The Bee, Skout

Abstract

Little Mantis is getting ready for bed and asks Grand Mantis to tell her a bedtime story. Grand Mantis tells Little Mantis about the brave little bee named Skout who saved Little Mantis’ parents from the prison web. The hive of bees of Rainbow Colony, located by Rainbow Falls on the Big Island of Hawai’i, wants to honor their Queen by presenting her with a lei of her favorite flowers before Swarming Day. The Queen is getting weaker so time is of the essence. Life for the bees amidst the insects of the rainforest and the creatures of the sea is full of surprises as the characters learn about friendship, family, and survival. Skout, the most favored bee in the hive, is determined to finish the lei for Queen Leilani. She ventures out of the hive to the other side of Rainbow Falls to find a plumeria flower but is blown way off course by a gust of wind. Skout singes her wing after falling too close to the lava. Maui senses Skout is in distress and suggests that she seek help from Lono, the turtle by Big Rock. Skout takes Maui’s advice, but while waiting for the turtle to return with the flower, Skout is caught by Keawe, the spider. Keawe’s assistant, the mosquito, brings Skout back to the prison web. However, Skout’s broken wing allows her to wiggle her way free. Then Skout frees all the other insects who were held captive, including Mama Mantis and Papa Mantis who are then able to finish their date and conceive Little Mantis, the character to whom this frame tale is being told. With the help of Maui conveniently transforming into a bird, Skout and the other insects are able to fly back to the hive just in time for the guava jam to celebrate and honor Queen Leilani’s transcendence across the rainbow bridge. The future queen then emerges from the larvae laid by Queen Leilani and battles the other princesses to their end until she crowns herself the victorious Queen Bee of Rainbow Colony.