Bedtime with Mrs.
Honeybee Today,
In the Honeybee neighborhood,
We will be getting a visit from our old friend,
Santa.
Santa,
If you're listening,
She meant longtime friend,
Not old.
I just want to clarify.
Santa knows what I meant,
My dear.
At least,
I hope so.
Is Santa listening?
Santa,
If you can hear me,
Please know I am your biggest fan.
The whole world in one night?
That's some seriously efficient buzzing.
You know how he does it,
Right,
Melody Bee?
Magic?
Kinda.
Long ago,
Since Santa is a longtime friend,
Not an old one,
Mr.
Honeybee developed a GPS software for him that tracks weather patterns to find the quickest route for his worldwide journey.
GPS.
Go.
Path.
Santa.
It's a proprietary system.
He uses it every year.
We watch him travel on the tracker,
Right here.
So,
That little red dot,
Is Santa flying his sleigh?
Yep,
It's Christmas Eve.
He just took off from the North Pole.
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,
Walking the last few steps up to our door to knock on Christmas Eve.
It's chilly outside.
Your breath forms into little clouds with each exhale.
Bundle yourself into your coat to warm up,
And reach up to knock again.
Harold hears you this time,
So you know we're on our way.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the cool air streaming in through your nose as your chest expands.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth as Melody Bee and I answer the door.
Hello,
My little Honeybee.
Come in,
Come in.
It's freezing out there.
We're tracking Santa Claus on this fancy doodad thingamabob that Mr.
Honeybee has.
Come on,
He's heading to Australia next.
Melody Bee takes your hand to lead you to the kitchen table,
Where Mr.
Honeybee set up a makeshift command center with multiple screens.
He's sitting in front of them,
Focused on a bright red dot that flashes as it moves across the black screen with white grid lines and a green root.
My little Honeybee,
That's Santa,
The real-life Santa Claus.
You sit down in your chair at the table and study the little red dot.
Our house is warm and cozy,
So you slowly peel the layers of jackets,
Your scarf,
Hat,
And mittens off as I bring you hot cocoa in your very own Christmas mug that has your name on it.
You take a big sip and watch as the red dot follows the green,
Winding line without deviation.
Harold jumps up in your lap to see,
Too.
Beside you both,
Mr.
Honeybee sits back looking proud at how he's been able to help Santa with this GPS software.
After another few sips,
Your first mug of hot cocoa is through.
You hold it up for Melody Bee to refill,
Since you don't want a disturbed Harold who has curled up and fallen asleep in your lap.
You pet the top of his head and fluffy ears as he sleeps.
Suddenly,
Mr.
Honeybee bolts up from his chair in a panic.
He points at the screen and you look to see that the red dot has now greatly deviated from the green path.
It's going in what seems like the exact opposite direction.
Something's wrong.
Something has to be wrong.
Santa is heading right for heavy snow.
He could have easily avoided this.
What could be wrong?
My dear,
I'm sure he knows what he's doing.
He's Santa.
Of course he does.
I'm sure he's okay,
Mr.
Honeybee.
There's probably a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.
Maybe he needed to make a quick stop somewhere that he forgot to list.
We went over the list in detail for just this reason.
Ugh,
I hope he's okay.
You have his phone number,
Right?
Maybe you can call him.
That's for emergencies.
You seem worried that this may be an emergency.
Maybe it'd be a good idea to call him,
My dear.
Before Santa Claus can pick up his ringing phone,
We all hear a knock at the door.
You look back at the red dot,
Which hasn't moved since you last saw it and continues to stay in the same spot.
It's staying put,
Which clearly means something to Mr.
Honeybee.
Puzzled,
He looks at the door,
Then looks back at the dot,
And his face lights up.
When you hear another knock at the door,
All of us rush to answer it.
Santa himself is standing in front of you at our door.
It's Santa!
I am such a big fan of your work.
Santa,
It's so nice to see you.
To what do we owe this visit?
Is the sleigh okay?
How about the GoPath GPS?
You look just past Santa Claus to see his sleigh parked in the driveway.
Rudolph and the rest of the eight reindeers sniff the cold winter air,
Waiting for Santa to return.
At the door,
Santa quickly explains that he has come to refuel.
Before hearing another word,
Mr.
Honeybee zips out to his garage,
Thinking Santa's sleigh is in need.
We watch Mr.
Honeybee scurry away,
With Melody Bee closely behind,
Hoping to help her idol in any way she can.
Don't worry,
Santa.
We'll have you fueled up and ready to fly around the globe in no time.
Mr.
Honeybee,
Where does Santa keep his wings?
How does he fly like that?
No time,
Melody Bee.
Help me get supplies.
Still at the door,
You and I welcome Santa in the house.
I know exactly what Santa Claus meant.
He walks big,
Lumbering steps into the house and doesn't get very far before the sweet smell of homemade snickerdoodle cookies gets his attention.
Walking into the kitchen with Santa Claus,
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel your spirits and your chest lift with Christmas cheer.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth as he hands you a little Christmas Eve gift perfectly wrapped with a bell.
You set it aside for the moment,
Because it's time for us to make another batch of snickerdoodle cookies.
That's just the fuel Santa needs for his big night.
The aroma of freshly baked cookies wafts into the garage and brings Mr.
Honeybee and Melody Bee back into the house.
After seeing that his sleigh wasn't in need of fuel or charging,
Mr.
Honeybee scarfs down a couple cookies as he wonders what brought Santa here to the Honeybee neighborhood.
Santa,
I cannot figure out why you stopped to refuel.
This is the hybrid sleigh,
And the fuel tank is only a backup in case of emergency.
It's full and ready to go.
I double-check the hardware and the circuit board in the engine.
Everything looks to be in working order,
Fully charged.
Mr.
Honeybee,
I don't think he meant that type of refueling.
You and I giggle as Mr.
Honeybee finally notices Santa sitting at the table enjoying a plate full of snickerdoodle cookies so much that he can hardly hear Mr.
Honeybee's assessments.
It all makes sense to Mr.
Honeybee,
Finally.
Oh,
That kind of refueling.
The magic of Santa must be in the cookies.
Trying to emulate the methods of her hero,
Melody Bee dives into the plate of cookies and quickly realizes they're much more filling than they appear.
She leaves the cookies to the professional and sits back watching and waiting for Santa to say or do anything.
When he's finished refueling with snickerdoodles,
He stands up,
Pats his belly,
And heads back out to the sleigh.
He has a world full of people to bring Christmas cheer to tonight.
He gives you a big hug on his way out.
Melody Bee begs him to share his secrets,
But he politely giggles and makes his way to the sleigh.
Mr.
Honeybee notices something as we open the heavy sleigh door and help Santa up.
Santa,
Look at this.
There's a lug nut just dangling.
You cannot go anywhere yet.
My little Honeybee,
Help me do a once-over inspection for the sleigh.
Do you see any more of these out of place?
Santa organizes his bag full of gifts to get them ready for delivery while we carefully circle the sleigh on the lookout for anything that seems out of place.
Take another slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Allow the cool,
Fresh air to clear your mind of any worries so you can feel Christmas joy.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and inspect the sleigh top to bottom.
You and Mr.
Honeybee find a few more lug nuts out of place.
You screw them in tight but are still somewhat worried that you may have missed something.
Melody Bee expresses concern that we're all thinking,
What if something goes wrong on Santa's flight?
Are the lug nuts faulty?
We can't let him go with such uncertainty.
A sly smirk comes across his face,
Letting you know that Santa is thinking of something interesting.
He agrees that the sleigh needs to be in tip-top shape for such a journey as he will take tonight.
He also acknowledges that you and Mr.
Honeybee are the best sleigh technicians this world has ever seen.
There's only one way forward in this situation,
Santa proclaims before he invites us onto the sleigh to join him for his Christmas Eve flight.
Melody Bee faints just slightly from excitement and you catch her as she free falls through the nighttime air.
Without hesitation,
After Melody Bee regains consciousness,
We all board the sleigh wearing the warmest coats we have and the biggest smiles.
We each pet Rudolph on the way up and Melody Bee goes straight for the reins.
She pulls on them too quickly,
Too excited for the adventure ahead of us,
And Rudolph twitches and kicks the reindeers into high gear since he is unable to interpret the command coming from the reins.
Santa quickly grabs them from Melody Bee and settles Rudolph back down.
As we all get situated,
Santa pats the seat beside him at the front of the sleigh.
He wants you to be his second in command tonight.
You are honored and crawl over heaps of presents to join him.
Then,
With full confidence,
Santa hands you the reins.
Knowing the power you hold in your hands,
You take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose,
Feel the sensation of your heart beating once,
Twice,
Three times,
Full of love,
The strongest force.
Then,
Slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and flick the reins for takeoff.
The jingle bells jingle as the reindeers prepare for takeoff.
Then,
Slowly at first,
But faster and faster,
The reindeers gallop at the front of the sleigh.
Rudolph takes off first and the rest follow him.
His red nose lights up the quiet sky and we watch the Honey Bee neighborhood get further and further away as we begin our journey around the world.
House by house,
You smoothly land the sleigh on rooftops and we join Santa down the chimney.
Melody Bee buzzes down first,
Clearing a path for the rest of us.
We do our best to carry all the presents that Santa delivers and set them up just so under each Christmas tree.
We fill up on cookies,
But our bellies are not nearly as full as our hearts.
Today,
In the Honey Bee neighborhood,
We will be visited by a very special friend from the North Pole.
Is it Santa?
No,
Not him.
Not Santa.
Hmm,
An elf?
Not him either.
I'll give you a hint.
He has antlers,
Four hooves,
A bright red nose,
And a big heart.
Harold,
When he's dressed up for Christmas?
It's Rudolph,
Our favorite red-nosed reindeer.
Oh,
That guy from the song.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
Is that the only part of the song you know,
Melody Bee?
Yeah.
All you have to do is close your eyes,
Get cozy,
And listen to the sound of my voice.
Mrs.
Honey Bee will be your guide.
Let's begin.
You are here in our backyard garden,
Stargazing on a chilly winter night.
Melody Bee buzzes in from the kitchen with another mug of hot cocoa that you eagerly accept.
Your hands are snug and warm inside your mittens,
And you are wrapped in a big fluffy coat.
But the sweet-smelling steam from the top of the mug is welcome under your chin.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the coolness of the winter air coming in through your nose as you sip your cocoa.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth and watch the warmth of your breath form a little cloud that quickly disappears.
Melody Bee gets your attention,
Pointing up into the sky.
She has you both out here late into the evening on the lookout for a shooting star.
Tonight's the night,
Little Honey Bee.
I know we're going to see one.
We just have to keep our eyes peeled.
Melody Bee cranes her neck up to the sky,
Slowly scanning it from left to right.
You look down for a quick moment to see that the whipped cream on your hot cocoa has melted into a funny shape.
When,
Suddenly,
You hear Melody Bee gasp.
With a hot chocolate mustache,
You look up to the sky to see not one,
But a sky full of shooting stars.
It's mesmerizing to witness.
Melody Bee calls Mr.
Honey Bee and I out to join you.
We get out there just in time to see it too.
It lasts for a brief moment before quieting back down.
Melody Bee,
Mr.
Honey Bee and I chat about how delicious a dash of cinnamon makes hot cocoa while you continue to study the sky.
The stationary stars twinkle like diamonds,
White and gleaming.
But right in the center of them,
You see something different.
A bright red star that blinks quicker than the others.
You point up and exclaim to get Melody Bee's attention,
But she assumes it's just Mars shining extra bright.
Unconvinced,
You keep watching the sky and sipping your hot cocoa.
The red blinking star seems to be moving,
Getting closer and closer.
You're sure it's something else and get Melody Bee's attention once again.
Now she sees what you're talking about.
Oh goodness,
You're right little Honey Bee.
That's definitely not a star.
It looks like a flying sky tomato.
What looks like a flying sky tomato?
That,
That red looking thing right there.
See it?
It looks like it's coming towards us.
Do flying tomatoes blink like that?
No,
I haven't known them to shine so bright.
I don't think that's a shooting star or a flying sky tomato.
Unless shooting stars have sleighs attached to them.
That's not a flying tomato or a shooting star.
That's Rudolph.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer emerges from the deep blue nighttime sky,
Heading straight for us.
When he gets close enough for us to see him and his sleigh clearly,
We can see that something has gone terribly wrong.
Rudolph wobbles,
Free falls,
And then struggles against the weight of the sleigh to stabilize.
He does that a few times,
But cannot quite get himself steady.
He flies the sleigh in circles to slow himself down slightly,
But that doesn't stop him.
Melody B buzzes up toward him,
Hoping against hope that she could catch him and break his inevitable fall.
Rudolph falls from the sky right past her and crashes on our rooftop,
Sleigh and all.
You follow behind Mr.
Honeybee,
Who leads the way up to the roof.
We have to make sure our dear friend Rudolph is okay.
There's a ladder that's always tucked away.
Mr.
Honeybee releases it and it unfolds down to the ground for us to climb up.
Melody B is already up with Rudolph on the roof.
We can hear her consoling him.
Rudolph was on one of his test flights that he does before Christmas to prepare for the big night.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose as you climb the ladder.
Feel the coolness of the nighttime air coming in through your nose and expanding out your chest.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and focus on each movement up the ladder.
Right hand,
Right foot.
Left hand,
Left foot.
When you get to the top of the ladder and step foot on the tile roof,
You see a very dizzy Rudolph with stars in his eyes from the fall.
He looks up to you with as big a smile as he can muster as you kneel down to hold his hoof in your hand.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is a bit beat up,
But nothing a little extra love and snuggles can't fix.
Mr.
Honeybee inspects the sleigh while we give Rudolph a thorough once-over to make sure he's okay.
Just cosmetic damage to the sleigh,
But this blinker nose of yours?
We need to get this checked out.
Your antlers seem to have gotten bent out of shape too.
Look,
Mr.
Honeybee,
He won't be able to pick up any kind of signal,
Will he?
No,
I doubt it.
Those will need to be repaired as well.
Does your hoof hurt,
Rudolph?
It seems kind of tender.
We can make you a special reindeer cast.
You unhook Rudolph from his sleigh,
And together we lead him down from the roof so he can relax comfortably inside where it's warm.
When we get him in the family room,
Harold scurries off to Mr.
Honeybee's office,
Where his biggest,
Fluffiest bed sits at the foot of Mr.
Honeybee's desk.
This bed is much too big for tiny Harold,
Which is why he loves it so much.
It'll be the perfect size for Rudolph.
Harold comes back into the family room,
Dragging the gigantic bed in his teeth and growling with frustration when it doesn't move as quickly as he wants it to.
You dash over to help him and deliver the warm,
Cozy bed to Rudolph,
Just as the rest of us get him inside.
He plops down with a sigh of relief,
Thankful to have such good friends by his side in his moment of need.
Harold proudly stands two paws at the edge of the bed,
Sniffing our reindeer friend.
Rudolph's eyes light up when he sees Harold,
Who looks like a walking pile of snow to him.
Rudolph loves snow,
Sleeps in it every night at the North Pole.
He uses his snout to nudge Harold into a little,
Distracting game while we tend to Rudolph's injuries.
Mr.
Honeybee goes out to his garage and comes back with a voltage tester,
A device he uses to check light bulbs around the house,
Especially on strands of Christmas lights.
He gently holds it up to Rudolph's nose and it beeps erratically.
Yep,
The voltage is off in his blinker,
But I know just the fix.
Mr.
Honeybee rushes back to his garage,
Confident he will be able to fix Rudolph's blinking nose.
While Harold is continuing to distract him with nuzzling reindeer games,
We inspect his antlers.
There are a few spots that are bent slightly out of shape,
Which are easily molded back into proper shape.
Neither of us expect it to be that easy,
But his antlers are so aerodynamic because they are very pliable.
We're able to shape them like we do those fuzzy little pipe cleaners when we're doing arts and crafts.
That gives you an idea.
You run up to my writing room where we keep our craft supplies and get several pipe cleaners and some tinsel to reinforce Rudolph's antlers where they were weakened.
While you're doing that,
I make him some reindeer food so he can have a full belly and Melodybee gathers supplies to make a cast for his one hoof that is very tender.
Take another slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel confidence in your ability to help Rudolph swell in your chest with your breath.
Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth as you return downstairs to the family room to behold the sweetest sight you've ever seen.
We all meet back in the family room at the same time to behold Harold fast asleep,
Snuggled under Rudolph's chin.
They are both sleeping so very soundly,
Comfortably,
And warm in the overstuffed dog bed.
While they're asleep,
Mr.
Honeybee silences the voltage tester and gets to work recharging Rudolph's nose blinker without disturbing them.
Melodybee slowly lifts his hoof and looks up to see if he noticed.
Rudolph and Harold readjust in their sleep but remain undisturbed.
She softly wraps his paw in a little splint for some extra support.
You and I gently reinforce his antlers with tinsel so he can pick up proper signals.
With teamwork,
We've patched up our friend in no time.
We let them sleep for a little longer so Rudolph can fully recharge.
When the oven dings,
The sweet aroma of freshly baked cookies fills our noses and gently wakes the sleeping best buds up.
They yawn awake,
Following their curious snouts up and over to the oven door.
Rudolph stands up as good as new.
He limps on his sore hoof for a few steps,
But the smell of snickerdoodle cookies distracts him from the soreness.
After a few steps,
He begins to gallop around the kitchen,
Unaware that his antlers are swiping magnets from the fridge and taking dish towels up with them.
Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is ready to return to his test flight.
He takes a few nibbles of the snickerdoodles and is ready to fly.
We make our way back up to the roof,
Hook him back up to his sleigh,
And stand back,
Waiting to witness Rudolph take off into the nighttime sky.
He readies himself with a big breath in through his steadily blinking nose and out through his mouth.
Rudolph takes a few little steps back,
Revving up to dash into the night.
Before he does,
Though,
He whimpers and looks back at us,
Specifically at his new bestest friend,
Harold.
Harold senses that his new friend needs nuzzles,
So he leads us over with a nod and we all follow suit.
We give Rudolph as many snout kisses and hugs and pets as he can handle,
But he still refuses to budge.
With a wink,
Rudolph dips his head down,
Antlers and all,
And scoops Harold up to set him down in the sleigh.
Rudolph wants us to join him on his test flight.
We happily oblige and hop into the sleigh.
It shines just as bright as Rudolph's nose against the backdrop of twinkling stars.
With us in the sleigh,
He is fully confident to take to the skies.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Find the heart center of your calm focus with Rudolph.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth and hold on tight as we fly weightlessly into the night.
You look over the side of the sleigh to see the roof of our house getting smaller and smaller before it finally disappears into a distant,
Blurry shape on the ground.
Rudolph picks up signals from the North Pole and the brightest star and takes us on a sleigh ride adventure,
Looping and swirling through the nighttime sky.
At its fullest,
The moon lights up the twinkling stars.
Rudolph approaches it full steam ahead.
We think to ourselves that the moon is getting awfully close.
But before we can worry about another sleigh crash,
Rudolph diverts and flips us upside down in the sleigh,
Doing a backflip over the moon.
Our arms fly up like we're on a roller coaster as we whoosh by sparkling constellations.
Rudolph hones his flight times and sharpens his turn radius with his newly reinforced antlers.
Thanks to Mr.
Honeybee's electrical know-how,
Rudolph's blinker lights the way as we circle the entire globe in a zigzag pattern.
The crisp,
Wintry air brushes against our cheeks and the tips of our noses are a little chilly,
But our hearts are warm and full.
Today,
In the Honeybee neighborhood,
We'll be getting a visit from a very green friend.
We have a green friend?
I won't be telling the praying mantis that lives in our backyard you said that,
Mr.
Honeybee.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
We have so many green friends.
But which one will visit us,
Mrs.
Honeybee?
He doesn't really like Christmas,
And his name rhymes with the pinch.
I must stop this Christmas from coming!
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,
Walking the last few steps up to our brightly colored door,
Which is even brighter this evening because it's lined with Christmas lights.
They twinkle along the outline of the door in a repeating pattern that's somewhat hypnotizing as you walk up the driveway.
Right foot,
Left foot,
Right foot,
Left foot.
As you lift your hand to knock,
Our front door flies open,
And Mr.
Honeybee nearly walks right into you,
Full of purpose.
Oh,
That was close.
Little Honeybee,
You're here!
We were just heading out to a neighborhood watch.
Did you hear about the Christmas decorations?
They've gone missing.
Well,
Some of them.
It's terrible.
Oh,
Good.
It looks like ours are still here.
Who would steal Christmas decorations?
We're going to find out tonight.
Here,
My little Honeybee.
You better bundle up.
I made us some hot apple cider for our shift.
Come on,
Harold.
We'll need your sharp nose on the case.
You take the warm apple cider in your hands as I wrap you in an even warmer coat,
Hat,
Scarf,
And mittens.
You're so puffy wrapped inside all of the warmth that you can hardly see over the scarf.
Mr.
Honeybee tries to push it down so you can see better,
But I quickly wrap him up just the same to make sure all my people are warm and cozy on this night shift of the neighborhood watch.
Adjust the soft,
Fuzzy scarf so you can see as you follow us back down the driveway and along the sidewalk.
You're not sure where we're going to do our watching,
But you're sure happy to have the sweet smell of the apple cider streaming into the cool,
Wintry air.
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 sip your warm apple cider as you walk with Harold trotting by your side.
There's a small group of us who have taken to the streets to monitor any and all activity on this intel gathering mission.
We have to get to the bottom of the mystery of the missing decorations.
A giant inflatable Santa Claus has disappeared.
Miles of Christmas lights have been disconnected and taken,
And even someone's snowman that was made with actual snow was stolen.
Someone in the Honeybee neighborhood is trying their best to steal Christmas,
But we won't let them.
After a few loops around the block and just about the last sip of your apple cider,
We see something stirring in the shadows.
We think quick and move even quicker to blend in and hide ourselves behind trees,
In bushes,
And behind fences.
You hold Harold in close as you and I duck behind a fence as quietly as you can.
If you can just peek over the top of this wooden fence,
You will have a clear view of the culprit.
Mr.
Honeybee peeks up out of the bushes and gasps silently,
But loud enough for Melody Bee to peek out from the trunk of a tree to see it too.
You and I are the last to look,
But we carefully do.
The festive and brightly decorated house across the street comes into view just as it is stripped of its lights strand by strand.
The icicle lights that line the roof are angrily torn down with one forceful tug.
The multicolor lights that twinkle from a treetop in their front yard go dark as they too are yanked down.
One by one,
Each and every decoration is stolen heartlessly.
When the culprit fills his massive bag with confiscated Christmas cheer,
He moves on to the next house and then the next.
When he gets to the fourth house in a row and under a particularly bright street lamp,
We see his green,
Self-satisfied smirk.
It's the Grinch.
Celebrate with friends.
Let's get him.
No one steals Christmas from the Honeybee neighborhood.
Wait,
My dear.
Just wait.
There's no time to wait.
He's getting away with our Christmas cheer.
Just wait.
We know who it is now.
We just need him to lead us to where he's keeping the decorations.
Oh,
Good idea,
Mrs.
Honeybee.
Like a good neighborhood watch force,
We silently track the Grinch as he steals Christmas cheer left and right.
When he's filled his enormous thieving bag,
He resolves to turn back around and head to wherever he's staying.
This is why we didn't want to confront him.
This is the intel we need to solve this Christmas conundrum.
We duck under the cover of night and follow the Grinch all the way to the outskirts of the Honeybee neighborhood.
He's grown tired of dragging his bag of stolen decorations behind him,
But that doesn't seem to stop him from stealing a few more trinkets along the way.
He has so much stolen cheer in his possession that he has to hold it in his arms because it won't fit in the bag.
He has to readjust every block or so just to continue dragging it.
Though we're hot on the trail of the Grinch,
You know that in order to do your best detective work,
You need to remain focused and calm,
Both inside and out.
Take a slow,
Deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the coolness of the chilly air coming in through your nose.
Then,
Slowly,
Breathe all the way out through your mouth in clouds of warm breath that puff into the night.
With one last right turn,
Then left,
The Grinch finally leads us to his underground lair.
He brushes some branches aside and opens the creaky door.
He disappears downstairs that lead underground and struggles to fit his bag through the narrow opening.
After several tugs,
It finally squeezes through.
He stays down there for a few moments,
Then emerges,
Smirking and ready to steal some more Christmas cheer.
The Grinch heads back out into the night to strip the rest of the neighbors' houses of decorations.
He's so focused on prideful gloating that he doesn't even see us,
Even when Harold almost charged at him in a fit of frustration that was hard to contain.
Once the coast is clear,
We make our way to the hidden door.
We sweep all the branches to the side and open the creaky door once again.
We walk carefully down the dark steps,
Right foot,
Left foot,
Right foot,
Left foot.
It's too dark to see underground,
But Melody B flutters up ahead and finds a light bulb connected to an old rusted chain.
Everyone have to see this.
We join Melody B in the heart of the Grinch's lair,
Where a single cracked light bulb shines on all of our neighbors' stolen cheer.
Santa's and gingerbread men and reindeer decorations smile out of piles they're haphazardly stacked in.
You walk over to one set of reindeer with a golden sleigh and set them upright.
Mr.
Honeybee drapes them with strands of garland and tinsel he finds on the other side of the lair.
Before we know it,
We find ourselves decorating the Grinch's lair,
Which gives me an idea.
What do you think the Grinch would do if he came back to find his lair decorated for Christmas from top to bottom?
It's a long shot,
But maybe he's never experienced the joy of coming home to a festive feeling that's waiting for you.
Instead of taking our stuff back,
Just to start an endless back-and-forth tug-of-war with Christmas decorations,
Let's give the Grinch some of our Christmas cheer.
We have plenty of decorations and cheer to go around.
We get right to work decorating every inch of the Grinch's lair.
We wrap nearly everything we see in strings of Christmas lights,
Tinsel,
And garland.
We inflate all the inflatable Santas and snowmen and reindeer.
The ones that are too big,
We move outside so the Grinch can see them on his walk home.
And hopefully he can know that someone cares about him and forgives him for stealing cheer.
You,
Harold,
And Mr.
Honeybee drag some of the bigger decorations back out through the creaky door,
While Melody Bee and I put the finishing touches on the inside.
Now,
We wait.
Each of us picks a hiding spot in nearby trees and bushes,
So we can witness the Grinch experience Christmas cheer of his own for the first time.
But luckily,
We do not have to wait very long,
Because the Grinch is on his way back to his lair now.
We can hear him grumbling and groaning the whole walk home.
He gets much closer than we expect him to before he notices something is very different than when he left.
The Grinch gasps,
Shocked,
And drops his second enormous bag of confiscated decorations.
He rushes over to his drab lair with a fury only the Grinch's heart,
Two sizes too small,
Can bear to hold.
The outside decorations shimmer and gleam against the backdrop of the darkness that shrouds his lair.
He knows someone has disturbed his lair,
But he doesn't know who or why.
He descends the steps once again to see everything has changed.
His lair is so perfectly decorated,
And he has no clue how it came to be that way.
At first,
He thrashes about,
Breaking everything he sees.
But once he moves back his ferocious,
Grinchy rage,
He settles into a feeling of curiosity.
Thinking he just experienced a Christmas miracle,
He wonders to himself if maybe there is something to this whole Christmas spirit thing.
Before he can change his mind,
We quietly appear in his lair.
He hears our footsteps and turns around,
Ready to react.
It's okay,
Grinch.
It's just us.
You know us,
The honeybees.
This is my little honeybee,
And our little dog Harold,
And that's Melody Bee.
Hi,
Grinch.
Oh,
Or do you prefer the- Either way,
Either way,
It's fine.
Mr.
Grinch,
We wanted to make sure you felt included in the holiday cheer,
So you didn't have to steal anyone else's.
We hope you like your new underground lair.
You obviously have enough decorations.
Did you see over here,
Grinch?
We spelled your name in only green lights.
We watch as the Grinch processes everything,
Including the small flicker of love and peace that crept up in his heart.
All of his huffing and puffing quiets down enough for him to mutter a nearly imperceptible thank you under his breath.
That gesture is good enough for us.
We have just enough decorations left to decorate the Grinch himself,
And we waste not a second more before we do so.
After experiencing a change of heart that grew his heart three times in size,
So it's now even bigger and more full of love than the average heart,
The Grinch simply cannot accept keeping these decorations.
He quickly tears them all down,
Eager to return them to their owners.
We try to slow him down,
But he's resolute on righting his wrongs.
He packs up everything,
Piece by piece,
Smiling back at the smiling decorations as he bags them up and drags them back up the stairs and back to their rightful home.
We take turns dragging the bag because it's quite heavy,
But to the Grinch,
The bags feel much lighter without the burden of grinchiness in his heart.
As we walk back into the heart center of the Honey Bee neighborhood,
Our neighbors hear us coming,
Dragging the bag along the sidewalk.
They all gather in their front yards,
Wondering what's going on.
We explain all that has happened on this wonderfully chilly night,
And they exclaim with joy.
They are all squarely in the Christmas spirit and are more than willing to give the Grinch a second chance.
With that,
The Grinch stands up on his two enormous bags of stolen Christmas decorations and proclaims,
I'm the Grinch that stole Christmas,
And I'm.
.
.
Surprisingly,
Some of the neighbors suggested something we didn't think of.
What if we set up Christmas decorations in a central location so everyone can enjoy them?
We think for a moment and check in with all the neighbors who have lost their things.
Each and every one of them agrees to donate their cheer to the cause.
Not only that,
The Grinch felt left out of Christmas before,
And this was quite the invitation,
But it worked.
Now we have a neighborhood-wide place full of festive Christmas cheer.
Anyone,
Even the Grinch,
Can come to enjoy the Christmas spirit.
There's no better place to fill with decorations than at the heart center of the Honey Bee neighborhood,
Where the oak tree we planted so long ago continues to grow.
We drape it with lights and decorate the entire hilltop with all the recovered decorations.
When we're done,
We stand back to look at what we've managed to accomplish.
The warmth of the lights shines on our cheeks,
And we all join in for a neighborhood-wide Christmas hug.
It's quite late now and getting cooler.
Our neighbors return to their houses one by one until it's just us and the Grinch left.
We turn to leave,
But he refuses.
He says that instead of going back to his lair,
He would like to stay up for the night shift of Honey Bee Neighborhood Watch to patrol this special place full of Christmas cheer,
Just in case there are any other Grinches out there.
We remind him that he's one of a kind,
And that we're so happy to have him as our newest friend and neighbor.
Always remember,
Mrs.
Honey Bee believes in you.
You are special,
And you are loved.
I can't wait to see you again.
