The Lost Bee

5-year-old Lucy was playing in the sand with her sister and mother. They had been on vacation at the beach for

about a week. Building sandcastles and splashing in the shallow water were Lucy’s favorite things to do at the

beach. This was her third trip there with her family and she loved the sun, wind, and water.

[Illustration Idea - Lucy playing on the beach at the water’s edge with others.]

 5-year-old blonde haired white (Caucasian) girl

 Mom in her early 30’s, dark hair

 Lucy’s younger sister, 3-years-old also with blonde hair

1
On this sunny day, something unexpected happened. A tiny honeybee landed on Lucy’s leg and before she

could shoo it away, it stung her. Lucy screamed from the pain of the stinger that stayed in her leg after the bee

fell away into the ocean. As soon as she told her mother what had happened, her mom picked her up and

brought her onto the beach to where her father was relaxing under the shade of a tiki hut.

[Illustration Idea - Mom carrying Lucy up to the tiki hut.]

2
Lucy’s father examined her leg and saw the bee’s stinger was still there, so he pulled it out. This hurt, so Lucy

cried some more. Her mother was pouring some cold water on it to try and make it feel better, but at her age,

getting stung by a bee was a scary, painful experience, and she was very upset.

[Illustration Idea - Dad pulling the stinger out of her leg.]

 Dad in his early 30’s

3
After a few minutes of crying and not wanting to move away from the shade or the safety of the tiki hut, a

strange old man from the island wandered over to ask what had happened. Everyone near the hut had heard

Lucy crying so they knew she was upset about something.

[Illustration Idea - Old man approaching.]

 Old man with gray hair who looks “wise”

4
Lucy’s mom told the old man about the bee sting and how she had been coming to this beach since she was

Lucy’s age and had never seen a bee anywhere near the sand and ocean. The old man nodded silently and

then as he turned to walk away he said, “You are a very lucky young girl. You just had an encounter with a rare

lost bee.”

[Illustration Idea - Old man starting to talk.]

5
Before the old man got too far away, Lucy looked up from her tears and asked, “What is a lost bee?” Lucy’s

mom and dad were also curious because they had never heard of that before. The old man, slowly turned and

walked back over to tell them the story.

[Illustration Idea - Lucy calling him back to tell his story.]

6
“Lost bees are very rare,” the old man started. “It only happens once every 10 or 20 years on this beach. Bees

are social insects. They live in colonies and stay together. Most of the time they don’t travel more than a ½ mile

or so from their home.”

[Illustration Idea - Beehive with bees flying all around it.]

7
Lucy was now crying less. She was starting to become curious about the old man’s story and she wanted to

learn more. She asked, “Do you think there’s a beehive near here, and that I’ll get stung by more bees?”

[Illustration Idea - Lucy showing fear of more bees coming.]

8
The old man was shaking his head and replied, “No. The bee that stung you probably came from a hive that is

many miles away from here. This is a very windy island. Sometimes a bee gets separated from his family. If a

lone bee gets caught in a high wind, it can be blown all the way across the island and out to sea.”

[Illustration Idea - A lone bee getting blown in the wind.]

9
He continued, “On this side of the island, the wind is almost aways blowing out to sea. If that bee got blown to

this beach, it would have no chance of getting back to its home. Eventually, the wind would take it out to sea

where it would die in the ocean. Alone at sea, never to be remembered.”

[Illustration Idea - A sad bee getting blown out to sea all alone.]

10
Lucy’s leg was still aching a little bit from the sting, but even with the remaining pain, she was starting to feel a

little sorry for the bee. Being lost at sea wouldn’t be fun for anyone, not even a bee. She asked the old wise

man, “Why did the bee sting me?”

[Illustration Idea - Lucy asking her question.]

11
The old man was nodding again when he said, “That’s a good question. And the answer lies within the story of

the lost bee. The lost bee knows it will never make it back home. It knows it will eventually get blown out to

sea where it will die, but it wants to be remembered. Some of the bees from its colony might remember it, but

there can be thousands and thousands of bees in a colony, and it’s difficult to keep track of everyone.”

[Illustration Idea - A sad bee looking lost.]

12
“The lost bee that stung you didn’t want to be forgotten. When it got to the beach, it knew it was only a matter

of time before it was blown out over the water. It could have stung an adult, like your mom or dad. A bee sting

hurts everyone, even grownups. But grownups forget about it very quickly. They get over it and move on to

other thoughts and adventures. When a child gets stung, they don’t forget about it anytime soon. They tell

everyone about it. Their friends, their cousins, their aunts and uncles, their grandparents, everyone!”

[Illustration Idea - The sad bee looking for someone to sting.]

“That’s how the lost bee gets remembered. By stinging you, it knew you would tell your story many, many

times, over and over again, and by doing so, that lost bee would forever be remembered. Being remembered is
13
something we all want, so it’s hard to find fault with the lost bee for feeling the same way any of us would

want to feel.”

[Illustration Idea - The sad bee choosing Lucy.]

The old man stopped his story for a minute when he noticed Lucy’s mom had a tear running down her cheek.

The story of the lost bee had made her sad. When he looked down at young Lucy, he noticed she wasn’t crying

14
anymore. Listening to the story of the lost bee made her stop thinking about the pain from getting stung

several minutes earlier.

[Illustration Idea - The old man seeing that Lucy was no longer crying.]

As the old wise man began to leave, he turned back once more and said to Lucy, “Remember, everything

happens for a reason. Life isn’t always easy, and it’s sometimes painful. I’m sure that bee sting hurt, but that

15
bee died when it lost its stinger. It knew that would be the end for it. It chose you to tell its story. To keep its

memory alive for years to come. While I’m sure you feel sad that you were stung, you should also feel honored

that the lost bee chose you, over everyone else at this beach, to carry its memory and story on forever.

[Illustration Idea - The lost bee smiling as it falls into the ocean after stinging Lucy, knowing it will be

remembered.]

A story by Scott Finestone

Copywrite 8/13/23

16