THE LIFE OF A BEE 



it began to dawn on me that it cost infinite labor to 

 build the thousands of little six-sided houses which, 

 laid side by side, made up the combs of our hive. 

 And almost before I knew it, I came to have vast 

 respect for all the things I could see about me, for the 

 things I felt lay out there in the unexplored depths of 

 our home, and for the things which existed only in 

 the consciousness of the colony. 



I was still so young I walked but feebly; but every- 

 where I was greeted as a brother. Some of the little 

 fellows climbed over me in their hurry; some of them, 

 hustling about me, almost knocked me from the 

 combs ; and one actually stopped me, mumbling some- 

 thing I could not understand; but his meaning was 

 soon made clear. I suppose he said: 



" I see you are a novice; you have on your swaddling- 

 clothes. This will never do. I must clean you up. " 



Whereat he proceeded, in spite of my protest, to lick 

 me all over and to rub my legs and body, saying, 

 "This white powder must come off; you can't stand 

 here looking like that; you must get busy and be a 

 real bee!" 



When he had finished with me I found that I was no 

 longer so wobbly, that my wings moved more freely, 

 and, to my astonishment, a smart little bee came up 

 to me and said: 



"I note that you are changed; you are no longer 

 grayish-white, but look like everybody else; your eyes 

 are gray-black, a little delicate fuzz is in the middle 

 of your back, and beautiful alternating black and gold 

 bands make up the rest of your body. You look like a 

 real somebody." 



17 



