The Life of the Bee 



pinnacle of the cupola. To this she will 

 fix herself solidly, dislodging, with re- 

 peated blows of her head, such of her 

 neighbours as may seem to hamper her 

 movements. Then, with her mouth and 

 claws, she will seize one of the eight 

 scales that hang from her abdomen, and 

 at once proceed to clip it and plane it, 

 extend it, knead it with her saliva, 

 bend it and flatten it, roll it and straighten 

 it, with the skill of a carpenter handling 

 a pliable panel. When at last the sub- 

 stance, thus treated, appears to her to 

 possess the required dimensions and con- 

 sistency, she will attach it to the highest 

 point of the dome, thus laying the first, 

 or rather the keystone of the new town ; 

 for we have here an inverted city, hang- 

 ing down from the sky, and not rising 

 from the bosom of earth like a city of 

 men. 



To this keystone, depending in the 

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