The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1917-03-16
HE CUT A
BEE TREE
70 AZ nITAn
By NJ. QUAD
NopyriSl.t, isi nv the Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate.


said TO me:
'/eb. this is my day fur readin' the
hihie. hut | have lost my spectacles
somewhat an can't find EN- list now
Wouldn't you like to read a chapter
fur me"
/ don't feel like readin' nuthin',' l
replied. I've got a mean streak on
me an hain't fttin to read TO any,
body. TN wishin' this mawnir that
vas sumbody's dawg.
Mebbe you'll feel better with the
hihle in your hand. she coaxed. But
IL was no use. felt meaner and
meaner an | waved her back to the
eahiil AFTER few minits mo il
struck me that | would go up on the
side ot the mountings an cut down
bee tree that | knowed of. had
bm to 1t three or TO times. an as Ii
was "A big heller tree was shore that
It held heap q honey. could sell
tiat honey fur cash in town.
i sharpcned up the AK an was
about 10 move off when the ole woman
cum out in an said 'Zcb. you are
eeih Ia wander in the woods ON the
Lawds day, an list what you're goin'
to do with that AK | don't know. Bur
lis AL wicheducSs. Zeb Everybody
orter reslrot the sabbath day an keep
il holy
Mf meannesS was So mean that
shouIdercl the AK an whistlcd to my
dawg an walked away widout another
word
1t was in the month Of September,
an thar had hin frost the night befo.
The chill II the mawnin' kept the bees
at home an not one could see when
| got 10 the tree kuowed they were
thar however. an pulled off my coat
| an Went t. work | was goin' To have il
fall across big log ana split itself wide
open. Ii thar was a heap q honey thar
| would 20 back TO the cabin an cit
washtub to hold it Mcbbe wouldn't
| feel SO mean then an | would AK the
wife to cum back wild me an help
carry the tub
IF it had bin n hot mawnin the bees
/ would have cum buZzin' wild the fust
! stroke of the aX. but as it was | didn't
see marry an inSeck till arter the tree
/ fell. She split open iiSt as hoped fur,
/ an then about a million of those bees
! cum out nj once. Mcbbc they didn't
see me at fuSt an that was the reason
! they sailed round an round in a great
/ cloud | reckoncd il was five minits
/ hefo' the fust bee lighted on me. He
wasn't mad. an he didn't sting, Then
/ another an another came, an befo' !
! oud count a hundred quart of the
/ pesl,v varmints had settled on me.
"Mebbc You know nun about bees,
/ stranger to know that when they set
/ tie on you YOU mustn't 90 to ightin
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
Of EN-. settled down on me out of be-
wilderment
stranger. | may live to he a hun.
lrcd vars old but I'll never be In any
i wuss situation The weight of those
+ insecks must have bin twenty pounds
/ or over, an some of them crawled
/ down the back Of my neck. an some
I crawed up the legs of my trousers
| had to call M all my grit to keep
from yellin When | looked ahead
an thought they might he wild me fur
hours an honrs wanted to cry like a
boy.
You see sub. | couldn't expect any
man to he wandcrin' through the
woods. an, as fur my wife, she was a
search fur me she would not know
whar to look. iggercd it out an
reckoned was in fur the whole day.
y fun hour had gone by an the
bees bad settled down ON me as if fur
a long rest when heard sumthin
moyin through the brcsh 1t might
be a bar who had smelled the honey
an was comm fur his share of II. or
il might be a coon or woodcock. |
dared not turn my head TO see if could
make ont what caused the noise but
bv an hy. whatever animal it was. it
got skcerrd an moved away. | reck-
oued it was half an hour arter this
when ! heard soft footsteps an was
never 50 happy in my life when heard
the voice of the ole woman sayin to
me.
'Zeb. / was loo.in fur you, an
found you some time ago lou seem
% be- ia bad fix.
Il am replied an what am |
gwiue to do about it,
Zeb. have you got over your mean
ness: Is it an gomez
Every burned bit of it
Wei. was here befo' an seen
list how you was fixed brung up
wild me this time big torch. an as
soon as kin strike match will
light il / have sprinkled 1t over
with kerosene an am gwine to cum
clus to you an hold it out so that the