A Hive of Busy Bees | Page 5

the pond, she followed, in
spite of the bee. But they had gone only a little way when the ice began
to crack, and then to give way under them.
"Anna turned and hurried back to the bank; but Willie had gone too far.
She saw him go down in the icy water; and she ran to the road,
screaming at the top of her voice.
"A man was passing by at that moment. He picked up a board and ran
to the pond as fast as he could. And he reached it just in time to save
little Willie.
"Dragging the lad up on to the bank, he called loudly for someone to
come and help him. Two or three men came running; and they worked
over Willie, until at last he opened his blue eyes and asked faintly,
'Where am I?' Then they took him home to his mother.
"She thanked God for saving the life of her disobedient boy, but the
danger was not yet past. For many weeks, Willie was a very sick little
boy. When at last they carried him downstairs, he lay on the sofa day
after day, pale and quiet--sadly changed from the merry, romping
Willie of other days. The springtime came; but it was a long time
before he could go into the woods with Anna to hunt for wild flowers
or sail his toy boats on the pond.
"There was no more school for Willie that year. As Anna trudged off
alone day after day, she seemed to hear again and again the buzzing of
the bee about her ears--'Bz-z-z-z! You promised Mother!'
"'I heard it so plainly,' she would say to herself. 'It must have been my
conscience. But I wouldn't listen--and I almost lost my brother.'"
The old farmhouse kitchen was very quiet for a moment, after Grandma
had finished her story. Nothing was heard but the ticking of the
old-fashioned clock.
"I'm so glad it didn't happen--quite!" said Joyce at last. "What was the
bee's name, Grandma?"

"Bee Obedient," answered Grandma. "It has sometimes stung boys and
girls so deeply that the hurt has never been healed.
"But," said Grandma cheerily, "this bee will never bother you, if you
listen to its first little buzz."
"We will, Grandma, we will!" cried the children as they drifted off to
the Land of Dreams.

Bee Honest
[Illustration]
It seemed to Don that he had just fallen asleep when he heard
Grandma's cheery voice calling, "Breakfast!" He dressed as quickly as
he could; but when he got downstairs, all the others were waiting for
him.
After breakfast Joyce dried the dishes for Grandma; and then she
helped with the sweeping and dusting. Don helped Grandpa to grease
the wagon and oil some harness; and he handed staples to Grandpa,
while he mended some broken places in the fence.
The children were kept busy until dinner time; but in the afternoon they
were free to do anything they liked. Today, they decided to play house
in the orchard; so they got out some of the things that Mother had
packed in the little trunk, to fix up their house.
But Don soon grew tired of that sort of play. "Let's play
hide-and-seek," he said.
"All right," answered Joyce. "I'll run and hide, while you count to one
hundred."
Away she ran, and Don began to count. Just as he said, "Ninety-five,"
she ran to the chicken-house door. It was standing open, so she stepped
inside.

Now there was something in the chicken-house that Joyce did not
expect to find. One of Grandpa's pigs was there, rooting around in the
loose straw.
The pig was not looking for company; and he was so frightened that he
ran toward the door pell-mell. Joyce, standing just inside, was in his
way; and as he ran against her, she was lifted off her feet and thrown on
to his back. Mr. Piggy dashed wildly out of the chicken-house.
Just outside the door was a large, shallow pan full of water, which
Grandma kept there for the chickens. Joyce fell off the pig's back into
the pan of water; and then she rolled over in the dirt.
Don stopped counting when he heard her screams, and Grandma came
hurrying out. Poor Joyce! What a sight she was! And she was so
frightened that it took Grandma quite a while to quiet her sobs. But a
bath and a change of clothes made the little girl feel quite like herself
again.
That evening when Grandma came up from the milking, she found the
children on the porch waiting for another story.
"Very well," said Grandma, "I shall tell you a story tonight about Bee
Honest.
"Many years ago there lived three little boys--Joe, Henry, and Charles.
They all started