The Wasp Woman

Now, now, don't get nasty my little friends,

your bumping's not gonna hurt you one bit.

Just relax and sleep.

Sleep, sleep, sleep

and in the morning you'll find yourselves in your new home.

Eh, my pets?

Good morning, Doc, what you got there?

Alvin, I found some new friends.

Listen.

Wasps?

You better be careful, they can sting a man to death.

Don't worry, we understand each other.

They know who their friend is.

They can tell.

Yeah, but they know when you ain't too.

Ah, nonsense.

If you knew about wasps what I know,

you'd have no fear of them my boy.

No fear.

Hey you, give us a hand here!

Hello there, Mr. Barker.

Surprised to see you out here in the field, sir.

How are things running at the front office?

Smooth as honey, Renfro.

I see here you turned in over a thousand pounds

of orange blossom honey and 400 of beeswax

last month, Renfro, congratulations,

you've made the top of the list again.

Why, thank you sir.

Holiday Honey needs your kinda man, Renfro.

You stay with it and I can see a bright future

for you with the company.

Well I do try to do my best, Mr. Barker.

I try to take my inspiration from the bees,

always busy, busy, busy.

Yes.

Now what about this fellow, Dr. Zinthrop?

Zinthrop?

Boy, there's a nut, him and his bees.

You know it wouldn't surprise me someday

to see him flapping his arms, taking off

after some queen bee with the rest of the drones.

Mm-hmm, well he's paid to do research on royal jelly.

Haven't had a progress report from him in a month.

Hmm, well, he has a little workshop up there,

back of the orange grove, keeps a few colonies.

I suppose I better go up there and take a look.

Hey you!

Where's this fellow Zinthrop?

Oh, he's up where the extractor is, up there!

Hey, hey, this isn't a honey bee.

These are wasps.

Wasps!

Who's responsible for this?

Most likely Dr. Zinthrop, sir.

I told you he was a crackpot.

Zinthrop, huh?

Zinthrop.

Zinthrop!

Zinthrop!

Now look here, Zinthrop,

what's all this nonsense about wasps?

I'm so glad you dropped in, Mr. Barker.

Mr. Barker, I'm on the verge of a great discovery.

Discovery, what do you mean?

Well, sir, I almost perfected a new method

of extracting royal jelly from the queen wasp.

According to my figures you're better at extracting funds

from the company.

Now look here, Zinthrop,

over $1,000 last month for miscellaneous.

Yes, yes, I know, but Mr. Barker,

let me just show you something.

Just let me show you something.

Already I've learned to slow the process of aging.

Soon,

I shall be able to reverse it entirely.

What are you getting at, Zinthrop?

Look, what do you see?

I see a big dog and a little dog.

Let's say an old dog and a young dog.

All right, so what?

But they're exactly the same age.

You see, the little one Greta has been given

regular injections of my compound from the queen wasp.

Just like I told ya, Mr. Barker.

Now look here, Zinthrop, I understand about science

and progress and all that but you were attained

to extract queen bee royal jelly.

Now it's a health food, a cosmetic.

It's not a miracle drug or an elixir of youth,

that sort of thing is impossible.

- Oh, but Mr. Barker... - Zinthrop,

I'm sorry, Zinthrop, but

I'm gonna have to let you go.

You just don't seem to be one of the team.

You understand.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll fit in somewhere.

Fit in.

Somewhere.

Oh, now, now, don't worry, my friends.

We shall find a home somehow.

Somewhere.

Oh but you sound impatient.

I know, it's your babies, huh?

They're hungry and they must be fed.

Now, how would you like a nice, juicy little caterpillar?

You'd like that, wouldn't you?

There.

Now you must eat and be strong because,

well, a lot of work to do together.

Yes sir.

A lot of work.

As you can see, gentlemen,

sales for the last fiscal quarter have dropped.

14 and one half percent.

There's not been a corresponding drop

in our competitor's sales.

I trust one of you gentlemen has a

satisfactory explanation for this decline.

Not one little suggestion, gentlemen?

We'll start with you, Thompson.

As Public Relations Manager, no doubt you have some

faint glimmering of what's happening to Starlin Products.

Well, Thompson?

- Well, you see, I... - I had no idea

you were such an excellent public speaker, Thompson.

Oh, I'm sorry Miss Starlin, I guess I'm not

feeling very well this morning.

I'm sorry you aren't.

I think I can tell you why Starlin Products

are falling off so badly, Miss Starlin.

We're listening, Lane.

Where would you put the responsibility for this decline?

On you, Miss Starlin.

I imagine you

have arguments to support that contention?

We've all been looking at it for the past 20 minutes.

The most convincing argument is right on that graph.

May I show you?

Thank you.

Now right here in April is when Starlin's sales

started falling off.

Very clever of you, Lane.

Would you mind waiting until I finish, Miss Starlin?

- That's enough, Lane. - Relax, Willis.

My apologies for the interruption, go on.

Thank you.

Now as I said, sales began to fall in April.

But the reason for the fall was back here in February.

Starlin Products have always been thought of

as something of a modern miracle in the cosmetics trade.

A firm built to a multi-million-dollar-a-year business

on the strength and appeal of one person, Janice Starlin.

From the beginning right through until February

of this year, only one woman's face

was used to advertise those products.

Your face, Miss Starlin.

The public have come to accept you as a,

as a symbol.

Now, after 16 years, they see a different face,

they don't trust it.

They feel cheated.

The simple fact is that Starlin Cosmetics

should have Janice Starlin's picture advertising them.

Well that's about all I've got to say.

And a darn good job of saying it, too.

I agree.

Lane makes a lot of sense on that score, Miss Starlin.

I think I've had enough

flattery for one morning, gentlemen.

It was a very convincing argument, Lane.

There's a Mr. Zinthrop to see Miss Starlin.

There's only one small factor you've overlooked.

Not even Janice Starlin can

remain a glamour girl forever.

Miss Starlin.

Yes, Mary?

There's a Mr. Zinthrop in reception,

he says he has an appointment.

Thank you.

Well, this has been a very informative get together,

that'll be all for now.

Oh, Arthur? - Yes, Miss Starlin?

I'd like to see you in my office, please.

Sure, Miss Starlin.

Take it easy, hot shot.

Something on your mind, Miss Starlin?

You've done some work on royal jelly, haven't you?

A little.

Are there any real therapeutic values in it?

Oh, I'd say so.

Course a lot depends on each individual's

reaction to the stuff.

What do you mean?

Just that no two people react in precisely the same way.