Let's Get Ready to Bumblebee

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The Sea Duck

"I'm tellin' ya, Li'l Britches," Baloo said from the pilot's seat, "delivering fresh flowers all the way out in the middle of the desert for Prince Never-Has-Been-Broke's party ain't how I wanted to spend my Saturday."

"I guess he can't have a luau without lots of flowers. Besides, what the prince offered to pay sure made Higher for Hire's bank account grow. Get it, Baloo? Flowers? Grow?" Kit chuckled.

Baloo just groaned and playfully pushed the twelve-year-old's cap down over his eyes.

As Kit readjusted his baseball cap, he heard a faint buzzing sound. "Do you hear that?"

"I thought Wildcat fixed that engine," the pilot replied, visually checking his Superflight 100s for damage.

"It sounded more like…" spotting a yellow and black insect flying around the ceiling, Kit said, "a bee. He must have hitched a ride with the flowers."

Baloo's eyes followed the boy's gaze. He rolled down his window to let the insect escape. "One little ol' bee? No problem."

"Problem! Problem!" Kit shouted, pointing not at the bee, but at the gaping mouth of the Iron Vulture directly in their path.

Because there was no time to take evasive action, all Baloo could do was land the seaplane inside the pirates' flying fortress. Shutting off the engines, he growled, "Great. Becky's gonna have a field day when we come back and tell her that pirates stole the prince's flowers. She'll never believe it."

"Believe it and weep," Don Karnage said, tapping the cockpit door with the business end of his sword. "Now if you will be so good as to open up your plane, we will be taking your cargo."

Defiantly, Baloo said, "Give me one good reason why I should, Karny."

With a snap of his fingers, Karnage's band of scary men surrounded the plane, armed to their sharp teeth.

"Those are good reasons," Baloo gulped and reluctantly pulled the lever that opened the back hatch.

"Look at all the pretty flowers," Mad Dog said as he and the other pirates tromped into the Sea Duck's cargo hold.

Baloo and Kit shared a look; they were both wondering what pirates could want with flowers. Their question was answered as they watched through the open door connecting the cockpit and cargo hold.

Karnage commanded, "Stop stopping to smell the posies and unload them so I can sell them to Prince-Never-Has-Been-Broke for a reasonably unreasonable ransom."

"But, Captain, dey smell so sweet," Dumptruck said, taking a big whiff of the bouquet he held in his massive paws.

"Not only that, but they make a nice buzzing sound," Hal added.

"Buzzing…sound?" Karnage said blankly.

At that, a swarm of angry bees emerged from their hiding places among the fragrant blossoms and began stinging the pirates.

"This is no time to be polite. Flee the bees!" Karnage yelped and jumped six and nine-tenths inches when he was stung on his posterior back end. He and the rest of the pirates ran out of the cargo plane, pursued by the bees.

As Baloo and Kit made their hasty escape with their cargo of flowers intact, the big bear said, "Heh, I didn't think Karnage was such a cryba-bee."

Kit countered with: "That was a honey of a way to get rid of the pirates."

And they told bad bee jokes all the way to Prince Never-Has-Been-Broke's palace.

The End