The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1871-04-27
- -a-aHHs
BE W ISE
Story of the Discontented Bee

There was terrible commotioa in
the beehive. The scntinels at the
doorway ceased to fan with their wings,
that they might listen; the drones muir.
INJURED with a hoarse voice; the bees
ran in and out in great confusion
the work all stopped in the honey
kingdom. What vas the matter? AZ
ter a great deal OF noise and clamor
it was discovered that the bees had 4
criminal before the queen, to know
what they should do with her, The
queen turned around slowly and ma
jcsticaIly, as queens should do, and
then inquired:
"What is the matter? Why have
you brought this young bee before
me ?"
"Please your majesty, she won't
work p
"Won't work? A bee won't work p
"No, your majesty and she IS not
only idle, but all the time complaining
and finding fault with everybody and
everything, and thus she makes the
whole hive unhappy"
"Hebe, is this so? What have you
to say"
please your majesty" said poor
Hebe, "Tm the most unfortunate OF
all your subjects, The fact Is, I'm not
handsome My face is small, and
one of my eyes seems to squint, and
though I'm an italian bee, yet my dress
Is not 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 nobody ever
notices me, and l have no admirers,
and | actually heard gentleman say,
How homcly Hcbe grows' Those
who are pretty, and have admirers,
can afford to work; but to me there is
nothing but chagrin and grief"
"Foolish one!' cried the queen.
Now hear your sentence You will
l hope, have long life, even nine
moons long. You have already vast
ed four bright days l condemn you
to Iisc at early dawn, to 90 out ana
wasi. your face in the dew that gath
ers in the clcmatis. Then You are to
90 from flower to flower, and bring in
honey sufficient to feed ten young bees
1t will take you but twenty-five jour
pcys every day, and require the hon
ey Of one hundred flowers each jour
ney."
80, dear!" cried Uebc, "to think of
sucking twenty-five hundred flowers
each day!'
"Yes, and you must nurse ten young
bees, and thus mature one every day
on an average, and you must do this
during three moons. This is nay sen.
tence, and you are not to appear be
fore 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 bcwildered and cast
down. But the sun shone bright, and
the birds sang, and the air was filled
with her sisters coming and going, fly
ins and singing.
SO she spread her wings, and away
she went, ovci fences and trees, till
she found a patch of white clover.
Then she came down, and to her
amazcment found it easy to work. In
short time she had draSn 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 agan-morn-
ing and night, she was coming and go
ing.
Her young bees loved her, and sang
with her, and went out in company as
fast as grown. Sometimes she bath.
ed in the dews of The eglantino or
sweet jcsamine; 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 on lofty tulip cree
or rushed into the woods fragrant 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 handsomer! The bands that
encircled her body grew wide and
bright, like leaves of silver. Her eye
grew bright, and lost its squint, ifit
ever had any. Her feet, kept clean by
the morning dew, were in beautiful
proportion, III short, there was not o
happier or moro beautiful bee 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 was then