THE BEE'S BUSY LIFE. 13 



it would make nearly one hundred journeys in the 

 day. Is not this a wonderful story of hard and 

 persevering work ? And when, at night-time, or on 

 bad, rainy days, the bee was at home, we must not 

 think it was idle. You will hear at a future time of 

 what the bee does at home and at night ; but now I 

 only want you to think of the busy bee as you see it 

 flying backwards and forwards, that so you may 

 know something of what it does, and how hard 

 it works, and the reason why, as I told you, the 

 bee's life is not a very long one. 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE bee's busy LIFE— CONTINUED. 



There is an old saying that ' it is better to wear out 

 than to rust out,' which means that anything is better 

 than an idle life. A thing that wears out, wears out 

 by work, by being used, by fulfilling the purpose for 

 which it was made, as, for instance, a spade, or a 

 plough, or a knife. These wear out after a time by 

 being constantly used, and it is far better that they 

 should thus wear out, than be laid by, and so at last 

 get rusty and useless. They have done their work 

 when worn out, they have been of no use at all if they 

 have only rusted out. 



I think the bees must know something of this old 

 saying. Most truly tjiey do not ' rust out,' but ' wear 

 out ;' and if we are at all like the bees our lives will 



