Barnabus the Clumsy Bumblebee

Written by James Wynn

Illustrations by Lisa Hueneke

Dedication

We would like to dedicate this book to two very different but very important groups.

The first; We dedicate this book to the bees! Those honey sweet workers who live their life among the flowers and the crops and the trees, who feed us without complaint, who fly among the apple blossoms to make sure our world blooms; and who are disappearing at an alarming rate. One out of every three bites of food we consume relies on pollination, and we hope this book does at least a small part in allowing our little bee friends to continue being the very best bees they can be!

We would also like to dedicate this book to our wonderful families, from the oldest down to the youngest, to those who are still here and those whose spirits are now dancing among the daisies. We wouldn’t be who we are, without you being who you are. We will always be eternally grateful to you for the unending support, the faith you have shown in us and the love that has allowed us to bloom.

Barnabus the bumblebee was a very clumsy bee.

He couldn’t fly up he couldn’t fly down.

He couldn’t alight on the loveliest flower without knocking the leaves to the ground.

Barnabus the bumblebee was a very clumsy bee.

“Barnabus!”

All the flowers yelled at him for knocking off their leaves. They always cried.

“You’re a very clumsy bee!”

“You can’t fly up and you can’t fly down and every time you buzz around you bumble right into me!”

The marigolds and the daffodils, the daisies and the mum

All did their best to hide their leaves when Barnabus buzzed around.

But Barnabus the bumblebee didn’t mean to bumble so. He wanted to fly from petal to petal, he wanted to help things grow!

He wanted to visit the goldenrods, the forget-me-nots, and the crocus. The orchids, and the delphiniums, and the mysterious lotus.

A bumble bee that’s a clumsy bee is not a good bee to be!”

“Oh Barnabus, Oh Barnabus, please just leave us be!

Barnabus the bumblebee was a sad and lonely bee.

While the other bees were busy buzzing, Barnabus turned to flee.

I’m just a clumsy bumblebee which is a lonely bee to be.

I can’t fly up I can’t fly down, I lurch and I stumble I teeter and totter and fumble and bumble.

A bee that can’t be a bumblebee is not a good bee to be.

So Barnabus thought, perhaps it’s time to be uniquely me. To find a new home, a place to fit in. Never to roam, to not be alone.

From this day on, I declare, I’ll no longer be a bee!

Barnabus the Bumblebee heard a great noise on the ground.

He buzzed way down until he found a large and circular mound. He watched with quiet wonder at the ants marching frantically.

“Ants don’t fly or knock down leaves, they work and they work and they work.

A good day’s work, a job well done, yes that’s the life for me!”

“Hello there, Ants!

Excuse me, please?

Perhaps I can lend a hand?”

But the ants were too busy at their marching and toiling, their walking and tramping, their working and stamping. They wouldn’t give poor Barnabus a chance to even land.

No worker ant would Barnabus be and he flew sadly away.

OH what can I be, oh where should I go? I’m an out of work bumblebee.

And over the grasses and over the prairies he clumsy and bumbly buzzed.

A place to fit in was all that he wanted, a place where he could be loved.

He buzzed to the left, he buzzed to the right, he knew not where he was bound.

His heart was filled with so many tears until...

He heard a most curious sound.

Crunch! Crunch!

Crunch!

There in the meadow was a great green clamoring. The swaggering jabbering of a staggering gathering. These hungriest bugs had a powerful hankering.

They were munching and crunching and bumping and hunting and rushing for something to eat.

So he chomped and he chewed all the food he could include. But eat as he may and eat as he might, Barnabus couldn’t keep up.

He ate and he ate and he ate and he ate till his belly began to protrude.

And off he wobbled and stomped.

Oh me, oh my, this won’t ever work, these grasshoppers gobble and chomp. They never stop feasting, they’re always just eating.

I’ll never fit in, I’ll never be me!

He sobbed and he wailed, he blubbered and cried.

He felt so lonely and lost.

But as he lay crying alone in the garden, he heard buzzing and humming so happy. Full of great dash, hurry, and scurry. A figure flew confidently and snappy.

It was Isabel the Bumblebee!

The most famous of all the bees.

She flew all over the flower gardens, as busy as she could be.

She could fly up and she could fly down. She could alight on the loveliest flower. Without knocking the leaves to the ground!

All the flowers stretched out their petals when Isabel biz-buzzed by.

“Oh Isabel” they always yelled, “come over and land on me!

“Okay,” she replied “I’ll do my best, but I’m a very busy bee!”

The lilacs, the lilies, the lupines, and pansies

even the bashful sweet peas would clamor and clang for Izzy’s attention. They all wanted her bee expertise.

But, busy Izzy Bumblebee saw Barnabus far below.

said Isabel “Whatever could be wrong?”

“Why Barnabus,”

“The flowers,” he said, “they don’t want me around, they won’t even say hello. They say I’m clumsy, they say I’m bumbly.

I’m just not a very good bee.

I tried to be an ant and then a grasshopper, but as you see I can only be what I was born to be a clumsy bumblebee.”

“Why Barnabus,” said Isabel

“You’re a most wonderful bee.

You come with me and we’ll show those flowers you’re not just clumsy, you’ll see!”

there is something you should know. Barnabus the bumblebee is helping you all grow.

Whenever he bumps into you, he shakes your pollen loose.

Flowers like you can’t be flowers, it’s true, if you can’t reproduce!

“Now listen here, all you flowers,

Barnabus the bumblebee should be your very best friend!

You might call him clumsy, you might call him bumbly but you just don’t understand.

He spreads your pollen everywhere; it’s him on whom you depend!”

We didn’t know how much you help. Will you come bump into me?”

The mistletoes, the morning flowers, the beautiful blazing stars, the hollyhocks, and the honeysuckles now stretched their leaves so far.

“Oh Barnabus, oh Barnabus, you’re such a special bee.

And Barnabus the bumblebee buzzed around happily, all because he was himself…

...a clumsy bumblebee.

Bee Conscious

5 ways to help bees thrive

1. Plant native and bee-loving plants in your outdoor space.

2. Avoid using synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on your garden or green spaces. Instead, use organic products and compost to boost soil health and encourage natural pest control.

3. Create a bee bath by filling a shallow bowl with water and some pebbles that allow bees to land and drink.

4. Buy local honey to support the beekeepers in your community. Consuming local honey may even help with seasonal allergies.

5. Get connected with local government or organizations to enrich public spaces that help your local ecosystem and native habitats thrive.

Source: The Bee Conservancy