84 UNDER THE OPEN SKY 



coat that proclaims immediately its con- 

 nection with the peach. But be the blos- 

 som what it may, its best friend is the bee, 

 whether bumble or honey. 



BUMBLE GOES ROVING 



Blossoms and bees belong together. They 

 were made for each other. The blossoms 

 give the bees honey; the bees carry the 

 pollen from blossom to blossom and set 

 the seeds. By the time the fruit-trees bloom 

 honey-bees are roving abundantly, but bum- 

 blebees are few, and, what is more, they 

 are all blackheads now, and big ones at 

 that. Every one of them, too, is a queen 

 in her own right, but her kingdom is yet 

 to arise. She must choose it for her- 

 self. She must build her own castle, or, 

 at least, must adapt it to her own royal 

 purpose. 



BUMBLE DOES NOT KNOW HIS CHILDREN 



Strangest of all, she must people her 

 kingdom with her own subjects, all of whom 

 will be her own children. Her husband 



