HAPPY 



"You see, I'm one of the oldest 



"Don't look so dejected," Crip volunteered to those 

 about him. "Hurry hurry! Soon we shall have 

 another Queen to reign over us." 



And now magic began to intervene or miracle. 

 Three cells with three tiny larvae, two days old, were 

 selected, and over these the great cell-palaces were 

 erected. But more mysterious was the feeding of 

 these tiny things, which under normal conditions would 

 emerge workers. Think, then, of the transformation 

 which will produce a Queen ! Thanks to a secret buried 

 in the heart of the bee, the worker, it is supposed, is 

 converted, through feeding, into a Queen. Crip told 

 me all this in his cheerful way; and he assumed so 

 much importance in looking after the destinies of the 

 three royal personages, that once or twice I was irri- 

 tated at his conduct. 



"Why three Queens?" I inquired, one day. "We 

 need only one." 



"To make sure that one will survive. The bee takes 

 no chance where it can be avoided." 



The embryonic Queens grew rapidly, and in due 

 season the doors of the palaces were sealed, not to be 

 broken until her ladyship herself should choose to 

 bite her way to the light. 



The days were now being counted, even the hours, 

 against the time when She would appear! Once more 

 a little life was manifest in the hive. Workers went 

 scouring the country for forage, and every bee found 

 something to do, so happy were they in anticipation 

 of the coming event. 



The Master, too, had shown much interest in us. 

 108 



