queen bee; but the other bees take care of her, even if they must die
for her sake. There are different kinds of bees in the hive. Drone bees
cannot sting; and they will not work--they are lazy fellows. In the fall
they are all killed, so that during the long winter months they cannot
eat the honey which the workers have gathered.

"Bees are busy all the time. On sunny days, they gather honey; and on
cloudy days they make little wax cells in which to store the honey."

"That's why they say, 'busy as a bee,'" said Joyce. "It means 'busy all
the time.' I didn't know there was so much to learn about bees."

"I have been thinking about another kind of bee," said Grandma.

"Do they sting, like the bees in the orchard?" asked Joyce with a little
shiver.

"Their stings are much sharper," answered Grandma, "and the pain lasts
much longer. There is a hive full of these bees, and they are always
very busy. But it is bedtime now. Wait till tomorrow night, and perhaps
I shall tell you about one of them."

Ten minutes later Don fell asleep, wondering what the strange sort of
bee was like, and hoping it would never sting him as the cross bee had
stung Joyce.



Bee Obedient