Oh the hive was buzzing the day Bixbee was born…you can bet your bee stripes on it. Like the top popping off a soda bottle from a soda shop, that little buzzer sprang from his egg with a wide grin on his face and eyes as soft as yellowjacket fur.

A wobble here, a wobble there, Bixbee finally got his bee legs and stood up to reveal…a most peculiar thing.

No one had ever seen a real beepack before. And yet there it was…clear as wings… a bright, yellow, shining pack…smacked straight bang on the back of that little bugger!

Now legend has it that an ancient group of worker bees were born with backpacks on their bee backs, and hence the term “beepack” came to bee. It was these bees who traveled the world, with beepacks full of nectar, building hives in far off lands, and pollinating the very first plants and flowers, so that all of the creatures of our earth could learn and grow. Once they began to flourish, the beepack bees disappeared, leaving worker bees, just like those you see today, to continue on with the job.

So Bixbee grew up to be a strong beepack buzzer, with an unusual curiosity for the world. With his beepack full of nectar, he pollinated plants in far-off lands. Yet the more he pollinated, the more work there seemed left to do. Bixbee finally realized that no single worker bee could ever accomplish this task on its own. The challenge seemed too great.

One dang cold honey-freezing night, Bixbee lay in his beenbag bed, snoring a quiet buzz. Suddenly, he felt a strange pull on his beepack...and then a tug. His wings began to flutter. Once. Twice. Faster. Quicker. Louder. So much so that Bixbee found himself buzzing over his bed. And then smack dabble into the closet door. And then straight across his beedesk and into the wall. Ouch!

Bixbee’s wings kept him buzzing back and forth, up and down, zig and zag. Finally, he buzzed with such great force that he broke straight through honeycomb thirty-two twenty-three of the hive. 

And then...he was outside.

But not just right outside…Bixbee was high above the earth.  In fact, his wings buzzed him all the way to outer space! And you can only imagine how triple-shocked Bixbee was when he turned around to see Beelinda, the ancient Queen Bee of Rajastan, right there smack dabble bizz buzzle in front of him! None of the bees in his hive had ever met the Queen Bee.

Beelinda giggled a soft buzz as Bixbee’s face turned bright cherry apple red. She took his bee hand, and flew him even higher… so high that they touched the moon.

The two bees in a pod came to a sudden stop. Beelinda turned to look at Bixbee and pointed toward earth.

“Bixbee, do you see how small the world looks from up here,” Beelinda asked.

“Sure do Queen Beelinda. I always thought that our hives were so far away from each other. But they look so close when I am way up here.”

Belinda buzzed. “Bixbee, all things on this great earth are very close and intertwined. And even though our world’s creatures look very different, we all want one thing, and that is to live long and leave behind a fruitful future for others.

Beelinda continued, “Bixbee, I don’t have much time left here. I am an aging bee and very soon, I will buzz my very last buzz. But I have learned so much, and I must pass my knowledge on to another busy bee. I have known about you Bixbee…ever since you were born with that beepack on your bee back. You have been chosen to educate the humans and you are to begin with the youngest of them all-- children. They are the future and they are crucial to our survival.

“Your quest, Bixbee, is to provide kids from all over the world with the tools they need to learn and succeed. Only then will they be empowered to build themselves and understand how to change our world.”

Bixbee’s wings buzzed a nervous but proud buzz.

“Bixbee, as you have seen through your travels, you cannot accomplish your mission alone. You must recruit a team of the very best, most talented kids from all over the globe. You will call them… The Beekeepers. Like you, they will have taken flight early on, with warm hearts, curious minds and wings of wonder.

It was at that moment, while touching the moon, that Beelinda revealed Bixbee’s true purpose. With a golden honey glow she touched his beepack and bestowed upon it the Light of Knowledge: Notebooks, Pencils, Sharpeners, Erasers – the tools of education.

And with a flip of her beautiful bee wrist, Beelinda revealed one more item: a long scroll with an ancient Honey Seal impressed upon the top.

“Bixbee, this is the Ancient Oath of Many Hives, written thousands of years ago by the Queenbee of a royal Chinese hive, known to have the highest power of any hive in history. This Pledge has been passed from hive to hive for hundreds of generations, and now, Bixbee, as I take my last flight, I pass it on to you.”

Bixbee’s wings buzzed a powerful but quiet buzz, as he read the oath aloud, with a honey teardrop in his eye:


The Ancient Oath of Many Hives

I Bixbee the Bee hereby pledge to spread the Light of Knowledge to children all over the world.

I realize that the earth is a small, fragile place and it is my mission to teach those responsible for it that every child can learn, grow and achieve, if given the tools to succeed.

I accept my mission with strong wings. I WILL Buzzz Forward!
_______________

And the moment Bixbee finished reading the Ancient Oath of Many Hives, “Schoolbags for Kids” appeared on his beepack. For the first time, Bixbee’s wings buzzed with true purpose…his mission came to bee.