by Frank Richard Stockton

Questions for Philosophical Discussion
by Gareth B. Matthews
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Bees are the Bee-Man's only friends.

1. Are bees our friends too?
2. Think of some reason why bees are our friends.
3. Think of some reasons why bees are not our friends.
4. Could bees be a bee-keeper's friends?
5. What might show that they are? What might show that they are not?
6. Do you have a pet who is your friend?
7. Is every pet somebody's friend? (Think of some different kinds of pets.)
8. Why is it important to have friends?
   

A junior Sorcerer who someone who is studying to be a magician.

1. Can you learn to be a magician?
2. What might you study?
3. How might you tell the difference between someone who is learning to be a magician and someone who has become one?
4. If you were a magician, could you explain how to perform your tricks?
5. Do you ever pretend to be a magician? Explain your answer.
   

The Junior Sorcerer says that the Bee-Man has been transformed from something else into a bee-keeper.

1. Caterpillars change into butterflies. What other living things are transformed in nature?
2. Bees transform nectar from flowers into honey. What animals transform food they eat into foods for people?
3. The Junior Sorcerer says that people and animals are sometimes magically transformed. What is the difference between being magically transformed and being transformed through growth?
4. Growing up has changed you from a baby. How are you different from the baby you once were?

The Bee-Man wonders whether he was once a giant, a
prince, or someone that the magicians or fairies wished
to punish.

1. Imagine that you have been transformed from a queen, a giant, a Hollywood actress, or a football star. What difference would it make to you now?
2. Are you interested in what you were like as a baby? What difference does it make to you now?
3. Can you imagine your father or mother as a baby? What difference would it make to the way you think about them as a baby now?
4. Suppose you could change into someone very different by magic. What kind of person would you like to be?

When the Lord of the Domain kicks him, the Bee-Man decides he could not have been a mean person.

1. Do people who were once good and kind sometimes become mean and cruel?
2. What might change them?
3. Do people who were once mean and cruel sometimes become good and kind? What might change them?
4. Think of a way that you are different than you were a year ago. What changed you?
5. How would you like to be different when you grow up?
   

The Languid Youth wants his entries " toned up," that is, he wants to get more energy.

1. Think of a time when you didn't have much energy. Why didn't you?
2. Think of a time when you had lots of energy. Why did you?
3. What is a good way to feel more energetic? What is a bad way?
4. Do you like to be with people who have lots of energy or with people who have no energy? Why?

The Very Imp says the Ghostly Griffin is enchanted and won't wake up for a thousand years.

1. Suppose someone wakes up after sleeping for thousand years. How might the world look different? Why?
2. Suppose someone wakes up after sleeping for fifty years. What might seem new and strange?
3. Suppose someone wakes up after sleeping for one year. Would everything be the same or would some things be different?
4. How is the world when you wake up in the morning different than when you went to bed at night?

The Bee-Man throws his bees at the dragon and rescues the baby.

1. This is a brave thing to do. Is the Bee-Man always brave, or is this the first brave thing he ever did?
2. The Bee-Man knows what to do. Have you ever ben in a difficult situation when you did not know what to do? What happened?
3. The Bee-Man feels good about saving his baby. Do you feel good about something you did? What? Why?
4. Can you predict whether or not you will be proud of yourself for doing something? Why or why not?

When the Bee-Man returns the baby to the mother, he realizes that he was once a baby. He wants to be changed back.

1. What is something good about being a baby?
2. What is something not good about being a baby?
3. What is something good about being your age?
4. What is something good about being a grown-up?

The Sorcerer returns to the country of Orn and discovers that the Bee-Man has grown up to be a bee-keeper, just as he did the first time.

1. Do you think grown-ups might like to start life over and become someone different? Why?
2. Do you think it might be fun to have more than one chance to grow up? Why or why not?
3. Can you imagine being born in a different country? Speaking a different language? Enjoying different customs?
4. What is something about you that might not change? Why?

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