Strange Bee-haviour

## **Plot:**

Mouse is trying to tell his friends a story about a bat named Batilda.

## **Transcript:**

**Mouse:** Oh, hi!

I bet you're wondering why there's a flower petal stuck to my back.

Funny story!

Actually, it's a story about me trying to tell a story to my friends, but a strange problem kept getting in the way...

**Thunder:** Yippee!

**Rabbit:** Oh, I love stories!

Is it funny?

Scary?

Are there rabbits in it?

**Mouse:** I don't know yet!

I'm going to make it up as I go along.

**Thunder:** I like that kind of story!

Rabbit, sit down and let Mouse tell it.

**Mouse:** Hmm...

Once upon a time...

**Edwina:** Hi! What's up?

**Thunder:** Edwina!

Mouse is telling a story.

Come listen!

**Edwina:** A story?

I'm in!

**Mouse:** Once upon a time, there was a bat named, uh, Batilda.

She would stay up all night looking for food, then sleep all day hanging upside down in her cave.

Then, um... one day, Batilda invited...

She invited...

Whoa!

**Rabbit:** Shoo! Shoo!

There must be a beehive around.

**Thunder:** Hm. Maybe we should find another story spot.

**Edwina:** Right! I'm on it.

Whoop... ooh!

Bees here.

Yeah, uh, here too.

Yikes!

Ooh! More bees!

No luck.

They're everywhere!

**Rabbit:** Edwina, they're following you!

**Edwina:** Me? Naw.

Really?

**Thunder:** Yeah! I wonder how come?

**Rabbit:** Let's figure it out later!

I want to hear the rest of the story!

**Thunder:** Me, too!

**Edwina:** OK!

**Rabbit:** Go on with the story, Mouse.

Just pretend the bees aren't here.

**Mouse:** I'll try, but their buzzing is really loud!

One day, Batilda invited her neighbor Woodpecker over for a party!

When he got to the cave, he found food and decorations, but no Batilda!

Finally, he looked up to the roof of the cave... and saw her dangling upside down fast asleep!

**Edwina:** Pardon?

**Rabbit:** Where was she?

**Thunder:** Dancing with ducks who were brown, and a fat sheep!

**Mouse:** No!

Dangling upside down!

They can't hear me over the bees!

**Rabbit:** What?

Mouse, we can't hear you over the bees!

**Edwina:** I'd better take the bees somewhere else.

**Rabbit:** And miss the end of the story?

**Edwina:** If I stay, nobody'll hear it!

**Rabbit:** It is quieter now...

**Mouse:** Yeah.

That was really nice of her.

**Thunder:** Edwina looks sad.

**Rabbit:** I'd be sad too, if I had to miss one of Mouse's stories!

**Mouse:** Edwina left so we could hear the story, but now she can't hear it.

**Rabbit:** This isn't fair.

**Thunder:** Yeah! We should all get to hear it!

**Mouse:** Let's ask her to come back.

**Rabbit:** Edwina! Come back!

We want you to hear the story too!

**Edwina:** How?

My bees are too loud!

**Rabbit:** Then help us hop-think about how to get them to be quiet!

**Edwina:** Oh. OK!

**Rabbit:** The question is... how can we make the bees stop buzzing?

**Thunder:** What if we plug our ears?

Then we won't hear the bees!

**Rabbit:** Yeah!

But then we won't hear the story either!

**Mouse:** What if we just ask the bees to be quiet?

**Edwina:** Good idea!

Agh!

**Thunder:** You forgot to say please.

**Edwina:** Oops.

**Mouse:** Let me try.

I'll be very polite.

Excuse me!

Bees?!

Could you pretty please stop buzzing for a while?

Whoa!

**Edwina:** Uh, please isn't working.

**Thunder:** Hey!

This one's quiet.

**Mouse:** Maybe that's 'cause he landed?

Hey... maybe bees are only noisy when they fly?

**Rabbit:** Thumpeka!

If that's true, then all we have to do is make the bees stop flying and take a rest!

**Thunder:** They don't look tired.

**Rabbit:** Then we'll make them tired!

**Edwina:** Done! Come on...

**Rabbit:** Where're the bees?

Did they get tired?

**Edwina:** Nope.

**Rabbit:** Aw... cabbage!

**Mouse:** Still not tired...

Hmm...

**Thunder:** I love the bouncy bog!

**Rabbit:** Me... too!

**Mouse:** Whee!

**Edwina:** Yee ha!

**Mouse:** Hey, the bees are good bouncers!

**Rabbit:** But they're still not tired.

**Edwina:** They will be!

**Mouse:** Wait!

I need a hop-stop.

**Edwina:** Oh! Me too.

**Rabbit:** Too bad the bees aren't!

**Mouse:** Yeah.

They're louder than ever!

Now what are we going to do?

**Rabbit:** If the bees won't stop flying around and buzzing, then we'll just have to ask them to leave!

**Mouse:** But they didn't listen before!

**Thunder:** Maybe bees only listen to other bees?

**Rabbit:** Thumpeka!

That's it!

We need another bee to ask them to leave!

**Mouse:** Another bee?

What other bee?

Why is Rabbit looking at me like that?

**Rabbit:** Ta da!

**Thunder:** Good idea!

**Mouse:** Oh! Oh!

I guess I'm the bee!

**Edwina:** How's it going?

**Thunder:** Mouse looks just like a big bumblebee!

**Rabbit:** Let's hope the real bees think so, too.

OK, Bumble-Mouse, are you ready to fly?

**Mouse:** Fly?

**Rabbit:** Pretend flying.

Try flapping your wings!

**Mouse:** Bzzz! Bzzz!

**Rabbit:** Hoptastic!

Let's go talk to the bees.

**Mouse:** Hi, bees!

Guess what?

There's a big field of flowers over there!

So let's go buzz over there for a while!

Bzzz!

Pretty please with honey on top?

**Edwina:** Nope. No, deal.

**Rabbit:** Aw, cabbage.

What if the bees never leave?

We'll never get to hear the end of Mouse's story!

**Mouse:** Whoa!

Oh!

Now I feel more like a bat than a bumblebee.

Hey... upside down, that flower looks like a lion!

**Rabbit:** Really?

Hoppity, you're right!

**Thunder:** My turn!

**Edwina:** Cool!

**Thunder:** Wow,... everything looks funny.

**Mouse:** It wouldn't look funny to, Batilda.

To a bat, upside-down is normal!

**Edwina:** It doesn't feel normal.

**Rabbit:** I guess we'd have to be bats to understand.

**Mouse:** Have to be bats to understand...

That's it!

Hey, guys... listen!

Sleeping upside-down is strange to us, but it makes sense to a bat, right?

**Rabbit:** Yeah...

**Mouse:** Just like we think it's strange that the bees are buzzing around, Edwina.

But to the bees, it must make sense!

**Rabbit:** You're right!

There must be a reason they're bugging, Edwina!

**Edwina:** Like what?

**Rabbit:** That's what we have to figure out.

With a hop-think!

The question is... why do the bees want to hang around, Edwina?

**Thunder:** Because they like her?

**Edwina:** Aww!

**Mouse:** Of course!

But what do they like about her?

**Rabbit:** Her beautiful ears?

**Mouse:** The way she whistles?

**Thunder:** Maybe it's because she smells like flowers?

**Edwina:** I do?

I do!

**Mouse:** Of course!

I saw you napping in a flower patch this morning.

**Rabbit:** Thumpeka!

Bees love flowers.

They're buzzing around you because they like how you smell!

**Mouse:** So to get rid of the bees, we have to get rid of the flower scent!

**Edwina:** No problem!

How?

**Thunder:** Um... you could roll in some skunkweed?

**Rabbit:** Or skunk cabbage?

**Mouse:** Or you could just take a bath?

**Edwina:** A bath!

It's a deal.

Woo-hoo! Yeah!

**Rabbit:** Race you to the pond!

**Mouse:** Hey, guys!

How's the flower scent?

**Edwina:** All gone!

**Thunder:** And so are the bees!

**All:** Hooray! Woo-hoo!

**Rabbit:** Hey, you know what that means?

**All:** Story time!

**Mouse:** Where was I?

Oh, right.

Um, Woodpecker didn't understand why Batilda was sleeping upside-down when she was supposed to be having a party, so he woke her up to ask her.

Guess what she said?

**Rabbit, Edwina and Thunder:** What?

**Mouse:** It's a slumber party!

**Thunder:** That's funny.

**Mouse:** So that's how we finally got to enjoy Batilda's story.

Once we started thinking about why the bees were hanging around Edwina, we solved the problem!

I guess sometimes it helps to look at things a new way.

**Rabbit:** Whee!

**Thunder:** Hey, you're upside-down!

**Edwina:** No, you are!

**Thunder:** No, you are!

**Mouse:** And it's fun, too!

That's why we're playing bats now.

**Thunder:** Whoa... Oof!

Whoopsie.