The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1904-12-03


again moment later but maddest
of all was the old queen mother.
Directly she heard the piping note
of the young princess she threw her
self into violent temper, and doubt
less she would have fallen upon her
poor daughter and stung her to death
had not SO many of the other bees
blocked her way. Old queen bees
are always furious when princesses
step out of their cells, for they hate
to think of any one else ruling in
their places.
The excitement of all the bees was
so great that soon the hive became
very hot, and at last the old queen
bee, feeling uncomfortable, and find
ing herself unable to kill the princess,
determined to fly away and find a
new home ..
And so she made her way to the
door of the hive, and then sprang
into the air, and at once great cloud
of bees streamed after her, and the
cloud hoated away-away from the
dear old home that they had filled
to overhowing with treasure, to come
to rest beside their queen, who ahght-
ed on the bough of a tree near by.
Wave after wave of bees alighted
beside her, until great cluster hung
from the bough, golden, simmer
ing mass.
Now, the bee keeper had watched
the bees swarming, and had made
ready for them new, clean hive.
Directly he saw that the swarm had
settled, he took an empty box and
placed. it on the ground just below
the cluster.
And then, knowing well that all
the bees were far too happy to think
of singing any one, he gently shook
the bough from which the cluster
hung, and the great ball of bees
dropped down into the empty box;
and though some of them settled on
his hands, his arms and his face, not
one thought of singing him, but
from all the bees came a buzzing
song of happiness. The day of their
swarming is the happiest day in the
life of the bees, the one day when
they make holiday.
The old hive must have seemed
very deserted to the few bees who
remained with the new princess, after
the old queen and her swarm had
departed, for only few thousand
bees had stayed behind with her, to
care for all the baby bees in the
nursery cells.
OFF ON THEIR HONEYMOON
They set to work at once to tidy
up the hive and to put things straight,
and the princess, who was to become
their queen, married handsome
drone gentleman, and on beautiful
summer morning went away for a
honeymoon flight in the blue sky.
Then her husband had died, and she
had returned at once to the darkness
of the hive to settle down to her
work as queen, and to pass the rest
of her days laying eggs.
Soon work went on as merrlly as
before, some of the bees cleaning
the hive, some of them flying out
to the flowers, others busying them
selves in the great nursery, where
thousands and thousands of baby
bees were almost ready to leave their
little cells. And the bees knew that
in a few days the hive would be
filled again with new stock of little
bees.
For quite 10000 little bees would
come out from the cells of the nurs-
cry. But the new queen knew that
among these 10000 babies would be
four princesses, and killed in turn
each of the princesses, for it is law
of the little bee people that only one
member of the royal family may live
in the hive.
But all the other baby bees who
were born were brought up with the
most loving care by their nurses, and
when two weeks old each OF the
new bees had grown wise enough to
be able to fly out to visit the flowers,
and forage for honey. And so it
was not long before the old hive was
filled with new race of little people,
who were just as clever in working
for their queen as those thousands
of older bees who had flown away.
1t was just before autumn began,
in the month of September, that the
long suffering bees had their revenge
on the great, stupid, lazy drones, who
had lived such luxurious lives while
they had toiled so hard.
Early one morning, while the
drones were still sleeping, the work
ing bees, who had quite lost their
patience with the drones, and were
now very angry with them, set upon
them and dragged them to the floor
of the hive, and began to tear OH
their wings. Three or four of the
little angry working bees set upon
each great stupid drone, and the
drones were too helpless, having no
stings, to offer any resistance.
One by one they were carried,
wingless, to the door of the hive and
thrown down to the ground, where
death soon came to them. And SO
the bees massacred all the idle drones,
and the ground was strewn with the
corpses of the giants.
Then work went forward again.
and the honey of the autumn flowers
was gathered.-RoyaI Mdgdsine.
TEss-"You're still engaged to
Jack, 1 suppose"
Jess-"Of course. He's just a
dear"
Tess-"And does he love you as
much as ever?" :,
Tess-"Gracious No. How could
he? You know he broke his right