Off the Wall Read Online Free

expression ‘as busy as bees’ from. The hive has one queen, whose only job is to lay eggs all day. But the worker bees have all kinds of stuff to do, starting with making all these six-sided cells out of beeswax.”
    â€œWhat is beeswax, exactly?” asked Grace. “It’s not made from bees, is it?”
    â€œNo, no,” said Katherine. “Beeswax is made by bees. The worker bees kind of—what’s a good way to put this? They kind of sweat the wax out through their stomachs. Then they collect it and use it to build all those cells.”
    She pointed at one corner of the hive. “That’s the nursery. When the queen lays an egg, the workers bring it to a cell over here to hatch. See how there’s a tiny egg inside each cell? And then over here is all the honey, of course.” Thousands of beeswax cells were dripping with honey in the center of the hive. “The foraging workers go out and collect nectar that they make into honey.”
    â€œHow do they get out to find nectar?” asked Jane.
    â€œOh, they’re not trapped in that hive! It has pipes in the ceiling that lead outside. So the bees can come and go.”
    â€œBut what if the bees sneak out of the pipes?” asked Megan. She was looking worriedly up at the ceiling. “Because I think some of them might want to.”
    â€œNo, no,” Willow answered. “The museum was very careful when they installed the hive.”
    Megan tried again. “I know, but if there was a storm or something, some of the pipes that lead outside could get loose.”
    â€œThe museum was very careful about that, too.” Now Willow sounded a little impatient. “I’m sure they planned for storms.”
    â€œBut Willow, look up there!”
    Everyone’s eyes followed Megan’s pointing finger. And everyone saw that this time, at least, she was right to worry. A line of bees was crawling along the ceiling. As they watched, one of the bees rose into the air and slowly began to fly around the room. Then another, and a third.
    â€œ That’s not part of the exhibit, is it?” said Megan in a wavering voice.
    â€œHmmm.” Willow glanced over at Katherine. The other leader looked toward the exit in a meaningful way.
    â€œI think,” said Willow, “that it’s time to see another part of the museum. Let’s calmly and quietly go and get our— No, Megan! Stay calm, I said!”
    But it was too late. Megan was racing for the door.
    â€œI just got stung!” she screeched. “Bee attack! Bee attack!”
    Her panic was contagious. The whole pack of girls thundered after her. Behind them, Willow was yelling, “Girls, slow down! Go in single file! Calmly! ”
    It was only a second or two before everyone was out of the bee exhibit and back in the hall, including the leaders. Jane noticed that both Katherine and Willow were panting as if they too had been running hard.
    Katherine smoothed her hair and took a deep breath.
    â€œThat was stupid of all of us,” she said. “The bees weren’t chasing us. They were just flying around.”
    â€œWell, they’re not supposed to be flying around,” snapped Daria. “That’s the whole point of keeping them behind glass.”
    Katherine didn’t acknowledge her comment.
    â€œAnd what about my bee sting?” whimpered Megan. “I might be about to have an allergic reaction!”
    â€œOh, my. Let’s take a look at that sting,” said Katherine.
    Megan stuck her arm out for inspection. “It’s right there. Right on my elbow. See the swelling? Oh, I can’t stand the sight of it.” To prove her point, she shut her eyes.
    Katherine looked closely at Megan’s elbow. Finally, she said, “It’s not swollen. I don’t even see a mark.”
    Megan’s eyes popped open. “Yes, you do! Look!” She jammed her elbow closer to Katherine’s