Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-10-27

moaned in the tree-tops. But it began 10
rain after awhile. and those bees that hvea
close by fed to their home. The older al
the two truants as soon as it began TO ram
started out in a way that did not lead 70
the stone-heap where little Bumblebee ha'I
his home.
Are you going that wayT said the,
little fellow. i
Yes" the other answered, this is
the nearest way to my home, buzz-z-z''
and he was cut of sight.
90 dear, | wish [ was at home cried
little Bumblebee. I'm sorry l came,
anyway. I'm afraid I shall fall into the
river, and a trout will get me. But III
fly Just as fast as [ can, and maybe L Will
get home before it rains hard"
So off he started as fast as ever ne could
But before he got very far over the
meadow, the rain wet his wings ana the
fur on his back, so that he got very tired,
and his wings ached badly. He saw a tall
MULLEN, and on this he lighted, to rest a
little. He shook the rain off his wings,
and got some nice honey from one of the
yellow blossoms near the top of the stalk,
and then thought he would hurry home.
But he had not gone far when he gave out,
and fell to the ground.
1t was where the grass wes thick and
high, and the clover stalks grew very large.
He found a large clover leaf under which
he ~crawled, and it kept the rain of pretty
well.
Like all truant boys when they come to
grief, this little bee was very sorry he had
run away from home. He knew his pa
and ma would worry about him, and he
began to be cold and shiver. He de-
termined if he ever got home, he would
never 90 out again when they thopsht it
not best and as night came on, and the
wind blew, poor little Bumblebee got
frightened, and called loudly to his ma,
saying if she would come and get him he
would never run away again. But Mr..
and Mrs. Bumblebee could not hear him,
though they kept expecting till dark that
he would come, and then gave him up, and
shed many sorrowful tears.
Down under a large stone that lay close
By where little Bumblebee was, were some
black crickets. These heard the laments
of the poor boy bee, and would have gone
out and invited him in under the stone
with them, had they not feared he would
sting them.
All alone there in the dark and rain
poor little Bumblebee sat, so sorry for his
bad conduct, and for being so wicked to
his pa and ma. No doubt if he had ever
gotten home he would nave been a very
kind little bee ever afterwards, but he
never got home.
In the night it stopped raining, and this
little bee was so glad that he was almost
ready to sing a song for he said he would
fly home in the morning, and tell his pa
and ma what a bad boy he had been. The
wind had blown down a fence between the
meadow and a pasture, and a horse came
in there, as it was better feed than where
he was before. As he was walking along.
little Bumblebee got a glimpse Of him
coming that way. and was almost frightened
out Of his wits. The horse came, MUNICH
ing the clover heads, and the truant felt
him bite off the top of the one to which he
was ~clinging-and then the horse took an
other step forward-set his big foot with
its iron shoe right down on our poor little
truant Bumblebee, and crushed his life
out, The crickets under the stone heard
him give one shrek, and all was over.
In the morning they wen out and
found his body. all crushed and mangled
Mr.. and Mrs. Bumblebee also started out
early, hunted all day, but did not find their
boy. \ few day after they discovered his
grave, where the kind crickets had buried
him and had set up a piece of an oat
siSk for,a tombstone >.-wkf~h +hc-k@d
engraved
Here lies a truant bee: