Princess Academy - Ep. 4 (Bedtime Story)

Bedtime with Mrs.

Honeybee Today,

In the Honeybee neighborhood,

We will continue our grand adventure.

Your first quest,

From the Honeybee Princess Academy.

Hopefully you speak Hummingbird,

My little Honeybee.

Because there sure are a lot of them here.

And they seem to be trying to tell us something.

The Honeybee Princess will know exactly what to do.

And that's you.

All you have to do is close your eyes,

Get cozy,

And listen to the sound of my voice.

Mrs.

Honeybee will be your guide.

Let's begin.

You ask the hummingbirds where you're needed,

And they form an arrow pointing unmistakably to that same gloomy spot on the horizon that you noticed earlier.

Your thoughts flash back to the globe in the principal's office,

And it's all starting to form a coherent,

Vibrant picture in your mind.

The gloom has gotten bigger in the time since we've arrived back home.

The situation is rapidly getting worse.

The clouds are stuck,

The sun is blocked,

The roosters are refusing to crow.

People are sluggish and listless,

Approaching dangerous levels of hopelessness.

The simple balance and harmony of undisturbed nature is slowing down to a crawl.

When you ask why the clouds are stuck,

The hummingbirds disappear as quickly as they appeared.

The dragonfly on your shoulder buzzes in loops around you,

Then me,

And Mr.

Honeybee,

Then Harold.

When the dragonfly gets to Melody Bee,

She's ready for what she assumes is some kind of playful chase with a new buzzing friend.

She buzzes around the dragonfly as much as it buzzes around her,

Until she becomes too dizzy to fly.

Melody Bee tumbles out of the air and rolls out into the front lawn,

Where the dragonfly continues to buzz around her.

What is everyone trying to tell us?

I do not understand.

We have to do something.

How do we know where to go?

Melody Bee,

Are you okay?

I think the dragonfly won that one.

Oh,

They look like they know where they're going.

Melody Bee points out five horses that are trotting in a very orderly way.

We think they are tied to some kind of carriage to maintain such a straight path.

When they arrive and stop at the end of our driveway,

We see that there's no carriage at all.

We are even more confused at their presence when they stop and all five look at us expectantly.

The dragonfly buzzes in circles around each of the horses,

And then back to Melody Bee,

Who is now too dizzy to do anything but lay in the grass.

You hesitate for a moment,

Trying to puzzle all the signs together.

Watching the dragonfly buzz in circles around Melody Bee,

You remember the magic wand that's filled with transformation pollen.

These horses might not be as they seem.

With your magic wand in your hand,

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Reconnect with the steady rhythm of your heartbeat as you wave your magic wand over the horses.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and refresh your princess sensibilities.

With a wave of your magic wand,

A cloud of shimmer engulfs the horses.

When the shimmer settles,

There are now five sparkling white unicorns with rainbow wings and glittering manes.

They rear up on their hind legs and spread out to give their wings space to unfurl.

Melody Bee thinks she's still too dizzy and doesn't realize that what just happened really happened.

It's so funny.

Those horses look like unicorns now.

I'm still seeing dizzy.

No,

Melody Bee.

Those are unicorns now.

They were horses,

But our little honeybee princess made them into unicorns.

Really?

I've never seen transformation pollen do that before.

Harold hops up with you on your unicorn,

And we all follow.

Mr.

Honeybee and I help Melody Bee up out of her stupor and onto her unicorn.

The unicorns set off into the clear blue sky,

Heading straight for the gloom with a sense of purpose that cuts through the strong winds that are getting stronger.

They seem to know exactly where they are going,

And you trust them implicitly.

Even as we soar with the unicorns,

The little dragonfly stays at your side,

Resting easily on your shoulder.

This dragonfly doesn't seem to mind fast movements or strong winds,

Or even the rain that comes as we get closer and closer to the gloom.

It glows brighter and brighter the gloomier it gets.

As you fly,

The shining pin also glistens and glows from your gown.

Your very own sense of purpose swells to match that of the unicorns.

You are convinced that you can do anything you set your princess heart to.

Despite the raging storms,

A golden,

Brightly lit path is clearly visible to you.

It shines like a trail leading straight into the eye of the storm.

Clouds and rain surround us,

And you look back to make sure we're right behind you.

When you realize we're struggling to see,

You point to the golden path ahead.

But we do not have princess eyes to see it,

Even though it's so apparent to you.

It's up to you to lead us,

And lead us you do,

Fearlessly.

Not leaving anyone behind,

You circle your unicorn around us.

Mr.

Honeybee and I are shielding our eyes with one arm and trying to hold on to our unicorns with the other.

Melody Bee is crouched down,

Trying to stay directly behind us where the force of the winds are lessened.

As you fly in sweeping circles around us,

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Gather up all your love and peace into your chest with your breath.

Hold it in to create perfect inner stillness.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and look back to see the miraculous bubble of stillness you've wrapped us in.

We can now see and better follow your lead,

Which is leading you down to an unassuming corner of the Honeybee neighborhood.

Though far away,

This is a place Melody Bee and I know well.

Mrs.

Honeybee,

Isn't this where we helped set up a community garden a while ago?

I think it is.

Remember that sweet girl we met?

I do.

She wanted to grow her very own flowers,

Enough to give every neighbor their own bouquet.

That's right.

She was so kind.

She thought fresh,

Blooming flowers made people feel better and could brighten even the gloomiest day.

I can alert Roger Robot.

He can confirm the location and the nature of this storm with the Doppler radar system we built.

Roger Robot confirms that we are indeed in the eye of the storm.

Strong currents of wind are converging around us.

He also confirms through Honeybee neighborhood census data that this is also the area where Melody Bee and I helped build a community garden.

You don't quite know how to put it all together,

But the golden path that shines in your eyes leads back down to the ground in this horrible storm.

You guide us safely back down to the ground with our unicorns in a surprisingly soft landing.

As soon as we get our feet on the ground,

You wave your magic wand to relieve the unicorns of the storm.

You know it's best for them to go back to their stable on the rainbow.

All five unicorns disappear in a blink and you turn toward the nearly black gloom to walk against the wind.

Holding your arms around your puppy gown in a hug,

You lean forward to cut through the powerful winds.

The protective stillness from your heart still surrounds us and like an umbrella,

Shields us from the rains.

The golden path ends at a sprawling community garden and a girl happily sitting on a little stool in a yellow raincoat.

She has rain boots and an umbrella to match as if she's not sitting in pouring rain.

She smiles a little smile and leans over to smell a big pink rose that's blooming beside her.

We make our way over to her and she's delighted to see her neighbors.

She asks what we're doing all the way over here.

Exasperated,

You point up to the rains as you decide what to say.

Can you explain everything you know about the Honey Bee Princess Academy?

Will she understand?

How can such a sweet person cause such a big storm?

Rattling through all these questions,

The girl suddenly appears concerned and asks if we're here about the rain.

We nod emphatically and a sense of relief washes over her.

She was trying to hide her worry behind a smile,

But she explains that the clouds are gathering faster than she really wanted them to over the last couple hours.

You ask if she feels like she's able to move the clouds where she wants them to be.

Before we can wonder at your seemingly strange question,

The girl lights up with sparkles in her eyes and agrees.

She jumps up and down and gives you a big hug.

She's never been able to explain it to anyone before,

But you understand her unique ability.

Pausing inside a big squeezing hug of recognition,

You realize that this sweet girl is a princess too,

But she doesn't know it.

Full of princessly purpose and duty,

You know it's your job to help this girl realize it.

You try to explain that she's very special and that she has very special abilities that need to be developed and honed.

But the storm is now so fierce that she cannot hear what you're saying.

She shouts out to us exactly what Melody B and I remembered about her.

More than anything,

She wants to make people happy.

And with her blooming flowers,

She's figured out a way to bring smiles to the faces who need it.

The flowers love rain and always seem to bloom right after.

So she thought if she could have plenty of rain,

There would be plenty of blooms.

She smiled bigger when she thought of the possibility of having permanent blooms.

Everyone could have a blossom all year long.

She got the clouds here and the rain,

But now they're too strong and she cannot give the flowers any sunshine that they need.

Her heart was in the right place,

Concerned for others and using what she has to help in the way she can.

But the consequences of hoarding clouds to produce permanent blooms have produced a sore imbalance in the delicate ecosystem.

Mr.

Honeybee gets an idea and excitedly calls Roger Robot again.

In addition to the Doppler radar system that identifies storm systems,

He and Roger have a prototype that aims to magnetize already existing clouds to different parts of the Honeybee neighborhood.

It's still in the testing phase and isn't very strong or reliable,

But it's worth a shot.

His enthusiasm deflates when he hears back that Roger Robot has already activated the cloud magnet prototype,

But it's not strong enough for this particular storm.

Roger Robot begs for more time.

Maybe with additional research and a little improvisation,

He can make it work.

The storm has other ideas.

Once an imbalance takes hold,

Everything that was previously working in harmony tilts toward the imbalance and makes it more and more dangerous.

Where the best intentions,

The highest hopes,

And cutting-edge technology end,

A princess's work begins.

You are overcome by stillness and peace in the eye of the storm.

The princess pin on your gown glows to match the confidence that you feel swell in your heart.

You look to see if the little dragonfly at your shoulder is still there,

But it's not.

Suddenly,

You feel the gentle,

Warm fire of inspiration spark in your spirit.

It burns like optimism that assures you.

Now you know exactly what to do.

Take another slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the sensation of your heart beat once,

Twice,

Three times,

Confirming that you can do the impossible.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth.

The fire that burns in your spirit becomes an actual fire at your fingertips.

You quickly realize this is one of your princess powers manifesting itself through your fingertips again.

Lift your hand up as powerful sparks fly.

With a simple wave,

A gigantic dragon appears.

It's alarming to everyone but you.

With another flick of your wrist,

You aim the dragon's fiery breath at the clouds,

And they evaporate in an instant.

The girl is stunned,

But by now we know that my little honeybee is endowed with the strong princess sensibilities and can do anything,

Possible or impossible.

The gigantic,

Fire-breathing dragon sits calmly beside you like a lap dog.

Harold is unsure of this new friend,

But sniffs it out and eventually accepts the dragon as an oddly shaped dog.

He and the dragon begin to play.

Harold runs circles around its candle flame tail.

We all take a moment to catch our breath,

But the little girl is stuck in shock.

She doesn't even blink until Mr.

Honeybee gets another alert from Roger Robot,

Who also helps him manage his calendar.

My little honeybee,

It's almost time for your official princess induction ceremony.

We have to hurry or we'll be late.

Mr.

Honeybee is right.

You have a ceremony to attend,

And it's perfectly okay for a princess to be fashionably late to an occasion,

But not lately.

Before you go,

You know imparting the wisdom you feel quietly burning like embers is an even more important part of being a princess than the ceremony.

You take the sweet girl by the hand,

And she looks at you like an authority figure,

One that she trusts and wants to learn from.

She takes your hand in hers and hangs on your every word.

You explain that blooming flowers are so beautiful and that it's true.

Blossoms bring joy to everyone who encounter them,

But blooms aren't meant to be permanent.

They're special because they come at the end of a long,

Arduous process for a flower.

It's the flower's own crowning ceremony to wear such a beautiful bloom.

It's worked tirelessly underground,

Invisible to all but itself and the soil.

It's not the blossom in itself that's beautiful,

But all that invisible work it represents.

And what it represents is stewardship,

Harmony,

And honesty,

Just like a princess does.

The flower works with what it has to produce the best bloom it can.

It only takes what it honestly needs and not a drop more.

But once it's done blooming,

It knows its job isn't done,

Just the pretty part is done.

That same bloom gets right to work,

Enriching the soil with its vibrant color.

Protecting that precious process is how a princess ensures an eternity of blooms for all.

Just as you did,

This princess-in-training must learn on the go.

With your authority as newly instated honeybee neighborhood princess,

You decide that this sweet neighbor girl needs to attend the princess academy.

Hand in hand,

You lead us and the girl up the tail of the dragon,

Who now knows it has an important job to do.

Like a unicorn,

You stir this dragon into motion,

And it takes to the skies.

Dragons can fly at higher altitudes than unicorns.

That is their function,

So you take the opportunity to reach for the stars.

The dragon dips in and out of the atmosphere,

Avoiding all the weather,

And deposits us at the gates of the honeybee princess academy.

We land softly on the grass,

But as soon as we do,

A vortex of sparkles engulfs us.

When the dust settles,

The dragon is gone,

But the bright orange dragonfly is back at your shoulder.

Melody Bee rejoices to see her buzzing friend again,

And you know this dragonfly will be everywhere you are.

The principal has gotten word of the success,

And is giddy that you've brought the academy's newest pupil with you.

He shrieks with excitement that an invitation letter was just about to go out to this sweet girl.

You were able to see immediately what the entire admissions committee had to figure out.

The girl is eternally grateful she's overwhelmed with such an incredible opportunity.

The principal says that everyone is waiting in the courtyard.

It's time for your official princess induction ceremony.

He leads us into the castle-like academy through a different entrance.

So many onlookers have gathered for the ceremony.

He doesn't want to get their attention yet.

Your new friend heads down a different corridor to join them for your reveal.

Your princess gown,

Cloud glass shoes,

Magic wand,

And tiara are still pristine.

No one would ever guess the quest you just completed.

But the principal stops abruptly and turns around to remove your tiara.

He holds it in his hand as he continues briskly down the corridor,

Up the stairs to the highest turret,

And into the towering room with a balcony that overlooks the grounds of the Honey Bee Princess Academy,

Including the courtyard.

Mr.

Honey Bee and I peek out of the curtains to the balcony and quickly shut them.

Even the slightest hint of movement excites the anxiously waiting crowd.

Melody Bee and I help you fluff your dress,

Apply the last finishing touches of sparkle,

And straighten your princess pin.

There's one thing missing,

Though.

You need your tiara.

The principal doesn't hear us mention it and instead whisks open the grand double doors.

A warm,

Cheerful breeze whirls through the room and carries you out to the balcony where a loving and adoring crowd sees you for the first time.

The principal snaps in the air and a troop of hummingbirds flutter up to the top of the tower.

They are carrying a plush pillow with a regal,

Bejeweled crown.

The principal lets the hummingbirds hold it for a moment while he explains your journey.

You are a stellar pupil who has exceeded all possible expectations.

The Princess Academy has never seen such brilliance,

Eloquence,

Or grace.

He turns to the knowing audience and recounts with them all the vacancies that the Academy is currently dealing with.

Both the Academy and the Honeybee neighborhood are in desperate need of princesses.

He pauses dramatically to hold the suspense in the air with the hummingbirds and the crown.

That's why you are officially crowned the Honeybee Princess.

The audience erupts with celebration as the hummingbirds gently place the crown on your head.

Your exceptional work as a princess has elevated you to this esteemed royal title.

I always knew you were my little Honeybee Princess,

But now the world knows what we know,

That you are the Honeybee Princess.

Me,

Mr.

Honeybee,

Melody Bee,

And Harold give you the biggest hug we ever have and you lock eyes with your new friend,

The princess-in-training,

Happily clapping in the crowd.

You are just the princess the world needs.

You are a conscientious and loving steward of the great abundance within and around you.

You are concerned with what's right and adept at righting what's wrong.

You are thoughtful and honest.

You give careful consideration and due time to problems that need to be solved.

It's a big job to be queen,

But luckily you already have all you need within you.

Your first quest is already done.

What will be your next?

Dream big,

My little Honeybee.

Mrs.

Honeybee is so proud of you and is convinced you will do even the smallest things with great love.

Always remember,

Mrs.

Honeybee believes in you.

You are special and you are loved.

I can't wait to see you again.