Cradle-Ceils. 141 
wanted, he found his house converted into 
his sepulchre. 
Another story is of a mouse that went 
into a bee-hive. The bees stung him to 
death, but he was so large they could 
not remove him, so what did they do but 
cover him all over with propolis. Safe 
under the resinous bee-glue, his body could 
do no harm. 
Bees breathe as well as other creatures; 
they take in pure air and give out im- 
pure. They do not do this by means of 
lungs, as we do, but through little holes 
in their sides. They cannot live without 
fresh air, and you can well imagine that a 
house as crowded as theirs needs careful 
ventilation. 
They cannot lower the windows, because 
they have none, and they would not dare 
open any if they had them, for all sorts 
of creatures would come flying, and creep- 
ing, and running, and stealing in to get 
their precious honey. 
