4 Buz. 



were away from the hive, gathering honey and pol- 

 len ; but, as they approached the entrance, they 

 found themselves surrounded by streams of busy 

 workers, hurrying in every direction, some bringing 

 in stores, and others, who had just deposited their 

 last loads, bustling off to work again. But, however 

 busy they might be, they all found time to touch 

 Buz and Hum with their antennae as they passed ; 

 and these last, instinctively put their own forward 

 and returned the compliment ; indeed, they felt as 

 if it would not be comfortable to pass within touch- 

 ing distance of a single bee without that little recog- 

 nition ; it seemed like saying " All's well." 



Arrived on the floor of the hive, they stood still 

 and looked about them. After a little time they 

 noticed that the two combs between which they had 

 just descended, looked rather darker and dirtier than 

 those on the outside, and that it was toward the lat- 

 ter that the honey-laden bees were hastening. 



" I wonder why? " said Buz. 



"Yes, I wonder," echoed Hum. 



"What are you wondering about ?" inquired a 

 great drone, who chanced to be passing lazily along, 

 and who overheard what Buz said. 



"We were wondering why some combs looked 

 so much blacker than others," replied Buz. 



