Original subtitles

Back in the winter of 1959, I saw in a shop window in New York a little white

jar with a notice on it saying, Royal Jelly, two ounces, $350.

I'd never heard of the stuff.

The shop told me it had magical properties, and it undoubtedly has.

So I wrote a story about it.

Years later, Dick Van Dyke, who had read the story, sent me from France a box of

small glass vials containing pure royal jelly.

I drank them, one by one.

But I'm not going to tell you what they did to me, or I'll ruin what you're

about to see now.

Hello, my beauty.

Hello, my girls.

Hey, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh. Settle down.

It's only me. You know me.

Hmm, I know where you've been.

Up along the big house or along the lavender, haven't you?

Down you go.

Settle down.

So much work for one day, even for bees.

my baby.

Just a little drop more. Come on now.

I know you can do it.

Look at that now. You haven't drunk an ounce.

Won't do, my darling. Really won't do.

The clock stopped.

It's no use, you know.

She won't. She just won't.

Tonight of all nights.

Is it too hot?

No, it's just right.

It's really...

Really worried me this, Albert.

What's the time? You mustn't miss it.

It's 22.

Aren't you worried about her?

I mean, look at her. She's nothing but skin and bone.

She'll pick up.

Won't you, my beauty?

I've been sitting with her for over an hour now and she hasn't drunk a drop.

Well, maybe you started too early.

No.

I didn't have nothing at 6 o 'clock this evening either.

Well, Dr. Robinson said you was to stop worrying, Mabel.

So did that other specialist from Bicester.

Just a matter of time, they said.

So did the clinic and Miss Meakin, the elf visitor.

So, I think... That I'm to stop worrying.

When our baby weighs two pounds less. Two pounds less than the day she was

Albert. I know that. What time is it?

I told you, 22.

No, I meant the programme.

Oh, you and your precious programme.

Oh, come on, Mableton. Every night I'm on the TV.

Albert Taylor, famous beekeeper.

Old village will be watching.

I am talking about our daughter, Albert.

God knows we waited long enough for her. Nine years.

At this rate, she'll die.

Come on, she'll pick up.

Pick up?

She's starving to death. You just don't want to miss her, that's all.

I mean, take a look at her. Her arms are nothing but sticks. Albert. It ain't

natural for a six -week -old child.

If she dies, I don't know what I'll do. The doctor said you was to stop

worrying. I don't want to hear about doctors, Albert Taylor.

I hate them. I hate them.

It's starting, Mabel.

Oh,

Vicki.

Is the man with you my baby?

I know you'd tell me.

If you could.

Good evening.

Now, you might wonder why I'm standing here with this net over my face.

Well, what you can see behind me are, of course, beehives.

Now, we all of us know about bees.

Or do we?

These beehives, standing in six acres of lovely... Maybull has started!

...countryside. What he doesn't know about bees, believe me, ain't worth

knowing. Hello, Mr. Taylor. Hello.

Now, tell me.

When did you first start keeping bees?

Well, I built my first hive at the age of 12 and caught my first

swarm the year after.

You sound funny, Mabel. You're a touch unusual for a beekeeper.

Quite a local legend.

Oh, I don't know about that.

Well, they say you never use smoke or a glove or a net over your face.

No, no, that's true, and I've never been stung either.

Never? No.

Now, why is that, would you say?

Well, I don't know.

Bees have always liked me.

I've always liked them.

When I was a kid, I used to let them crawl over my face and hands.

My dad used to say there had to be a witch's stench about me, but my mother

my part, said it was a gift of God.

So you're a sort of St.

Francis of the Bees? Oh, no, I'm no saint, no.

Now, me and bees is me and bees.

In a good year, Mr. Taylor's Beast produced nigh on 2 ,000 pounds weight of

honey. And it all began with that first hive.

Now he owns six acres.

How many hives, Mr. Taylor?

Eighty -four.

Eighty -four hives. And a house he mostly converted himself.

Substances produced in much the same way as the mammary glands of vertebrate

produce milk.

But Mr. Taylor can tell us even more.

Well, royal jelly has amazing nourishing properties that we do know. It's fed to

all the bee larvae, but some of them only get it for three days, whereas the

queen gets... Excuse me, I'm sorry, Mr. Taylor. We've got a piece of film coming

up here. Now, this cell here is larger. It's much larger than all the rest.

Yeah, of course. That's the queen cell.

A cradle fit for a queen.

Yeah, that's it, Mr. Haywood. Yeah.

Yeah. See, this larva here is destined to become a queen.

The others, they're either going to be workers or they're going to be drones.

Now, they only get royal jelly for three days, but this one here is different,

although she started off the same.

She gets royal jelly for the whole of her larval life.

It's right up to the time she emerges. She swims in the stuff.

Yeah, but why is it so much larger?

Ah. Because on a diet of royal jelly, the queen larva increases its weight by

,500 times in five days.

How much, Mr. Taylor?

1 ,500 times her own weight.

That's as if a baby weighs, say, seven and a half pounds. Would it increase its

weight to... Five tons.

Yeah, five tons, just on.

And that's not all, because royal jelly has other amazing properties.

Some call it the elixir of me. What?

I don't want to hear it.

I don't want to hear nothing no more. I can't stand it.

I can't.

Nora.

What time's your next speech?

Yes, I do.

So you

can relax for the next 12 hours. Real sleep for you, my girl.

Got yourself into a state.

Give yourself a breakdown, you carry on like this.

I'm taking Victoria this minute.

We'll be in the spare room so you can sleep right through.

Just leave it all to me, right?

My only fancy, of course, but... I think Mr. Taylor looks a little bit like a

bee himself.

Good night.

Sorry, I slept right through.

Is she all right?

Are you all right, Charlie? Hey, you look better.

Oh, did she take this in?

I fed her at two.

Oh, I forgot to tell you about the swallowing speed. Did you remember that?

on, you're not stupid.

You've been fed on the dot.

At two, she took half an ounce.

Only half.

A six, two ounces.

Two ounces.

Yeah, that's better, eh?

At ten, she asked me.

She did? Yeah.

She cried. She didn't need changing either.

Took three ounces.

Three ounces?

Three? Oh, but that's wonderful.

Aren't you a good girl, then? Eh?

Who's my good girl? I fancy she looks better already, don't you?

Yes. No, she seems to be sleeping more placid -like.

Sort of plumper around the face.

Yes. You know, you could be right.

Oh, Albert.

Yeah, turn the corner, I reckon.

Like they all prophesied.

I hope to God you're right.

I'm certain of it. From now on, you watch her go.

And you look 100 % too.

Me?

Oh, I'm fine, thank you.

Oh, I'm awful sorry about last night.

I'll watch you then on the telly.

Oh, he's all right.

Sounded a bit peculiar, I thought.

Yeah.

No end okay.

Ah, Mabel.

There's my girl again.

Hey, what are you doing there? The bees don't mind.

They don't mind about the bees. What about people? See us from the road.

Sure for that.

What happened all the time?

Hey, heaven don't approve.

Oh, well, now, she can't be hungry.

Not yet.

Well, she could be.

We'll know she's two hours too early.

Come on.

Looks like demand's fading from now on.

What's the miracle?

Oh, no.

I'll take over now, Albert. I'm sleeping really well.

No, it's better if I do it.

It's the age of equality, right?

Well, I'll do the sterilising and mixing in the bottles, then. Ah, no, don't

change the luck, girl.

Oh, I'd rather do it, Albert. I really would.

Look, I did it all last week, and look what happened.

For Zoom.

Don't change the luck.

So what? She was early. She'd taken all she needed.

That's only three ounces.

Only last week you'd have been over the moon about that.

She's doing fine.

Aren't you, my little queen?

Come.

All right, thank you.

Time you came home.

Home you come.

Don't get again.

Every drop.

Sheba, what did I say?

Oh, you should have seen her face. Yeah?

Oh, that was a real picture.

Right on the dot.

Wait, you look...

Such a short time.

There we are.

Look at that.

Straight away.

At this rate, we'll have to get a bigger bottle.

Albert. What was it you were going to tell me the other night?

When I was too tired, you know.

Oh, that.

Yeah.

What are you grinning at?

Hey, what's it to do with you on the telly?

Yeah, I could say that.

Mind you, I've known it all along, really.

What?

You really do think Victoria's looking better, don't you?

Bigger, putting on weight.

Yeah? Has that got to do with it? Do you?

Yeah, well, of course I do.

You've only got a look at her, haven't you?

Must be something to do with the way you used to mix in the milk.

You haven't been putting beer in our baby's drink, have you?

Beer? Would I put beer?

Don't be silly.

You have been putting something in it, haven't you?

Haven't you?

No. Would you wait a minute?

Tell me this instant, Albert. What's this baby been drinking?

Milk.

Nothing else?

Albert! Look, it's perfectly safe.

What?

What is perfectly safe?

Royal jelly.

Jelly?

Fruit jelly?

No, royal jelly from bees.

I told her lots of times how they feed her to the larvae.

It's magic, Mabel. I heard myself talking about it on the TV. That's when

realised. You must be out of your mind. Of course, it's exactly what she needs.

Keeps people young, makes their hair grow.

Don't mean you can feed it to babies?

Go on, she likes it.

Go on, have as good for it.

In America, it costs more than gold, you know.

Look,

I swear to you, Mabel, it can't possibly harm.

It's wonderful.

It's what turns a dull, plain, ordinary worker into a great, big, beautiful,

fertile queen.

What are you trying to say? How a baby's dull and plain?

Of course not. But, you see, queen larvae get more royal jelly than the

That makes them quite different.

See, worker bees have practically no sex organs at all, but a queen... Don't be

talkative to me, Albert Taylor.

No, I'm not.

No way, this is science.

What's more, a queen lives longer and her legs are quite different.

Worker bees have pollen baskets on their legs, but a queen don't. Oh, no, she's

entirely different.

See, what's more, she's much bigger and her abdomen's shaped quite differently.

She's finished it.

Where you are? What did I tell you?

She ain't having no more of that. I'll tell you that, Albert Taylor.

I don't know what's come out with you.

I really don't know what's come out with you lately.

I swear this baby weighs a ton.

Thanks to Royal Jelly.

She's enormous.

What have you done?

This is all right.

This has got a double chin.

Don't you touch her. Oh, wait a minute, Mabel.

Don't touch her. You must be mad.

Mabel. You must be mad. Mabel, I know what you're thinking.

Look, I proved to you the royal jelly's out.

How much have you given her? Enough.

How much? Will you hear me, woman?

Why do you think that we had only half our usual crop of honey last summer?

Because it was short summer, that's what you said. Not only that.

I turned over dozens of our eyes to the production of royal jelly.

Why?

Why? Well, you never guess the reason, but she's the result.

You see, royal jelly, it's a bit embarrassing, really, also increases

I didn't like to mention it, but you know how we had tried for years to...

You took it.

Didn't you?

Gallons of it.

Bags of the stuff.

Made me feel marvellous.

So different.

I went on taking it even after you said you was expecting.

Gallons of the stuff I must have drunk during these last 12 months.

It's made a new man of me.

Hasn't it?

And think how much better it's going to work on a little baby than a fully

developed man.

Oh, my Lord. Isn't it?

Isn't it?

Isn't it?

The spider.

It's been a great success, hasn't it, my darling queen?