Gemini-gems storybook: tiny garden heroes and the golden gift

In a garden filled with bright, waving flowers, a tiny worker named Zuzu is waking up. She is a honeybee, covered in soft, fuzzy yellow and black stripes. She isn't here to scare anyone, she has a very big job to do because she is following a special plan for the whole world! Zuzu has a best friend named Barnaby. He is also a honeybee, and he is very fast! He loves to zoom through the air, feeling the wind on his fuzzy face. When you hear a "buzz," that is just the sound of Barnaby's wings working hard to carry him to the next flower. Bees like Zuzu and Barnaby talk to each other in a very special way. They don't use words; they use a "waggle dance!" By wiggling their tummies and spinning in circles, they tell their friends exactly where the best flowers are hiding. The Great Creator gave the bees a special map in their hearts to help them find their way. The Al Quran says, "And your Lord inspired the bee: Build your homes in the mountains, and the trees, and in the hives that people build for you." As Barnaby visits a bright red tulip, something magical happens. Tiny yellow grains called pollen stick to his fuzzy legs and tummy. It looks like he has been playing in golden fairy dust! He carries this dust from one flower to the next to help the world stay green. Back at the hive, Zuzu and Barnaby help turn the nectar they gathered into something wonderful. The Al Quran tells us, "There comes forth from their bellies a drink of many colors, in which there is healing for people." In a nearby house, a little boy named Leo is sitting with his mother, Noor. They are having tea and toast. Noor points to the honey jar and explains that the bees are a sign of how much the Earth is cared for. Leo listens, his eyes wide with wonder at the tiny heroes. Leo used to feel a little bit nervous when he heard a bee. He would stay very still and worry that they might be grumpy. But today, as Barnaby flies past his window toward a patch of clover, Leo remembers what Noor told him about the healing gift the bees make.