XII. HOW THE BEES GOT THEIR STINGS


Little Luke was fond of watching the bees. He was not afraid of them,
for he knew that if he did not disturb or annoy them, they would not
sting him.

One morning the bees in one of Uncle Mark's hives seemed greatly
excited. They buzzed and buzzed about the hive, till there was a great
swarm of them in the air. All at once they started in a body and flew
down toward the orchard.

The little boy followed them. They settled in a great bunch on the
branch of an apple tree. The little boy ran back and told Uncle Mark
that the bees had swarmed. Then Uncle Mark and Sam the hired man took a
beehive, a ladder, and a saw and went down to the orchard. Sam climbed
the ladder, sawed off the limb, and lowered the bees to the ground.
Uncle Mark set the hive over the swarm and left it awhile. He knew that
the bees would settle down in the hive and soon feel at home and begin
to gather honey. And so they did. But Sam the hired man was stung
several times. One of his eyes swelled shut and one of his cheeks looked
as if he had the toothache.

"Why did your friends sting Sam?" asked little Luke the next day of his
friend Ah-mo the Honey Bee.

"Oh," answered Ah-mo, "he was too rough. The bee people have sharp