THE LIFE OF A BEE 



Out into the air 'they flew, then round and round, 

 each one singing the Song of the Swarm, which could 

 be heard afar off. Round and round in a dizzy circle 

 they flew, but in an ever-widening whirl. The scouts, 

 I could hear from my point of vantage at the door, 

 were becoming impatient. The Queen had been de- 

 layed, and until word of her presence among them 

 was spoken, they could only circle about. Or else, 

 failing that word, they could and would return to the 

 hive. But at the height of their impatience the glad 

 word came, "The Queen is here!" 



Then they delayed no longer, but started in a whirl- 

 wind flight toward the lake and to their new home, 

 uttering, as they drew away, that marvelously wild and 

 moving song which pulsed with the tremors of life and 

 death. 



