189'.' 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



93 



" Dat's so, sah, an' dat's so about my gettin' 

 my woolly head neah de bees. Somehow dey 

 don't like de kinks in my bar." 



" Why, Sam," said Fred, "you must have a 

 holy terror of the busy bee. I believe I could 

 teach you to handle them." 



" Don't mention it. Mister Fred. Don't you 

 nebber mention it. De bee am de enemy ob de 



"5of\ menfion it! don yo nebber 

 mention ii: ! de bee day am de en- 

 &m\j of de whoJI African racs,— 

 sVes sari if dar'd ben no bees dar'd 

 ben no brack mens! suahl- Vojes 

 haball dem bees yo like, 

 lyotanuFf, Halcrackey 

 guess I don know wheiib' 

 had nufP Mister! 



^^::^ 



whole African race. It dar'd been no bee dar'd 

 a been no brack men, suah." 



" Why, Sam, how in time do you make that 

 out?" said Fred, with no little curiosity. 



"It mus' be you nebber heard our family 

 stradition." 



" No," replied Fred. " I never did. Your 

 tradition certainly charges the little bee with a 

 mighty transaction." 



" You see. Mister Fred, our African family 

 stradition hab it dat dar was Mister Noah, 

 Mistuss Noah, Ham, Shem, and Japeth. Dey 

 all stood aroun de doah ob de yark, a beholdin' 

 de animals goin' in, an' dey was all white sons 

 ob Mister Noah — Ham, Shem, an' Japeth. It 

 must a ben a spirin' scene to see de elephant, 

 de lions, de giraffs, de 'possums, an' de lesser 

 animals, all two by two, a goin' in like one 

 paneramy, an' dey didn't haft to buy any 



tickets to see de show. Just as all de small 

 creeters was a goin' in, dar jus came a hummin' 

 down a hul swarm o' bees, an' dey jus' lit on 

 Mistuss Noah's close-line post. Mistuss Noah 

 said she didn't believe dey wanted so many, 

 an' was goin' to save jus' two bees and scald 

 de rest. But Mister Noah told her to desist, 

 an' she desisted; den he told Ham to put all de 

 bees in a big gourd, an' put dem in de yattick 

 ob de yark. Ham had seen so many fierce 

 beasts a goin' into de yark dat he was full ob 

 self-confidence when he 'proached de little bee, 

 an' he 'fused to put on his ma's brussels-net 

 veil. Worse still, he brushed dem off de post 

 wid an ole stub brush-broom, consequently de 

 bees took a ban' in de business, an' stung Ham 

 all over his face an' his head an' his arms, an' 

 he was a diefiful sight. When de boys, Shem 

 an' Japeth, got him into de tent he went right 

 into convulsions. De hul family was 'cited 

 'cept Mister Noah. He shook Mistuss Noah. 

 Says he, 'See he'ah, woman; you jus' stop dat 

 snivilin' an' git a bottle o' wine — some o' dat 

 ol' Canaan wine— quick, too, an' let Ham drink 

 a hul bottle of it. Dat good ol' wine'U contract 

 de sting pizen ebery time.' De Noah family 

 had jus' broke up housekeepin' agin a takin' 

 de navigation ob de yark, an' things was sort 

 o' mixed up in de tent. Mistuss Noah was 

 greatly flusterbated. but she found a bottle, an' 

 Ham's convulsions collapsed long enough fo' 

 him to drink de contents. I 'spect he hear'd 

 'em say it was good ol' Canaan wine. It had a 

 good effec', howsumebber, for putty soon he sot 

 up, an', says he, ' Ma, what in de dickens was 

 in dat ar' bottle? Now it am down, it don't 

 tas' good. It don't tas' like dat good Canaan 

 wine; it tas' orful bitter;' an' Ham hawked an' 

 spit. 



"Mistuss Noah took de bottle an' smelt it, 

 an' says she, 'I dunno;' an' she handed it to 

 Shem, an' he smelt it, an' says he, 'I dunno;' 

 an' Shem handed it to Japeth, an' he smelt, an' 

 he said, 'I dunno;' an' Ham says, 'Pa, do 

 smell ob dat ar bottle.' Noah left off readin' 

 de daily paper, and tooK a long smell ' Lan' 

 sakes alive!' says he; ' woman, you gub Ham 

 dat ar' bottle o' brack ink, specially pared from 

 goats' galls, for scribiu' de flood.' But in spite 

 ob dat. Ham began to 'prove, an' to turn brack 

 all over. Says Mistuss Noah, one mornin', ' Dat 

 ink seems to be a strikin' in.' ' Nay,' says Mis- 

 ter Noah, ' it am a strikin' out;' an' poor Ham 

 kep' a growin' better'n better, an' bracker'n 

 bracker; an' bein' dat de ink struck in an' 

 struck out at de same time, an' den struck wid 

 de bee-pizen, he nebber got over it— no, nebber, 

 an' unnumbered generations ob his children are 

 brack to dis day, an' dey all hate de bee." 



" Well, Sam," said Fred, " that is a most re- 

 markable tradition; but what became of the 

 bees?" 



" De stradition don't say; but I 'spec' Mister 



