In a cheerful flower garden bath in the early morning sun, there lived a little sunflower named Sunny. She was a budding flower with her bright yellow petals tightly closed, watching her friends around her open theirs to greet the sun.
Sunny always saw the happiest bees flitting about her blooming friends, buzzing cheerful songs and gathering sweet nectar. “Oh, how I wish I could attract the happiest bees,” thought Sunny. “If only they would come and dance around me! I would feel so very happy!”
The wind, as if it had heard her wish, smiled playfully and whispered to all the bees: “Ah, happy bees, I pray you, gather your sweetest honey from Sunny, the unbloomed sunflower, hoping you will make her the happiest flower in the garden.” Then the playful wind blew across the wide world, and told the same tale to every happy bee that skimmed over flowery meads all around.
So the little bees came and gathered about Sunny. They lingered and danced about her, sang merry songs, and their friends said they were the happiest bees in all the garden. But the day glided into twilight and still Sunny’s close petals showed no signs of blooming. The bees thought she meant not to give them any nectar and flew away.
The next morning a kind old bee sat down on her petals and said: “I heard a little birdy sing as I passed yesterday, thus tending to Sunny’s wish:
‘Wishing won’t make flowers bloom,
But your petals tight in sleepy gloom.’
Be happy and bang this happy tune,
And soon your petals will burst into bloom.”
Sunny thought it very strange that she had not opened her petals; she never knew they were tightly closed. That very minute she began bursting open each petal and showing her golden crown. But when the old bee departed, after shaking song and nectar about her from his hairy thighs, it was already the middle of the day, and when the other bees returned they were not happy. They said, “Where the honey we waited for yesterday?” and they buzzed about the nectarless sunflower.
“Dear Sunny,” said the happy bee, “please do not keep me waiting again.” The happy bee, as Sunny could see by the glitter of his little bright eye, was indeed the happiest bee of all the happy bees.
“I will not, cheerful bee,” replied Sunny; and opened her bright little eye. The busy bees gathered about her, filled their little honey pans, danced merriest dances, and sang their happiest songs; sent a message to the queen that’s where the sweetest honey in the garden was to be found.
So other than the happy honey-making bee, other happy bees came and sat upon Sunny’s cheerful face busy from morning till evening gathering honey from joyous her. The more they sang, the more nectar the little sunflower seemed to give; she danced to and fro, twinkled her sunny eye, and shook kindly a little tremulous smile over the jubilant inhabitants that danced all over her.
And so long it was before twilight. With delighted the bees noted the last dwindling rays of the disappearing sun and started off for their hives, and the gentle kind old bee said: “Are you not the happiest flower in all the broad field?”
“Indeed I am,” said happy Sunny at her heart’s full trust. “One happy little bee made me so.”
“Remember,” said kind old bee, as he took off his cast with a polite bow, “that wishing won’t make flowers bloom, but kindly spreads light the daylight to bring them gladness.”