THE LIFE OF A BEE 



forth and, taking him in my mandibles, flew away 

 with him, dropping him on the knoll. The poor old 

 veteran! Somehow I had gained the notion that 

 one day he would awake, and from that vantage-point 

 find himself nearer the stars. 



We now began another chapter in the life of our 

 colony. We were left with none too much honey, and, 

 besides, our numbers had been greatly 'depleted by 

 the exodus and by the assault of the robbers. Our 

 Queen-Mother immediately organized her followers 

 and sent us all scouring the fields for additional foods. 

 Thanks to the late season, there still remained an 

 abundant harvest. Soon we had replenished our sup- 

 plies to a point where we could rest comfortably, and 

 our good mother set about rearing just enough brood 

 to have us weather the winter safely. But we never 

 stopped work. Day after day we gathered bread and 

 honey. 



"We cannot have too much," said Crip. "You 

 see, since you have not gone through a winter you 

 have much to learn. It is no simple business. Fright- 

 ful northers sweep down upon us and chill us and kill 

 us. Sometimes it grows so cold the young bees are 

 frozen in their cells. They must then be removed, or 

 else sickness and disease will follow. Sometimes, too, 

 if stores run low and our numbers fall below a certain 

 point, we ourselves can no longer keep warm. That 

 means death for us all." 



"But we have plenty of stores," I replied. "We 

 have nothing to fear." 



"There are always fears. An animal running wild 

 may topple over your house; a bad man may slip in 



91 



