Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-03-16
BE WISE.

THE STORY OF THE DISCONTINUED BEE.
THERE was terrible commOtlOn in the
beehive. The sentinels at the doorway
ceased to fan with their wings, that they
might listen; the drones murmured with
hoarse voice; the bees ran in and out in
great confusion; the work all stopped in
the honey kingdom. What was the mat
terg After great deal of noise and clamor
1t was discovered that the bees had
brought criminal before the queen, to
know what they should do with her The
queen turned around slowly and majestic
ally, as queens should do, and then in
quired:
"What is the matters Why have you
brought this young bee before meg"
Please, your majesty, she won't
work"
Won't work? A bee won't worky'
No, your majesty; and she is not only
idle, but is all the time complaining and
finding fault with everybody and every
thing, and thus she makes the whole hive
unhappy"
"Hebc, is this SOP What have you to
say" :
Please your majesty, whined poor
Hebe, I'm the most unfortunate Of all
your subjects. The fact is, I'm not hand
some! My face is small, and one Of my
eyes seems to squint, and though I'm an
Italian bee yet my dress is not rich gold,
but has dim leaden look, and my feet are
large, my arms are hairy, and my ears are
too big. In short, I'm so plain that no.
body ever notices me, and have no ad-
mirers, and actually heard gentleman
say, How homely Hebe grows! Those
who are pretty, and have admirers, can az
Cord 10, n-1y g. a.. &.
but chagrin and grief"
Foolish one! cried the queen. "NOw,
hear your sentence! You will, l hope,
have long life, even nine moons longl
You have already wasted four bright days.
condemn you to rise ut early dawn, TO go
out and wash your face and hands in the
dew that gathers in the clematis. Then
you are to go from flower to flower, and
bring in honey sufficient to feed ten young
bees. 1t will take you but twenty-five
journeys every day, and require the honey
of one hundred flowers each Journey"
90, dear!" cried Hebe, "tO think Of
sucking twenty-five hundred flowers each
day.
Yes, and you must nurse ten young
bees all the time, and kthus mature ono
every day on an average, and you must do
this during three moons. This is my sen
tence, and you are not to appear before me
till at the end of that period"
The queen turned away, and the sister
bees led poor Hebe to the door of the hive,
and pushed her out. AT first she was be-
wildered and cast down. But the sum
shone bright, and the birds sang, and tho
air was filled with her sisters coming and
going, flying and singing
30 she spread her wings, and away she
went, over fences and trees, till she found
a patch Of white clover. Then she came
down, and to her amazement found 1t easy
to work. In a short time she had drawn
from the hundred clover heads, and then
went straight to her hive. In she came
singing, and began to feed her young
charge. And then off again-morning,
noon and night, she was coming and 60
ing.
Her young bees loved her, and sang
with her, and went on in company as fast
rs grown. Sometimes she bathed in the
dews Of the eglantine or sweet jesamine;
sometimes she swung on the raspberry
blossom, sometimes white flowers, and
sometimes on the crest Of the mountain upon
the linden, or the locust or Of lofty
tulip tree, or rushed into the woods fra
grant with the honeysuckle.
But every day she grew happier Her
songs were now cheerful and loud. She
laughed at her former dread Of work, and
what was curious, just in proportion as she
worked, she grew handsomerY The bands
that encircled her body grew wide and
bright, like leaves Of silver. Her eye
grew bright, and lost its squirt, if it ever
had any. Her feet, kept clean by tho
morning dew, were in beautiful proper
lion. In short, there was not happier or
more beautiful bee in in the whole hive.
Then the lazy drones bowed and hummed
admiration as she passed. At the end of her
sentence she stood once more before the
queen, Hebe the beautiful" as she Wa
hen called.
"Ah!" said the queen, II see how It II.
II is law of God that she who Is willing
10 do good to others shall be happy and
yrow beautiful by the process. Beauty
,asts her mantle on the industrious and