Ned Must See That Bee! Jolly Phonics · Step 3, Unit 8: /ue/ mixed

This is Ned. He has a home, a yard, and trees with sweet food. And this is The Book. The Book thinks it can tell Ned all things, and it tells Ned so all day long. Just then, a bee buzzes by. Ned drops his food and blinks. 'A bee!' he yells. 'A true bee! I must see where that bee lives!'

Ned runs after the bee. It zips by tall trees and bright flowers. Ned rushes up and down, in and out, quick as can be. The bee does not slow down. Not one bit. But Ned does not give up. He pursues that bee. 'Wait!' calls Ned. 'I am nice! I am very nice!'

The bee lives in a nest high up in a tree. Ned stands on the hillside and peeks up. A sweet smell comes down to him. 'Honey,' says Ned. His grin grows big. 'I bet that is the best thing in all the land. I must get some. That is my new quest!' A beast stands by the tree. The beast gives Ned a look that says: get in line, kid.

But Ned can not wait. He grabs his ax and grins a bad, bad grin. 'Stand back, beast! The honey is mine!' he yells, and he lifts the ax up high. 'A few bee stings will not harm me!' (That is not true. Bee stings harm a lot.)

'Stop, Ned!' yells The Book, rushing in fast. Ned stops. He holds a hive chunk up high. 'What? I have some!' 'Ned, no!' says The Book. 'Do not chop a beehive! The bees will wake up and sting and sting and sting! Put. That. Down. Here is a clue: there is a good way to do this.'

Back at home, The Book sits open on the grass, and Ned makes a little flame by it. 'Ned, here is a new plan,' says The Book. 'Smoke makes bees sleepy. Set a flame under the nest, wait for the bees to doze off, and then take the honey. No chopping. No stinging.' Ned gives a slow nod. 'So... no ax?' 'No ax, Ned.'

Ned takes the flame to the bee tree and sets it right under the hive. Smoke curls up in the branches. Soon just a few bees still hum, slow and sleepy. Ned gets out his snipping tool. No ax this time. 'Now,' says Ned in a hush, creeping in soft and slow. 'The bees are sleepy.'

Ned snips into the hive. Big hive chunks slip out, dripping honey. They smell like sunshine and all good things. 'Wow,' says Ned. 'Wow, wow, wow.' He wants to chew a chunk right there. 'Quick!' hisses The Book. 'Grab the chunks and run before the bees wake up!' Ned scoops up each chunk and runs.

Back inside, Ned goes to his bench. He sets wood and hive bits in place, making a new thing. 'What is that?' asks The Book. 'A new beehive!' says Ned, grinning. 'My own hive! No more creeping in the trees. No more beasts with mad looks. Just me and my bees, making honey for ever!' The Book blinks. 'Ned... that may be the first good plan yet.'

Outside, Ned plants bright flowers and sets the new hive on the grass. He steps back. 'Not bad,' he says. 'Not bad at all.' 'Ned, the hive needs bees,' says The Book. 'The flowers will bring them. Bees can not say no to a good yard.' 'That is a job for me,' says Ned. 'I am so good with bees.' The Book says not a thing, but its look says a lot.

Ned spots a few bees buzzing by, hunting for a home. He lifts up a bright rose and puts on his best grin. 'Come with me,' he says, soft and sweet. 'I have flowers. I have a hive. I have all a bee could want.' And the bees can not say no! They come to the rose in a buzzing bunch, and they go with Ned all the way home in a long buzzing line. 'See?' calls Ned. 'It is true! I am so good with bees!'

The new hive hums, and honey drips out. Ned is so proud he could burst. But there is one small thing. The bees like Ned. They like Ned so, so much. They buzz by his chin. They creep up his arms and into spots where bees should not go. 'Get off! Get off!' squeals Ned. 'I am not a flower!' The Book stands back, safe. 'Ned!' it calls. 'Guess what! Next time, get a net!' Ned can not stop to chat. He runs and runs.