Today, President Obama read from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are to entertain children attending the White House Easter Egg Roll. But, midway through the book, danger approached — in the form of a bee.
When the children first saw the approaching insect and began to scream, the president's first reaction unwittingly fed their fears. "Oh no, it's a bee!" he said.
But as the frightened screams continued, Obama changed tack: "It's okay, guys. Bees are good. They won't land on you."
"They sting, and they're scary!" a child yelled in response, to the president of the United States.
"They won't sting you. They'll be okay," Obama said, chuckling. But the children still didn't buy his assurances, and the screams only grew louder.
As seconds ticked by, it became clear that the situation was spiraling out of control. So Obama raised his voice, instructing his audience that they were "wild things" and were not "supposed to be scared of bees." He then continued with the reading, and things quieted down.
