A Second Swarm — Idle Hours. 89 



''I know," said Buz; "that's just what happened 

 to me. Well ? " 



" Well, the man carried us off to where some- 

 thing large and white was lying on the ground, 

 and upset us on to it, and we all began to run 

 about." * 



" Hulloa ! " interrupted Buz : " that didn't happen 

 to me." 



" I had joined the others in the box," continued 

 the bee, "just in time to be upset; and found 

 myself close to the queen, who did not attempt to fly, 

 but kept on crawling in underneath us, wherever we 

 were thickest. Presently the man began to paddle 

 among us with his hands, and he rolled us about a 

 good deal, I can tell you ;• but he was not rough 

 enough to hurt us, and we really were too much aston- 

 ished to be angry. This went on for some time, 

 when all of a sudden I missed the queen. I ran 

 about, asking every one, ' Have you seen the queen ? 

 Have you seen the queen?' And presently I came 

 across others asking the same question. We didn't 

 know what to do, or what to think, and there we 

 were, hunting round and round. At last, a bee who 

 had been near the queen at the moment, told us 



* The gardener had spread a sheet on the ground, on which to shake 

 out the bees, in order the more easily to find the queen. 



