Emma Bee and
Her Propolis Adventure

by Katey
(New York City)

Emma, Stacy and Amy huddled in their hive. Wind whipped through the honeycomb, fluttering their wings and antennae. The hive shook under their feet.

"It's so shaky," said Amy. "The hive is simply vibrating in the wind. I feel like it may fall apart any minute." Stacy and Emma agreed.

"I wonder what the hive will do to fix this," Stacy said. "We can't go through the Spring like this."

Emma nodded. She fussed with a leaf bit on the floor. There had to be something she could do, she thought to herself. After Amy and Stacy wandered away in search of a more solid section of the hive, Emma flew over to the Queen's chamber. She curtsied as best a bee could as she approached the Queen Bee.

"Excuse me," Emma started to say.

"Ah, Emma," the Queen said, "I was just about to send for you." Emma was shocked. She didn't know what the Queen could possible want to talk to her about. Her wings fluttered.

"Yes," the Queen continued, "I'm sure you've noticed how fragile the hive has become."

Emma nodded. "Some of the bees have been commenting on it. The hive is a bit on the shaky side," she admitted. "And some leaf pieces are floating around. It's starting to look like the outside."

The Queen nodded. "Well, we can fix this with some Spring cleaning. I need you to find some propolis to patch up those holes and cover up the larger garbage. I'm going to instruct some of the other bees to start clearing out the extra debris."

Emma cocked her head. "Propolis?"

"It's sticky, like sap," the Queen said. "You see it on trees and buds all the time, I'm sure."

"Oh!" Emma exclaimed. "Stacy nearly got stuck in some a couple days ago. I didn't know that stuff was useful."

The Queen smiled at her. "It's very useful indeed. It will make our hive more stable and we can seal up any pieces of trash we can't drag out of our entrances. It's a wonderful hive-cleaning agent."

The Queen shifted in her chamber and continued. "Our hive will remain clean and smell fresh with the propolis. I’d like you to start gathering as soon as possible." The Queen dismissed Emma with a regal wave of her leg.

Emma soared out of the hive. She flew right to the tree Stacy nearly got stuck in. Some of the propolis was still there. Emma examined it for a minute. She scooped it up and raced back to the hive.

She started work on improving the stability right away. Some other bees soared out with her to help bring back the substance. Bit by bit, they started to fill up tiny areas with the propolis and clean the hive. Bit by bit, the hive stopped shaking in the wind and looked much cleaner.

It took days, but Emma worked hard and collected as much propolis as she could. In the end, the hive was strong and clean - the bigger trash was even covered with extra propolis to stop it from smelling up the rest of the hive.

As Emma rested after her hard work, another bee approached her. "The Queen wants to see you again, Emma." Emma followed the bee. She hoped that the Queen would be happy with her work.

"Emma," the Queen said as soon as she appeared in the chamber. "You did such a great job of collecting the propolis."

"Thanks," Emma said. "I worked hard."

The Queen smiled at Emma. "You did. In fact, you worked so hard I want you to be our primary propolis collector. We will always need to keep stabilizing the hive and keeping it clean."

Emma fluttered. "I'd be honored!" she said. From that day forward, she led Stacy, Amy and the other bees in collecting propolis for the hive. Her hard work alongside all the other bees ensured that the hive would be solid and clean as long as it was needed.