibacterial substance on the planet.

Well,

I don't know about that,

But it works.

It's the least I can do.

Wait,

No.

I'll get some fresh honey.

The worker bees just delivered a new batch of pollen from the other side of the neighborhood.

It's a new,

Even more powerful honey.

I'll go grab it.

You take the cold compress back from Melody Bee before she flutters away and try to create a more calm scenario for her to return to.

Take another slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Bring your awareness to the steady rhythm of your heart beating once,

Twice,

Three times.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and use that exhale as a cone of calm over all of us in the backyard.

Here,

I got it.

Fresh from the hive.

There's even some of the pollen sprinkled on top for extra strength.

Ah-choo!

Whoa there.

That's quite the concentration of pollen.

That must be some good honey.

Ah-choo!

Is it too strong?

No,

Don't.

Ah-choo!

Oh goodness,

It's tickling my nose.

All of us proceed to sneeze until our noses are cleared of pollen and that's when we notice the sparkle drain from Melody Bee's eyes.

She sits on the ground with her head hung low,

Devoid of any hope.

You sit down beside her with little sneezes still lingering in your nose.

You are all allergic to this pain.

The desert.

I live in the desert,

Far away,

So I cannot hurt any of my favorite people.

Feeling all of her guilt and sadness at once,

She puts on her honey harvesting suit as a barrier and comes back to help Mr.

Honey Bee however she can.

First she slathers fresh honey,

Free of excess pollen,

On his stings.

Then she cycles out the cold compresses which have become warm.

While in the kitchen,

She gets a big pot of angel hair pasta going on the stove so she can make him one of his favorite meals.

She comes back out with even more ideas,

Saying he should come inside to rest and relax.

We all stay by Mr.

Honey Bee's side to be there if he needs anything.

Before he can sit down on the couch,

She fluffs the pillows.

She gets him a big cold glass of ice and fills it to the brim with iced tea.

Wow,

I should get stung more often.

This is the royal treatment.

Don't say that,

Mr.

Honey Bee.

This will never happen again.

With his feet elevated,

His favorite movie on,

A cold beverage in his non-stung hand,

And his favorite dinner on the way,

Mr.

Honey Bee is luxuriating in being surrounded by his people.

Melody Bee gently reapplies aloe vera and replenishes the iced tea while I get to work on the pasta,

Which has come to a boil.

You and Melody Bee stay by Mr.

Honey Bee on the couch to make sure he's okay,

And Harold does his part by jumping up onto his lap.

He gives a few laser-like puppy kisses directly to the stings like a pup doctor,

Then curls up on Mr.

Honey Bee's lap for an afternoon snooze.

Melody Bee washes herself clean of all pollen,

Then gradually takes off her honey-collecting suit because with all that she's doing,

She's getting too hot.

You remind her that she's doing as much as she can,

And we're all here to help as well.

Those are exactly the words she needs to hear,

And with them,

She can finally settle into her spot next to Mr.

Honey Bee,

Holding the last cold compress on his hand,

Enjoying the newfound calm,

You take another slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel your chest and your spirits lift hearing Mr.

Honey Bee laugh at his favorite part in his favorite movie,

Assured that your friend is going to be okay.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and join him in the laughter,

Saying the lines you two have memorized at the same exact time.

Well,

Would you look at that!

Mr.

Honey Bee,

The swelling has gone down and the redness has faded.

I think you're going to make a full recovery.

Thanks to my wonderful nursing team!

You come over to help me with the pasta while Melody Bee,

Harold,

And Mr.

Honey Bee continue watching the movie.

Our backs are turned,

Getting plates and utensils and the finishing ingredients,

But we can hear and feel that the joy and ease of spending time together has returned.

Just before it's time to serve dinner,

We notice that it's quiet over on the couch as the credits roll on the movie.

We turn around to see that both Mr.

Honey Bee and Melody Bee have fallen asleep.

Melody Bee slumped over in perfect slumber,

Leaning on Mr.

Honey Bee's side,

Which he refused to leave all day.

We smile quietly to ourselves,

Letting them nap just a little longer.

It goes to show that one of the hazards we as creatures live permanently alongside is the risk of hurting even those we're closest to.

Sometimes we hurt people because we are so close,

Like Melody Bee today.

But if there's anything we've learned from this adventure,

It's that just as we can hurt each other in the little and big ways creatures do,

However accidental,

We can also care for each other in the little ways and big ways that matter most.

We can do everything in our power to repair the hurt and diminish the harm using all the love we have in our hearts.

After all,

That's what makes friendship the absolute joy that it is and continues to be through all the laughs,

Struggles,

And beastings.

Always remember Mrs.

Honey Bee believes in you.

You are special and you are loved.

I can't wait to see you again.

Reviews

But don't bees die when they sting someone oh melodybee is
a super here