The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-02-10
HE CUT A
BEE TREE
By M. QUAD
Copyright, 1916, by the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.

1T was Sunday mawnin'. My wife
said to me:
'Neb, this is my day fur readin' the
Bible, but | have lost my spectacles
somewhat an can't find EN- jist now.
Wouldn't you like to read a chapter
fur me?
81 don't feel like readin' nuthin',' |
replied. I've got mean streak on
me an hain't fittin' to read to any
body. I'm wlshin this mawnir' that
vas sumbody's dawg.'
Mebbe you'll feel better with the
Bible In your hand, she coaxed. But
1t was no use. felt meaner and
meaner, an l waved her back to the
cabin. After few minits mo- 1t
struck me that would go up on the
side of the mountings an cut down
bee tree that ! knowed of. / had
bin to it three or TO times, an as Ii
was a big holler tree | was shore that
it held heap o. honey. | could sell
that honey fur cash in town.
II sharpened up the ak an was
about to move off when the ole woman
cum out ag'in an said 'Zeb, you are
goin' TO wander in the woods on the
Lawd's day, an jist what you're goin'
to do with that ak / don't know. But
it's all wickedness, Zeb. Everybody
orter respect the Sabbath day an keep
it holy
MY meanness was so mean that /
shouldered the ak an whistled to my
dawg an walked away widout another
word.
1T was in the month of September,
an thar had bin frost the night befo'.
The chill Of the mawnin' kept the bees
at home, an not a one could see when
got to the tree. | knowed they were
thar. however, an pulled OFF my coat
an went to work. was goin' to have 1t
fall across big log and split itself wide
open If thar was heap o. honey thar
| would 20 back to the cabin an git a
washtub to hold 1t. Mebbe / wouldn't
feel so mean then an | would ak the
wife to cum back wild me an help
carry the tub.
IF 1t had bin hot mawnin' the bees
would have cum buzzin' wild the fust
stroke of the ak, but as 1t was didn't |
see marry an inseck till after the tree |
fell. She split open jlst as hoped fur, |
an then about million of those bees |
cum out at once. Mebbe they didn't I
see me at fust an that was the reason |
they sailed round an round in a great
cloud l reckoned it was five minits
befo' the fust bee lighted on me. He
wasn't mad. an he didn't sting. Then
another an another came, an befo' |
could count hundred a quart of the
pesky varmints had settled ON me.
s'Mebbe you know 'nuff about bees,
stranger, to know that when they set
tie on you you mustn't go to fightin'
back If you keep mighty quiet they
will all leave when they git ready an
no harm will be done TO you. These
bees. an thar seemed to be thousands
If 'em, settled down on me out of be-
Stranger. / may live to be hun
ired vars old, but Ill never be In any
yuss situation. The weight of those
nsecks must have bin twenty pounds
IT over, an some of them crawled
Town the back of my neck. an some
rawled up the legs of my trousers
had to call up all my grit to keep
rom yellin'. When | looked ahead
m thought they might be wild me fur
Iours an hours / wanted to cry like
10Y.
You see, sub, couldn't expect any
nan to be wanderin' through the
woods, an. as fur my wife. she was a
nile away, an had she wanted to
earch fur me she would not know
yhar to look. l fggered it out an
/ was in fur the whole day.
"A full hour had gone by an the
ees had settled down on me as If fur
long rest when heard sumthin'