The Lights Go Out (Bedtime Story)

A cozy game of charades is thrown into darkness when the lights go out in the Honeybee Neighborhood, but Mr. Honeybee’s mega-bright invention blinds us all instead of helping! As we fumble around trying to see, we discover that sometimes the best way to find light is to embrace the dark. And with the stars twinkling above, it turns into a nighttime adventure we didn’t see coming! - Love, Mrs. Honeybee

Transcript

Bedtime with Mrs.

Honeybee Today,

In the Honeybee neighborhood,

We've had a power outage.

The whole neighborhood is dark and we can't see a thing.

A tree seems to have fallen on electrical wires.

We don't know how long until the lights are back on.

Oops!

Sorry,

Mrs.

Honeybee,

Didn't see you there.

That's okay,

Melody Bee.

Let's make some tea and figure out how we're going to get these lights back on.

But I can't see anything.

How are we going to see anything?

Whoa!

I found these flashlights in the garage.

The batteries might not last that long,

But they're working for now.

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,

Standing in the middle of our living room with your back to a roaring fire.

After a busy day,

We decided to end the evening with a game of charades after dinner.

I swish around the folded up pieces of paper in the top hat that sits on the arm of the couch before choosing one.

I open it up and read it,

Then think carefully.

When I put the folded paper in my pocket,

You know that it's time to guess.

This one will be both a phrase and a place.

You watch as I lift my arms up,

But they meet in a circle overhead.

Then I stand up as tall as I can and turn to one side so you cannot see the circle I'm making with my arms anymore.

I slowly turn all the way around with my arms still up.

What could I possibly be acting out?

Ballerina.

Aww,

You'd make such a lovely ballerina,

Mrs.

Honeybee.

Why,

Thank you,

Melody Bee.

I have always been quite fond of twirling.

When I spin slowly back around,

You can again see the full circle.

Everyone on the couch is baffled,

But Mr.

Honeybee gives his best guess.

Um,

Snow globe?

Close.

Globe is close.

Hmm,

Globe is close.

Suddenly,

When I mid-spin,

All the lights in the whole house cut off with a zap.

The fireplace is our only source of light,

And it casts a shadow along one side of the circle I'm making with my arms.

Whoa,

What happened?

I think we lost power.

The electricity must be out.

Oh,

Wait,

Wait,

Wait.

This is perfect for my clue.

Look.

Mrs.

Honeybee,

All the lights are off.

It's almost totally dark.

Exactly.

The dark side of the moon.

You got it,

Mr.

Honeybee.

Wow,

What a happy accident this was.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time.

Okay,

I'll grab the flashlights and candles from the emergency kits.

I'll check to see if it's just our house or if it's the whole block.

We might be able to use one of the generators I've been working on in case this very thing happened.

You,

Melody Bee,

And Harold cozy up to the fireplace,

Which is the last remaining source of heat and light,

But it's still going strong.

I come back with plenty of beeswax candles,

Flashlights,

And blankets.

We light the candles,

Then snuggle into the blankets,

Assuming that Mr.

Honeybee will be able to restore electricity from the panel on the side of the house.

We sit patiently in the dark,

Silent living room.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the peacefulness of a moment without electricity as the fire warms you.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth.

The candle you're holding out in front of you dances in your exhale,

And you get up,

Still wrapped in your blankets like a burrito,

To see how Mr.

Honeybee is doing in the garage.

We follow behind,

Also curious.

Out in the garage,

We find that he's manually opened the big garage door,

And the neighbors are out in their front yards,

Equally concerned about the power outage.

Mr.

Honeybee is talking with them,

But sees us come out and runs over to us.

He's more excited than we expect him to be.

Okay,

Everyone.

It's okay.

The electricity in the whole neighborhood seems to be out.

Oh,

No!

Oh,

Goodness.

Really?

No,

No.

It's okay.

Just watch.

I have just the thing.

I've been working on it.

Well,

You'll see.

I mean,

You really will see,

Let me tell you.

Mr.

Honeybee disappears into his garage,

Working away at his workbench with his battery-powered headlamp on his forehead.

You're carrying a candle for us,

But a flashlight seems to be more practical.

Instead,

We spread out all the candles we have to form walking paths so we don't trip or stub our toes.

We light enough candles just to see where we're going,

Because otherwise,

It's pitch black in the house.

The fire is starting to dwindle,

So Melody Bee sparks it back up with kindling.

Once we have the house prepared for us to potentially be in the dark for a while,

We take our flashlights to meet the neighbors back outside.

We walk past Mr.

Honeybee,

Who is still busily focused on his workbench,

Threading wires through something and flicking switches on and off.

Outside,

None of the usual street lamps are on.

At first,

The darkness feels a little scary.

Some of the neighbors are terrified of the dark,

But we bravely console them and let them know that Mr.

Honeybee is working on something that should help.

Harold jumps up into your arms for you to carry him.

You flick on your flashlight and shine it into the bushes,

Scanning everywhere around us.

Suddenly,

From the bushes,

Two shiny circles look back at you.

Harold barks,

But you know how to calm him back down.

You know it's probably a neighborhood cat or opossum,

Both of which are very friendly.

Their eyes shine in the artificial light.

You remember from our many camping trips that experienced campers call it eye shine,

Because that's exactly what it is.

While you're scanning the perimeter of the house with your flashlight,

You shine your light right on Mr.

Honeybee as he emerges from the garage.

He puts his hands up to shield his eyes from the bright light.

You point your flashlight to the ground and watch as he explains what he's wheeling out under the tiny lamplight that shines strapped to his forehead.

The power is out neighborhood wide,

And we don't really know what's causing it yet.

I was imagining this exact scenario when I made this.

Mr.

Honeybee unveils a huge flashlight that is connected to a gigantic engine.

He pulls something to start it,

And it rumbles like a car.

It flickers at first,

Then buzzes and hisses as it fires up the brightest light you've ever seen in your life.

It shines right at you,

And feels like it shines through you.

It's so bright,

It no longer feels like nighttime.

It hardly seems dark outside.

All you can see is a bright white light that shines far beyond this block of the neighborhood.

All the neighbors are effectively blinded though.

To be fair,

We are no longer in the dark.

Mr.

Honeybee turns his headlamp off and squints his eyes closed as he proudly announces his latest prototype.

Everyone,

Do not fear the dark.

Here we have the magnificent bright light of the Solar Charge Deluxe 3000,

The generator I built to power the whole entire neighborhood for times just like this.

The neighbors clap,

Somewhat hesitant,

Because while they are happy to have power and light again,

They cannot open their eyes without creating a shield with their hands.

Even Mr.

Honeybee is starting to feel really warm standing next to the light.

Phew,

Is it hot out tonight or what?

What's happening?

Hmm,

Wow.

This really is something,

Mr.

Honeybee.

Do you think it needs any more tinkering?

I don't think it can get any brighter.

That might be one of its problems,

My dear.

The lights are all on now,

But we still can't see.

You know what,

You're right.

That might be a good idea.

I'll turn this off so I can open my eyes and reduce the wattage.

Can anyone see the off switch?

Here.

I think it's up here.

Melody Bee,

Can you fly toward my voice?

I think the power button is on the top.

Right here.

Where's here?

I can't see anything.

Can you tap louder?

Melody Bee navigates into the light and shuts down the Solar Charge Deluxe 3000.

We all blink our eyes open and closed several times until the kaleidoscope of colors fades.

Now the darkness seems even darker compared to the bright light of the most powerful generator.

But when we sat still for just a moment,

The most curious thing happened.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the coolness of the nighttime air coming in through your nose and clearing your mind.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth.

Allow yourself to feel the ease with which your eyes naturally adjust to nighttime's darkness.

Even without the flashlights or the candles or any generators,

Our eyes adjust and show us what we need to see even at night.

The longer we go without any artificial light,

The more our eyes adjust.

After a few long moments of adjustment,

We are able to see just fine.

It's only when one of the neighbors turns on their flashlight that the darkness becomes even darker.

It's the light that makes the darkness scary.

In reality,

A reality that our eyes are well adjusted to,

We can see just fine in the total darkness of a power outage.

After even more long moments of wondering what we're going to do,

Harold gives us the best idea.

All the neighbor's eyes have adjusted too,

And they begin to file back into their homes.

We help Mr.

Honey Bee lug the Solar Charge Deluxe 3000 back into the garage for more tinkering and walk through the gate into the backyard.

Without any of the street lamps or house lights,

What some people refer to as light pollution,

We can see the stars even better than we usually can.

We climb up into the treehouse and stare out the windows at all the constellations moving and puffy clouds moving by.

What started as a game interrupted turned into a whole new way to see our world.

Always remember,

Mrs.

Honey Bee believes in you.

You are special and you are loved.

I can't wait to see you again.

Reviews

So good Def 1 of my favourites spot the different
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Soooo gooooddd
Spot the difference: hardest level
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Tipe this:🫶if you got it and this:😕if you didn’t

I listened to this during an actual power outage so it felt like I was in the story❤️🐝