The Life of the Bee 



and, with the help of the guardians who 

 hasten eagerly to her, who brush her, 

 caress her, and clean her, she extricates 

 herself altogether and takes her first steps 

 on the comb. At the moment of birth 

 she too, like the workers, is trembling 

 and pale, but after ten minutes or so her 

 legs become stronger, and a strange rest- 

 lessness seizes her ; she feels that she is 

 not alone, that her kingdom has yet to 

 be conquered, that close by pretenders 

 are hiding; and she eagerly paces the 

 waxen walls in search of her rivals. But 

 there intervene here the mysterious deci- 

 sions and wisdom of instinct, of the spirit 

 of the hive, or of the assembly of work- 

 ers. The most surprising feature of all, 

 as we watch these things happening be- 

 fore us in a hive of glass, is the entire 

 absence of hesitation, of the slightest 

 division of opinion. There is not a trace 

 of discussion or discord. The atmosphere 

 348 



