A CHRISTMAS PARTY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 305, 26 December 1929, Page 10

A CHRISTMAS PARTY.

GATHERING THE BEES

(By UAEIE LOUISE.)

"Yes, green, uncooked vegetables, wholemeal bread and natural sugar are what we should eat," murmured mother to herself, as she took her .morning constitutional in the orchard. Mother had been reading and inwardly digesting all the information the local papers had to ffive her on the subject of vitamins and balanced diet, and was well on the way to become a "Back to Nature" enthusiast on the subject. Then she suddenly espied father gazing spccuhitively at a large brownish object pendant from one of the upper branches of the old pear tree. "Good gracious!" she cried, "it's a swarm of bees; let's take them and we'll always have plenty of honey." What a gift from the gods, for is not honey natural sugar in its best and purest form? father agreed somewhat doubtfully and retired to the toolshed, where he spent two busy hours inventing and constructing among some old petrol cases. Then he betook himself to the pear tree with his ladder, his hammered thumb and the beehive. I know it was a beehive, father told me. Mother, who had been rearranging her pantry shelves to make room for at least a dozen jars of luscious honey, eagerly followed him. "How do we get them into the hive?" asked dad helplessly. For once mother was at a loss.

A little explanation is needed here; do not think that either of my parents are ill-read or in any way impractical. Far from it, they had simply not met Maeterlinck and bees had never swarmed in our orchard before. For instance, father knew that it was absolutely and utterly useless to open the door of a new and strange (very strange) hive and attempt to call the bees into it like chickens. He knew that it is necessary to tame them first, of course. At last he decided that to climb the ladder, inveigle the bees into a sugar bag, bring them down "and carefully release them just inside the hive door, was the correct procedure. This theory ha propounded to mother, who was naturally stricken speechless with admiration at so bold a plan. After some manoeuvring he hopefully mounted the ladder, only to find, when he reached the top, that he was still quite a distance from the droning globe, which grew ever larger as the moments passed. However, he found that, by leaning far out and putting part of his weight on to an adjoining bough he could just reach it. Then he managed to get the bag directly under the bees, and with the other hand commenced cautiously to ■ shake the branch which supported the swarm. A few loudly protesting insects dropped into,the bag, and immediately flew out again, • while-the great majority clung tighter than ever. The strain rapidly became too much for father's braces; they, like him, were stretched to their utmost. Pop! pop! off flew the two back buttons and the released elastic suddenly hit the back of his neck, causing him to sway alarmingly \ oh. his. precarious perch. Then, I grieve -to relate* father lost his temper; he became reckless and attempted to hurry matters by scraping off a handful of bees and cramming them into the bag. His education on the habits of bees when disturbed was swift and to the point.

Hundreds of righteously indignant insects attacked him savagely, stinging every exposed portion of his anatomy; a goodly portion of which was in imminent danger owing to the downfall of his braces. Mother screamed as the ladder came hurtling through the air, followed, immediately by father, clasping lovingly to his bosom the infuriated remainder of the,swarm. Bees to the right of him, bees to the left of him volleyed and thundered, and fought one another viciously for a foothold on father. Mother, great-hearted heroine, rushed to the rescue, brandishing a broom. A terror-stricken maid •an bawling bluebagwards. Mother succeeded in diverting the first hundred thousand, who immediately transferred their attentions to her. What a scene of slaughter! What a bedlam of vindictive buzzing, interspersed with shrieks and groans of mortal anguish, made hideous the balmy air, and attracted the attention of some passing neighbours, who, like the gladiators of old, plunged boldly into the arena and succeeded, after a gory struggle, in routing the enemy and rescuing the groaning victims.