Royal Jelly (short story)

"Royal Jelly" is a short story by Roald Dahl. It was published in the February 1983 issue of Twilight Zone Magazine.^[1][2] It was included in Dahl's books Tales of the Unexpected, Kiss Kiss, and published as a standalone volume in 2011.^[3]

The story was adapted as an episode of the series Tales of the Unexpected in 1980, featuring Timothy West and Susan George as the couple.^[4]

Summary

"Royal Jelly" is a story about the Taylor family: Albert, Mabel, and their newborn baby daughter. Mabel is frightened because the child won't eat and has been losing weight since birth. Albert, a beekeeper, devises a novel solution by adding royal jelly, used to make bee larvae grow, to the baby's milk. The baby begins to drink ravenously, getting fatter. Albert admits to putting royal jelly in their daughter's milk, and Mabel tells him to stop. He tries to soothe his wife by explaining its nutritional value from several magazines, but his wife doesn't have half a mind to listen. However, despite his wife's wishes, Albert continues to add royal jelly to his daughter's milk, resulting in her growing larger. Finally Albert admits that he himself ate royal jelly in an effort to increase his fertility, which obviously worked as their daughter was conceived soon after. Mabel realizes how much her husband resembles a gigantic bee, and their daughter looks like nothing but a big grub. At the end of the story, Albert says, "Why don't you cover her up, Mabel? We don't want our little queen to catch a cold."

Television Adaptation

The Tales of the Unexpected episode follows the story well, but keeps the daughter concealed until the final reveal at the end.

References