THE LIFE OF A BEE 



"You and I and others are to go into the woods and 

 search for a home for the swarm!" 



That was the order. It was enough we went. 



We seemed to know that the only place to look for 

 a home was among the great oaks that bordered the 

 lake, and thither we ; betook ourselves. We flew from 

 tree to tree, exploring every hole we could find in the 

 hope of discovering a hollow big enough to house a 

 swarm. Three days we spent in vain. On the fourth 

 we found one, and with great joy we returned home 

 and reported. Immediately a hundred bees or more 

 were assigned to prepare the hollow tree for a habita- 

 tion. Buzz-Buzz and I led the way back, and all 

 hands fell to cleaning out the cobwebs and the de*bris 

 of decayed wood. Several days were spent in this 

 undertaking, and finally the word was passed that 

 the new home was ready. 



But things were not ready with the parent colony. 

 No Queen had emerged from her cell. From hour to 

 hour the bees marched by impatiently, waiting for the 

 "click-click" of her mandibles and for sight of them 

 piercing the wax door to the cell. And there was much 

 speculation as to which of the half-dozen possible 

 Queens would first emerge. Finally, one day, at high 

 noon, the rumor ran over the hive that a Queen had 

 been born, and the excitement became intense. "A 

 Queen! A Queen!" 



Crip and I forced our way through the crush to the 

 spot where the Queen was surrounded by a joyous 

 multitude. He, finally, on account of his lameness, 

 was compelled to abandon his efforts to pay his homage 

 to the new-born mother. But I, nothing daunted, 



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