376 THE STORY-BOOK OF SCIENCE 



"The queen who leads the swarm she must be 

 there in the common bunch?" 



"She is. It is she who, alighting on the currant 

 bush, determined the halt of the entire company. " 



These words, country, queen, emigrants, colony, 

 had impressed the children's imaginations; they 

 were astonished to hear the terms of human politics 

 applied to bees. Questions came one after another, 

 but Uncle Paul turned a deaf ear. 



"Wait until the swarm is gathered into the hive, 

 and I will tell you at length the splendid story of 

 the bees. At present I will only answer Claire's 

 question as to why Jacques and Mother Ambroisine 

 tapped on the watering-pot and the saucepan. 



"If the swarm had flown off into the country, it 

 would have been lost to us. It was necessary to in- 

 duce it to alight on a tree in the garden and there 

 form itself into a bunch. It has always been thought 

 that this result could be obtained by making a noise. 

 Thus the sound of thunder is imitated and, as it is 

 said, the bees, afraid of the perils of an approaching 

 storm, quickly seek refuge. I do not believe bees 

 are silly enough to fear a storm because of this tap- 

 ping on an old pot. They alight where they please, 

 when they please, and not far from the old hive, 

 provided the place suits them. ' ' 



Jacques, with a saw in one hand and a hammer in 

 the other, called to Uncle Paul. With some new 

 boards he was going to make a house for the swarm. 

 By evening the hive was ready. At the bottom were 

 three little holes for the bees to go in and out, and 

 inside some pegs for holding the future honey-combs. 



