314 Trails to Woods and Waters 



had all peeled off. The rains and the winds 

 had polished the wood until it was as smooth 

 as finished ebony. 



" One day a bee who was smarter than all 

 her fellows had an idea. She had seen an 

 otter sliding down a slippery clay bank, hav- 

 ing the finest kind of a time, so it occurred to 

 her that perhaps bees could do something 

 similar. She probably never would have tried 

 it, though, if she hadn't noticed what a fine 

 slide could be had upon the bowl of the old 

 maple that was so hard and smooth. So she 

 buzzed up to the top of the smooth place and 

 pulled her feet up under her, and folded her 

 wings. Then she pushed off. 



" Down she went in a splendid coast, and 

 when she reached the bottom, she just spread 

 her wings and soared off into the air, flying 

 back to the starting place. It was just like 

 a boy with a new toy. The more she slid 

 the better she liked it. Finally other bees 

 noticed what she was doing and they tried it. 

 More and more bees came to try the new sport 

 until at last there were hundreds sliding down 



