The Bear and the Beehive

One warm, sunny afternoon, a hungry bear sniffed the air and caught a sweet smell. He looked up and saw a beehive full of golden honey hanging high in a tree. His mouth watered, and he couldn’t wait to taste the delicious treat.

The bear climbed the tree quickly, eager to grab the honey. Without thinking, he reached out and shoved his paw into the hive. Suddenly, a swarm of angry bees flew out, buzzing loudly! They stung him all over, and the bear jumped down in pain, rubbing his nose and running away.

After that, the bear learned his lesson. He realized that if he wanted something good, he had to be patient and careful. The next time he saw a beehive, he watched and waited until the bees were calm, then gently took the honey without getting stung.

From then on, he understood that good things are worth the effort.

Moral:

Good things often require effort.

Additional Lessons:

• Patience: The bear learns that patience is key when trying to get something valuable, as he waits for the bees to calm down before safely taking the honey.
• Caution: The bear initially acts impulsively, but after being stung, he learns to be more careful and thoughtful in his actions when pursuing something desirable.

Parenting Tip: Help your child understand that patience and thoughtful actions often lead to better results. Use the bear’s experience to show how being hasty can lead to mistakes, but learning from those mistakes helps us grow.

Fun Questions for Curious Kids

• Why do you think the bees got so angry with the bear?
• How did the bear get the honey the second time without getting stung?
• If you were the bear, what would you have done differently?
• Why is it important to wait and think before acting?
• Have you ever had to work hard to get something you really wanted? How did it feel?
• What do you think honey tastes like to the bear?
• If you could talk to a bee, what would you ask them about making honey?

Did You Know? Fun Bee and Bear Facts

1. Bees make honey by collecting nectar from flowers and storing it in their hives.
2. A single bee makes about one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey in its entire lifetime!
3. Bears love honey, but they’re also after the protein-rich bee larvae inside the hive.
4. Honey never spoils! Archaeologists have found pots of honey in ancient tombs that are still edible.
5. Bees communicate with each other through a special “waggle dance” to show where flowers are.
6. Bears have an excellent sense of smell, up to seven times better than a bloodhound’s!
7. A group of bees in a hive is called a colony, and it can have up to 60,000 bees working together.
8. Black bears, like the one in the story, are great climbers and often scale trees in search of food.
9. Honey is packed with nutrients and was once used as medicine in ancient times.
10. Bees are vital for pollination, helping plants grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Download Free Coloring Pages Related To This Story

Bring the story to life with coloring pages designed to spark creativity and make story time even more fun. Coloring helps kids express their creativity, improve focus, and reinforce the story’s themes in a fun, engaging way. After reading together, let them bring the story to life with colors!

Click on any of the free coloring pages below to download or print it!