(a story by the late Darrell Keith Thoday and edited by his son, Kim Thoday) Once upon a time there were three bees. There was Queen Bee, Worker Bee and Drone Bee. It was late winter and the honey supply had nearly run out, which meant of course, that if some honey could not be found very soon the whole beehive would die. So Queen bee called together the whole colony and said: 'This is an emergency! If some honey cannot be found very soon we will all perish. Perhaps there is some early flowering tree which will save us, if only we can find it in time.' Then she said: 'Worker bee no. 92 step forward!' And worker bee no. 92 stepped forward and bowed before her majesty. 'Yes, your majesty,' said worker bee. 'You have a record of successful missions,' said the Queen, 'and as so many workers have lost their lives searching for honey this winter and the few who are left must guard the city and keep it warm, I am sending you on this vital mission to try and locate some honey before it is too late. There is just one other who I can spare to go with you ... no. 1,069, come forward!' And forward came big, fat, shabby drone bee. 'Your majesty,' he said, bowing as far as his portly figure would allow him without falling over. 'You will accompany worker bee on this dangerous mission and in case of any trouble you must protect her, do you understand?' 'Y-yes, your majesty, but I have a sore wing and this will make it hard for me to go very far,' said the drone bee. 'Silence!' demanded Queen bee. 'There will be no excuses. You will prepare to depart immediately. Return to your places everyone.' A half hour later, when the wind had dropped and the sun had feebly come out, worker bee and drone bee set off on their mission. They flew round and round the hive to get their bearings and then flew in ever widening circles looking for any flowers that might contain nectar, but there were none in sight - it had been a very severe winter. Drone bee soon grew tired and wanted to stop for a rest, but worker bee could see dark clouds approaching and wanted to have another quick search before rain came and drove them back to their hive. 'Oh all right, but let's not be too long,' said drone bee. So they stopped and rested on a broad blade of grass. It was not long before drone bee was asleep and worker bee decided to search while there was still time and come back for drone bee later. Worker bee buzzed around for about three quarters of an hour. At the end of that time she was on the point of giving up, when the sun appeared to glint especially brightly on the top of a very high tree that was a long distance away. 'I'd better wake up drone bee first,' she thought, 'before going that far.' She returned to where drone bee had settled down to sleep, but to her horror just as she zoomed down, she spied a large ant with powerful jaws within a few inches of drone bee and about to spring on him. Without a second thought worker bee landed close to one side of the ant with a loud angry buzz, in order to distract the ant and wake her friend. The ant suddenly grabbed her by the leg. Drone bee woke in fright and immediately took off. He did not appear to be tired now and that sore wing he complained about, did not seem to be giving any trouble. He flew hard and fast, and did not stop to look back until he arrived at the hive. There he told the anxious Queen and her subjects that he had been guarding his companion as he had been ordered and that while worker bee was taking a nap they were surrounded by a whole company of enormous ants. But while drone bee was telling his tale, worker bee was investigating this far distant tree. She had luckily escaped the ant, although a leg had been crippled in the struggle and one wing was badly torn. Sure enough, the tree was coming out in flower early; it was a great gum and would within the next few days provide as much honey as they needed. The little bee's joy was cut short however, for that thunder cloud which had so far held off, began to break. A strong wind began to blow and large drops of rain began to fall. Worker bee took her bearings and flew for home, but it was over a mile away and she was soon buffeted by the fierce cold wind and the rain began to fall heavily. There seemed to be no hope of surviving this storm without a good shelter. The torn wing was almost in tatters and the brave little bee was forced down into the wet grass. She struggled through the grass toward a mushroom which she just reached before the full power of the storm came. It was late in the afternoon and the bees had just about given up all hope, when worker bee staggered into the hive. The bees gathered anxiously around and tried to revive her. She soon recovered sufficiently to tell her story. There was a merry dance in the presence of the Queen, once worker bee had excitedly described the discovery and location of the great gum in early blossom. Within a few days, parties of bees went out to bring in the treasure. Of course, drone bee was found out for his cowardice and untruthfulness. But it was also discovered that he had been eating more than his share of the honey stores and had a secret store hidden in a corner of the hive. The Queen gave orders for him to be cast out to die and for his brave companion to be given a place of honour in the hive; for because of her sacrifice, they had all been saved. John 10: 7-18 So again Jesus said to them, 'Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits; but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away - and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father. [This story is by my father, the late Darrell Keith Thoday and I re-tell it in his memory and with the hope that it speaks some important elements of the Gospel that in our era are especially neglected. Darrell was a devoted father to his three children, Pam, Cathy and Kim, and as husband to Janet Coventry. He was also a respected secondary teacher, Churches of Christ minister and his interests were wide ranging from bee keeping to the formal study of ancient history and English literature. He died at the age of 54, in 1985.] Blessing's in Jesus' name KIM THODAY
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