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Welcome to Stories Podcast. I'm

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your host, Amanda Weldon. Today's

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story is a throwback episode. Tune

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Enjoy the episode! Once

2:01

upon a time, a long

2:03

time ago, a hive of

2:05

bees was busy with the

2:07

business of honey. Some

2:09

were making it in sticky little gobs,

2:11

some were feeding the queen and the

2:14

babies. and some others were out collecting

2:16

the pollen and nectar they needed. Billy

2:18

had a different job. He was

2:21

supposed to guard the honey. Unfortunately,

2:24

this was before bees had stingers, so

2:26

he had an awfully tricky time

2:28

of it. Please don't

2:30

take the honey, he'd say to the

2:32

beetle, who would trundle across the

2:35

hive and scoop up a few mouthfuls.

2:37

Share and share alike, that's

2:39

what I always say, the

2:41

beetle would reply, unfazed. Really,

2:44

you have to stop, Billy would

2:47

say to the skunk, who would

2:49

sneak in her long, greedy tongue. Just

2:52

a few licks, you can

2:54

spare it, the skunk

2:56

would wheedle back. Oh,

2:58

please stop, he'd shriek

3:00

at the bear, who would

3:02

shake the whole hive and nearly

3:04

break it apart, scooping out

3:06

globs of honey with his big,

3:08

hairy paws. Delicious!

3:11

Buzz, buzz, buzz, little friends,

3:14

the bear would rumble back

3:16

pleasantly. On and on

3:18

this went, until there was barely

3:20

enough honey left for the bees

3:22

to feed themselves. They

3:24

started to get hungry, and many of

3:26

them started to blame Billy and

3:28

the other guards. It's

3:31

not fair, said Billy. We're

3:33

so small, how are we

3:35

supposed to stop even a

3:37

big beetle? Never mind a

3:39

skunk, never mind a bear. Well,

3:42

you better figure something out, grumbled

3:44

the hungry others. Dismayed

3:47

and lost, Billy buzzed out

3:49

of the hive one night. He

3:51

landed on a lolling leaf and

3:53

sighed into the moonlight. It's

3:55

not fair, he said.

3:58

We guards do our best, but

4:00

we're just little honeybees. If only

4:02

I had a way to protect the

4:04

hive. The wind

4:06

swirled around the little bee,

4:08

and soon he heard a

4:11

voice. blowing past his fuzzy

4:13

antenna. Little bee,

4:15

little bee, said

4:17

a rustle of flowers

4:19

and grass. Who's

4:21

there? Billy said, looking

4:23

around the darkness. It's

4:29

me, Mother Nature, said

4:32

the voice. You're right

4:34

about it not being fair. I

4:37

should have realized that others would

4:39

be after your honey. So

4:41

you'll help me? Billy asked. I

4:44

will, said Mother Nature. I'll

4:46

give you a stinger, sharp

4:48

as you could like. If

4:50

anyone tries to steal your

4:52

honey, you give them a

4:54

sting, and that will have

4:56

them thinking twice. Billy

5:01

thanked her over and over and

5:03

flew back to the hive to

5:05

tell the other guards. The next

5:07

morning, when they woke up, They

5:09

all had stingers at the end

5:11

of their abdomens. This

5:13

is great, said Billy, and

5:15

the others all agreed. We

5:17

can finally protect the honey. Protect

5:20

the honey, the guard

5:22

bees cried together. That

5:25

day, a beetle came trundling

5:27

up. Please leave the

5:29

honey alone, Billy said.

5:32

Share and share alike, little

5:34

bee, the beetle said, and went

5:36

to steal some honey like usual. Billy

5:39

readied his new stinger. Last

5:42

warning! Out of

5:44

my way, wise guy! Billy

5:46

could tell that the beetle wasn't

5:49

going to back down. So, to

5:51

protect his hive's honey, he flew

5:53

over and gave him a sting. Yow!

5:57

yelped the beetle. I'm

5:59

out of here! The

6:01

guard bees all celebrated together.

6:03

Their first honey defense!

6:05

The queen would be so

6:07

proud! Later that

6:10

day, the skunk happened by. She

6:12

crept up close and got her

6:14

long tongue ready to steal

6:16

something sweet. Hey, don't

6:18

take our honey, Billy said,

6:21

a little more confident now. Just

6:24

a little lick, said the

6:26

skunk. You won't even

6:28

miss it. Well,

6:30

Billy was out of patience

6:32

and didn't even bother asking

6:34

twice. He grabbed some other guard

6:36

bees and together... dove down

6:39

and stung the skunk. They

6:41

got her on the nose and on

6:43

the ears, and she was soon yelping. Ow!

6:47

Oh! Ow! Hey!

6:49

Hey! She said, shaking

6:51

her head. This stinks

6:53

worse than me!

6:55

Forget it! And

6:57

the skunk ran off, leaving

6:59

the guard bees to celebrate

7:02

again. A little later,

7:04

as the afternoon sun was

7:06

warming them into a happy,

7:08

sleepy stupor, a bear came

7:10

snuffling about. This

7:12

time, the bees didn't even wait

7:14

for the bear to ask. When

7:16

he got too close, all the

7:18

guards came out at once, led

7:21

by brave Billy. Protect

7:23

the honey, he cried.

7:25

Protect the hive! They

7:28

flooded over the bear and stung

7:30

him all over his shaggy

7:32

face and neck. He roared

7:34

and swung his mighty paws, but

7:36

the bees were everywhere and

7:38

they were too small to swat.

7:40

Never mind the honey,

7:43

he said, rolling in the

7:45

grass. Oh, oh,

7:47

my buzz friends.

7:49

He turned and ran into

7:51

the woods, leaving the hive alone. The

7:54

guard bees all celebrated and that

7:56

night all the other bees

7:58

joined their celebration too. Not

8:00

a single drop of honey had

8:03

been stolen. The next

8:05

day, the guard bees got together

8:07

again and Billy had an exciting

8:09

new idea. Instead

8:11

of waiting for them to come to

8:13

us, he said, this time we'll

8:15

take the fight to them. What

8:18

do you mean? asked another guard.

8:21

Well, we had to tell the

8:23

beetle twice. The skunk and bear tried

8:25

too. Let's go sting them now before

8:27

they even get close. The

8:29

other bees cheered the idea and

8:31

soon a whole cloud of

8:33

guards was floating across the grassy

8:36

forest floor. First,

8:38

they found the beetle chewing a little

8:40

leaf. They stung him before

8:42

he even knew what was happening. Hey,

8:46

what gives? That's what

8:48

you get for thinking about our honey. I

8:50

was thinking about my

8:52

pincers. A likely story,

8:55

said Billy, and on

8:57

they flew. Soon

8:59

they found the skunk, digging through

9:02

some flowers for their tender

9:04

roots. The cloud darkened the

9:06

sky and then landed on the

9:08

skunk, stinging her left, right,

9:10

and center. She sprayed her

9:12

stink, but the bees weren't

9:14

deterred. Ow, ow,

9:16

stop it! she

9:18

said, running back to her

9:20

burrow. This seriously stinks. And

9:24

don't think about our honey

9:26

again, said Billy, and on

9:28

they flew. Next,

9:30

they found the bear, lazily drinking

9:33

from the river. He heard

9:35

the buzzing approach and looked up,

9:37

waving a shaggy paw. Oh,

9:40

it's my buzzy friends,

9:42

he said. Hello, friends.

9:44

Wait, oh, what are

9:46

you doing? the stings. He

9:50

panicked and lumbered into the water, where

9:52

Billy and the other guard bees

9:54

were forced to let him swim away.

9:56

That's right, Billy called

9:58

after him, and never come

10:01

for our honey again. That

10:03

night, they celebrated another successful

10:06

day protecting the hive. There

10:08

was singing and dancing and buzzing

10:11

of all kinds. The

10:13

next morning, Billy and the guard

10:15

bees went out stinging everyone

10:17

again, and again, and

10:19

again, all before

10:21

they could even come close to

10:24

the hive. This went

10:26

on for a couple weeks until

10:28

one day Billy found himself swept

10:30

aside by the wind. It

10:35

tumbled him tail over wings and

10:37

sent him spinning away from

10:39

the other guards. Hey!

10:41

Whoa! He cried as

10:44

the invisible stream of air dragged him

10:46

through the forest and then dumped

10:48

him in the middle of a grassy

10:50

clearing. He looked up

10:52

and saw he wasn't alone.

10:54

Around him were the beetle,

10:56

the skunk, and the bear. Oh,

11:00

uh, hey there, he said

11:02

a little sheepishly. Billy

11:10

the Bee came

11:12

the wind -rustled voice of Mother

11:14

Nature. These animals

11:16

say you've been stinging

11:18

them. To protect the honey,

11:20

he said. To protect the

11:22

queen, she needs to eat. True

11:25

enough, but they say you've been

11:27

stinging them even when they

11:29

aren't after honey. I

11:33

was taking a walk, said the beetle.

11:35

I was brushing my

11:37

tail, said the skunk.

11:40

I was waving hello, said

11:42

the bear. Is

11:45

this true? asked

11:47

Mother Nature. Billy

11:49

buzzed uncomfortably. Well,

11:52

they'd come for the honey in the

11:54

past. We figured, you know, better

11:56

to sting first before they got

11:59

close. The wind

12:01

of Mother Nature gusted through the

12:03

clearing and the bee had to

12:05

buzz to stay in place. You've

12:08

turned into a bully,

12:10

she said, her voice an

12:12

angry gale. I gave

12:14

you the power to protect yourself

12:16

and you use it to

12:18

attack your fellow creatures? I'm

12:21

sorry, I won't do it again.

12:24

That's right, you won't,

12:26

said Mother Nature. From

12:28

now on, you can

12:31

only sting once. After

12:34

that, you'll lose

12:36

your stinger. So don't

12:38

waste it. There

12:40

was a howl of wind, a whirl

12:43

of leaves, a patter of rain,

12:45

and a crack of thunder. Billy

12:47

was swept off in a whirlwind, spiraling

12:49

up and down and around and

12:51

around. The grass was the sky and

12:54

the ground was blue, and just

12:56

when he thought he might lose his

12:58

honey, he was back at the

13:00

hive, gasping for breath. Don't

13:04

forget. came

13:06

the voice of Mother Nature on the

13:08

fading maelstrom. I won't, Billy

13:11

said back, his little voice swept

13:13

up in the breeze. And

13:15

that's how Billy and the

13:17

bees learned that hurting others

13:19

was a serious business. And

13:21

to this day, honeybees will

13:23

only sting if you're threatening

13:25

them. Because when a honeybee

13:27

stings, it stings them

13:29

too. The End

13:33

Today's story, The Bee's Sting, was

13:35

an adaptation of an Aesop's Fable written

13:37

for you by Daniel Hines and

13:39

performed for you by me, Amanda Weldon.

13:42

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