344 "^^^ Honey-Makers 



It is also unlucky to dream of bees, as he who does so 

 will have a quarrel. 



Sometimes to dream of bees, however, signifies a fire, 

 and if bees settle on a house it is a sign that it will soon 

 burn down. 



There is, as we remember, a similar Greek superstition, 

 and among the ancient Hindus it was considered a matter 

 for long-continued sacrifice if a swarm of bees settled on 

 a house. 



Numerous appeals or prayers, as in the middle ages, are 

 still in use imploring the swarming bees not to fly away, 

 or if they have flown to come back again and supply the 

 usual stores of honey and wax. 



In Cornwall the people call " Browny, Browny," when 

 their bees swarm, believing the goblin Browny will prevent 

 the bees from leaving. 



In Monmouthshire, England, the peasantry are said to 

 entertain so great a veneration for their bees that they go 

 to the hives on Christmas eve at twelve o'clock in order 

 to listen to their humming. The bees are believed to make 

 a much more agreeable music then than at any other time, 

 since they celebrate in the best way they can the morning 

 of Christ's nativity. 



Sheep and bees were considered sure sources of wealth, 

 hence, — 



" Who shall keep well sheep and been, 

 Sleep or wake, their thrift comes in." 



Embalming the dead in honey seems still to be prac- 

 tised, for the Burmese preserve bodies temporarily in honey 

 during the rainy season when it is difficult to get the fire 

 necessary for cremation. 



The relation between bees and love in the modern world 

 is, like the bees in the Hindu myths, connected with the 



