The Life of the Bee 



most to hold back their leaves, as a man 

 holds his breath before something very 

 tender but very grave. The bees give 

 their honey and sweet-smelling wax to 

 the man who attends them ; but more 

 precious gift still is their summoning him 

 to the gladness of June, to the joy of the 

 beautiful months ; for events in which 

 bees take part happen only when skies 

 are pure, at the winsome hours of the 

 year when flowers keep holiday. They 

 are the soul of the summer, the clock 

 whose dial records the moments of 

 plenty; they are the untiring wing on 

 which delicate perfumes float ; the guide 

 of the quivering light-ray, the song of the 

 slumberous, languid air ; and their flight 

 is the token, the sure and melodious note, 

 of all the myriad fragile joys that are born 

 in the heat and dwell in the sunshine. 

 They teach us to tune our ear to the 

 softest, most intimate whisper of these 

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