Don't Chop the Bees!

This is Ned, and this is his magic Book. Ned has a house, a farm, and fruit trees that suit him just fine. But today, a lone bee cruises past the yard. Ned has not seen a bee in a long time. He looks up and stares. 'I wonder where it lives,' he says.

Ned sets off in pursuit of the bee. It buzzes through tall trees and past bushes bursting with purple flowers. He walks quickly, dodging branches and hopping over roots. The bee seems to know just where it is going. 'Wait for me!' calls Ned. He is not going to lose this bee. Its home must be close.

The bee lives in a nest high up in a tree. Ned stands on the hillside and looks up. He can smell something sweet and fruity drifting down from the branches. 'Honey!' he says. 'I bet it tastes like the juiciest fruit in the world. I have to get some!' His eyes go wide.

Ned really wants the honey inside that nest. He takes out his axe and grins. 'The honey will be mine!' he shouts, raising the axe. A bruise or two from angry bees will not stop him. That honey is as good as his.

'Stop, Ned!' cries The Book, floating up with a worried look on its face. Ned holds a chunk of honeycomb above his head, looking surprised. 'What a nuisance you are being!' says The Book. 'The bees will wake up and bruise you all over! Put that down right now. There is a better way to get honey.'

Ned drops the honeycomb and races home before the angry bees can sting him. The Book is waiting on the grass, ready to share a plan. A small campfire crackles on the ground between them. 'A campfire suits this job perfectly,' says The Book. 'Smoke makes bees sleepy. Put one under the nest, and you can take the honey without a single bruise.'

Ned carries the campfire back to the bee nest and puts it right under the hive. Smoke cruises up through the branches, and the buzzing slows down. He takes out his shears. This tool is much better suited to the job than an axe. 'Now, while they are sleepy!' he whispers.

Ned uses the shears on the hive. Bright, juicy combs of honey slide out, dripping gold. They look so good he could eat them right now. 'Quick, take them and go home before the bees wake up,' says The Book from the ground. Ned grabs every last comb and runs.

Back inside, Ned gets to work at his crafting table. He puts wood and honeycombs together to build a suitable new hive. His hands move fast. 'Soon I will have jars of sweet, juicy honey to eat!' says Ned. His mouth waters just thinking about all that golden honey dripping from the comb.

Outside in the sunny yard, Ned plants bright flowers by the house. Then he sets the new hive on the grass with a small campfire beside it. Everything looks just right. 'Now you need to recruit some bees,' says The Book. 'The flowers will suit them perfectly. Bees cannot resist a good garden.'

Ned finds some bees cruising around the sunny backyard, looking for a home. 'Come with me,' he says, holding out a bright rose. The bees are his newest recruits! They buzz around the flower, happy to follow wherever it goes. The Book watches from the grass as Ned leads them back to the hive.

Ned has a brand new beehive, and it is already making honey. He is so proud! All that hard work has paid off. But the bees are quite a nuisance. They swarm all over him, buzzing and bumping from every direction. Ned is going to have bruises everywhere. 'Maybe this was a mistake,' says The Book.