The Outlandish Adventures of Honey Bee

“Thank you Professor Crankshaft,” Calliope handed the elderly man a jar of honey, “see you next week.”

Calliope Royal inherited the Royal Family Bee Farms after her grandmother died.

Calliope ordered a dozen new queens, all marked with little silver X’s, she released each into new hives. The final container was empty. She would figure it out later, it was getting dark.

There was a glow in the forest she had never seen. She could hear grandma’s stern warning, “Never go into the forest. Avoid fairy circles. Mischievous magic wreaks havoc.”

It wouldn’t hurt to look.

In the forest shadowed an oval ring of glowing blue mushrooms. In the center, glowing the brightest, was a queen bee marked with a silver X.

“There you are,” she reached, avoiding the mushrooms, and plucked the queen into her palm. She took the bee back to its hive and let her settle in. The glow from the forest pulsed in the distance.

Two months later the honey was ready to harvest, she was two bottles into the twelfth hive when she noticed that the honey itself glowed.

She dipped a finger to taste; it was heaven. She drank the entire jar. Drowsy and full, she passed out on the grass warmed by the sun.

When she woke she felt a soothing buzz in her chest. She pushed herself up and caught her finger on a wood shard.

“Ouch,” she said as honey flowed from the wound. With a mild burp several bees flew from her mouth and landed on her hand. They made quick work of healing her wound. Startled, she jumped and found that she was floating. She could fly.

Calliope would care for her bees and ten thousand bees would care for her. She was their new home.