Bee Story - Alternate Ending

It was a bright, early morning in the hive and the solids and stripes were at it yet again. Marion, the queen bee, and also a stripe, was pleading with her colony to stop the chaos. For as long as Marion could remember, the striped black and yellow bees had been at odds with the solid black bees.

"Stop fighting, you're giving me a headache! Solids! Get back to work!" The solids knew their place. They had always been the worker bees. The solids might be the harder workers, but they were still viewed as less beautiful and less wise than the vibrant stripes. Towards the back of the swarm of angry bees, Timmy stood pondering the situation.

"Here we go again. I just don't know how much longer I can take being oppressed by the stupid stripes" said Timmy to Rosie, a fellow solid.

"Ditto," said a very somber Rosie. "They just assume all we're good for is working. They think they're so smart, but they have no idea what we're capable of. They just sit in the hive all day doing whatever they please. Guess I better get back to work."

Timmy and Rosie went their separate ways, each eager to finish the multiple tasks they had been assigned for the day. Timmy had always had a lot of respect for Rosie. She was one of the best and smartest bees he had ever known. She had always encouraged Timmy's desire to learn and make something of himself, while everyone else informed him that a solid could never accomplish such things. He often thought about how different things would be if only Rosie could be the queen bee. But he knew this was impossible. Solids were strictly prohibited from even voting for the queen bee position. They worked so hard to keep the hive up and running, yet had no say when it came to matters like government.

All the way across the hive, Marion sat alone on her throne. She was deep in thought. In addition to the constant bickering between the solids and stripes, she had another serious problem to deal with. Several stripes had become quite ill over the last few weeks. They were suddenly unable to go about their normal activities and had to be confined to the hospital wing. Marion was puzzled by this. Bees rarely got sick, and when they did, it usually just took a few days for them to recover. But now the hospital wing was getting fuller and fuller of sickly stripes by the day. Beside the fact that illness in bees was rare, Marion was also baffled by the lack of ill solids. What was it that kept them safe from whatever disease was infecting the stripes?

Meanwhile, Timmy was busy working. The jobs of the worker bees included keeping the hive clean and in order, leaving the hive to pollinate flowers and gather nectar, and keeping the hive's pollen and honey stock up for the stripes to eat. Timmy had just finished his cleaning duties and opted to take a quick break before heading outside to gather the nectar. He flew over to a secluded corner of the hive where he liked to go whenever he needed some quiet time. He sat in the corner contemplating the life he lived. "I want something more" he thought. Timmy was proud of who he was. He had never desired to be a stripe. He just wanted to have the same opportunities the stripes had. He wanted to learn. He wanted to be more than just a worker bee. He wanted to help people. He wanted to be in control of his own destiny. "Is that too much to ask?" He hoped that none of the stripes would come pester him, but no such luck. He had only been resting for a few minutes before Fred came flying over. Fred was one of the supervisors of the worker bees, so Timmy knew him quite well.

"Timmy! The schedule clearly says that you should be doing your outdoor duties as we speak. Don't make me send you to see Marion! She will not be happy to hear you're slacking on your duties yet again."

Timmy's frustration was now at a peak. Fred had always rubbed him the wrong way. A reprimand was the last thing he needed in an already bad day. Without a word Timmy flew away from his haven and out of the hive. The fresh air and warmth from the sun lifted Timmy's spirits. Normally he hated outdoor duty time, but on this day it was a welcome relief from the tension inside the hive. He knew it would be a while before any supervisors came to check on him outside. During the hot summer, the stripes preferred staying in the comfort of their hive where it was nice and cool. Even supervisors rarely exited the hive unless it was absolutely necessary. Timmy decided it was a good time to just explore the world around him. He flew and flew, going farther than he had ever gone. He usually only ventured out to one of the surrounding meadows, but this time he flew past them all. Finally he found himself in a meadow like none he had ever seen. It was a vast area painted a shade of vivid green with splotches of beautiful color everywhere. Timmy saw flowers he had never seen before. His eyes were drawn to one type of flower in particular. It was a mysterious purple flower, and Timmy was mystified by its unusual hue. The meadow seemed to have a feeling of peacefulness about it. For the first time, Timmy took a moment to appreciate the beauty he saw. "The stripes don't know what they're missing" he mused.

Back in the hive, the doctor bees had reached a conclusion on the mysterious illness facing so many of the stripes. "Just as I thought. The sick bees are suffering from food poisoning. Some of the honey and pollen stock must be polluted. These bees aren't just going to get better. We're going to have to find a cure" said the head doctor of the hive.

Upon hearing the news, Marion made a sound of disgust. "Well of course! The solids get their food while they're doing their outdoor duties. That's why none of them are sick! I should have known. What a debacle!"

When Timmy returned from his outdoor duties, Rosie informed him of what was afflicting the stripes. "Wow. What are they going to do? They better think of something in a hurry; the sick stripes are getting even sicker." Before Rosie could respond, supervisors were flying to the area with orders from Marion for the workers to start emptying out the food stock and sanitizing the area so clean food could be brought in. Timmy was irritated by this mandate, but not surprised. He, Rosie, and several other solids headed over to the feeding area to start the job. As he worked, Timmy's thoughts wandered to the sickness overtaking so many stripes. He did not know how to feel. The stripes had caused him so much grief in his lifetime, yet he could not suppress his desire to help them. Some of the sick bees were only children. They had done nothing wrong. The stripes had never given him a fair chance. But maybe that was just because it was all they had ever known. So many of the stripes that he had grown up with were in the hospital. And their condition was worsening by the day. His thoughts were interrupted by Rosie's voice.

"Well, we're done here. But now we have to go do outdoor duties again to replenish the food stock." Timmy nodded, and they headed out of the hive together.
Once they were outside, Timmy decided to show Rosie the beautiful meadow he found earlier that day.

"Follow me. I have something to show you" he said. Rosie just wanted to get the job done, but followed after him reluctantly.

"How much further?" she asked him. "We haven't collected any food and it's getting dark."

"We're almost there" he replied. The meadow was now in sight. He couldn't wait to share the beauty he had discovered there with Rosie. She had been his best friend for years. Timmy loved her more than anyone. Finally they made it to the meadow. "This is it" he whispered.

Rosie gazed in wonder at the beauty before her.

"Oh, Timmy. It's amazing! This is the most beautiful place I've ever seen." They ventured out into the middle of the meadow, looking at the different flowers that adorned the grass. Timmy pointed to one of the purple flowers he had seen earlier.

"Look at that! Have you ever seen a flower that color?" Rosie's gaze followed the direction Timmy was pointing.

"Oh! That can't be what I think it is."

"What do you mean?" asked Timmy.

"When I was young, my dad always told me about stories about a very rare flower. His description matches these flowers perfectly!"

"That's great" said Timmy. "But why did your dad tell you stories about some flower?"

"He told me about the flower because its nectar is believed to have healing powers!"
Timmy was shocked. What if this was the cure the sick stripes needed? He posed the same question to Rosie and shared all of his feelings about wanting to help the stripes. When he was done speaking, Rosie remained silent for a few moments, pondering his words.

"You're right, Timmy. We have to give it a try. Even though they have been treating us unfairly our whole lives. Maybe this is exactly what it will take for them to see us for what we really are. Bees, just like them." Timmy was very thankful that Rosie agreed with him.

"Come on, we'll take back as much of the nectar as we can!" They both went to work, collecting nectar from the beautiful purple flowers. When they had gathered as much as they could take back, they left the meadow and took off for the hive.

On the way back, they were both lost in their own thoughts. Would this actually cure the sick bees? And how would the other stripes respond?

After what felt like the longest flight of their lives, they finally arrived at their home. "Let's just take this straight to Marion" said Timmy. "She'll know what to do." They flew quickly over to the throne area. "Your highness, may we have a word with you?"

"Yes, quickly. What is it?" said Marion in an irritated tone. Timmy and Rosie explained the situation to the queen. Marion said nothing until they were finished talking. She was skeptical, doubting that two solids would stumble upon a cure faster than the doctors that had been searching for it ever since the diagnosis. On the other hand, their time was dwindling. The sick patients weren't getting any better and she had to try something. She hesitantly told the two solids that they could take the nectar to the hospital wing and they would give it a try.

Within the next hour, the special nectar had been administered to several of the sick bees. Now it was just a waiting game. Timmy watched hopefully as the first dose was given. When nothing happened immediately, Rosie caught the brief look of disappointment in his eyes. "Don't worry Timmy. This is going to work."
They waited and waited. Nothing happened. They went to bed and woke up the next morning. Nothing. Over twenty-four hours had passed, and the condition of the bees had not improved. Everyone was giving up hope in the potential cure. Marion and the doctors refocused their attention on finding a real cure. Rosie and Timmy were both very upset, but tried not to let the other know it. They went to sleep that night feeling very down.

The next morning, Timmy was awoken abruptly by the sound of Rosie yelling in his ear.

"Wake up! The bees are getting better!" Timmy jumped out of bed. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You did it Rosie. You found the cure for all of those sick bees! I'm so proud of you."

"No Timmy. We did it," said Rosie. "But you have to get up, Marion's called a meeting." As they prepared to go to the meeting room, Timmy and Rosie excitedly discussed how the stripes would react to solids finding a cure.

At the same time, Marion was thinking about what she wanted to say at the meeting. She could imagine what the stripes would do if she tried to convince them that the solids should be treated equally. The stripes had always been superior to the solids. It was all they knew. Thoughts of being overthrown by her people clouded her mind. She loved being queen bee. She always did what was best for her beloved colony. Marion did not know what to do. She firmly believed that if she went to the meeting room proclaiming that all bees were created equally there would be an uproar. She looked down at her watch. She had to decide. The meeting was scheduled to begin in just a few minutes.

When Timmy and Rosie arrived in the meeting room, many of the other bees were already crowded around the front. Gossip could be heard in every direction. Word obviously had not gotten out that the cure was found, much less that it was found by solids. All of the bees were wondering what the topic of the meeting could be. Suddenly a hush fell over the room and Timmy looked up and saw Marion entering the room. He and Rosie were both nervous, yet excited to see what the next few minutes would bring. Marion stepped up to her podium. "Greetings fellow colonists. I called this meeting to share some very important news. I am proud to announce that I have found the cure."