A Bee-utiful Story N: Once upon a time in a beehive not too far from here, there was a queen bee.

Enter queen bee N: The queen had had a long and successful reign, bringing much happiness and success to her hive by through her example, but she was ready to retire from royalty. Q: Its time for a younger bee to take my place. But how can I find a replacement who will lead our hive the same way that I have? Oh! I know, Ill consult the royal handbook on choosing successors- the Beeble. Reads intently. A queen as sweet as honey, you see, will have these qualities: THE SIX BEEs. Huzzzah! Thats it! N: So the next day, the queen gathered all the eligible bees from the hive together. Q: My wonderful subjects, it is time for me to step down as your queen. All of you are eligible for the position, but in order to be the true queen you must pass a series of tests. Let the challenge begin! N: The challenge was long and tricky. First there was the Bee Grateful Challenge: Worker bee #1 brings flowers to Princess #1 and P#2 WB1: Here you go. P1 GRABS the flowers from WB1. P2 takes them gratefully. P1: Mine! P2: Thank you, I am so GREATFUL for these flowers. P1 is escorted off the stage N: Then the Bee Smart Spelling Bee WB2: The scientific name for bees is hymenoptera. Please spell it. P3: Heee- men- what? P4: H Y M E N O P T E R A Hold up applause sign

N: The next two were bee clean and bee humble WB3: The first one to be squeaky-clean wins. On your mark, get set, go! Three Princess Bees start scrubbing themselves with imaginary soap for about 10 seconds. WB3: blows whistle Times Up! Now to check. WB goes up to each princess shoulder and rubs fingers over top. Hmmm, clean. VERY clean, and (makes squeaking noise) SQUEAKY CLEAN! Holds up princess hand. We have a winner! P3: Wahooooo!! Thats me! You all stink! HAHAHAHA Im the best!! WB3: Uh oh. Im afraid you just failed the be humble challenge, so we have a new winner! Holds up the arm of the VERY clean princess. Winner! P2: Aww, thanks! N: By the end of the day the Queen Bee had two candidates. Q: My dears, you are the last two. There is one challenge left. In the morning, we will have our winner. You may go to your chambers for the evening While narrator is talking, have the worker bees set up the beds on opposite ends of the stage with the prayer rocks clearly visible. N: The final challenge was the bee prayerful challenge. In each of their beds the queen had place a prayer rock. If they knelt by their beds before they prayed that evening, they would see it, pull it out and then have a good night sleep. If the little bee didnt pray however, she would toss and turn the whole night through. P2: What a day! I am so glad I was able to do my best. Im going to thank Heavenly Father for this opportunity. Kneels down in prayer. Thank you for helping me to do my best. Amen. Opens her eyes and sees the rock under her bed. Whats this? Glad I saw this before I went to sleep! Moves rock. Phew. Good night! P4: Im beat! Flops down into bed. Hmmm, am I forgetting something? Starts snoring loudly. Then tosses and turns for a while. This is the most uncomfortable bed Ive ever been on! So much for royal luxury! N: In the morning, the queen met them for the big decision.

Q: How did you sleep? P2: Wonderfully your highness, I slept like a rock! P4: Are you kidding me? These beds are the worst! I didnt sleep a wink! P2: Did you see the rock under your mattress when you said your prayers? P4: The what? Oh man! I knew I was forgetting something. Queen: At last! I have found my successor. You (p2) have demonstrated all the characteristics of a future queen, especially the final virtue, be Prayerful! Crowns the new queen. THE END

Cast of Characters NarratorQueen BeeWorker Bees: #1#2#3Princess Bees: #1#2#3#4Mattress (optional) Challenge Sign Holder (optional) Backstage Prop Mover (optional)