Library:The Bear and the Bees

The Bear and the Bees
A tame bear, as he was once walking in his master's farm-yard, happened to be stung by a bee. The bear has done some hurt to the bee, though he was not aware of it; but the bee thought it was on purpose, and treated the offender accordingly.

The sting of a bee is extremely painful for an hour or two. It inflames the flesh very much, but the next day you are as well as if nothing had happened. The bear felt the smart, and was very angry that so little a creature as a bee had dared to treat an animal of his importance so unceremoniously.

He resolved on revenge, and determined to punish the whole community of bees, for the injury which had been done him by one of their species. he went accordingly to the hive the bee had flown out from, and with his snout pushed it from the shelf upon which it stood, and overturned it upon the ground.

"There," said he, "take that, and beware another time how you behave impertinently to a bear!"

The bees were exceedingly enraged. Their combs are formed in the nicest order, of wax; every one of the cells has exactly six sides; and the whole together is like a great city. Here was the whole city of these poor bees overturned in a moment by the unreasonable vengeance of this stupid bear. More than a hundred bees flew out at once; they all fixed upon the bear, and stung him in every part of his body and head.

If you had been served so, though the sting of one bee does no lasting harm, many stings altogether might have killed you. The bear was several days in exquisite pain, and as hot as fire, and had time enough to reflect how foolish, as well as wicked, it is, in return for one trifling injury, to put ourselves in great passion and do all the harm we can.

The farmer's son came, and put the hive upon the shelf again, which the bees could never have done themselves. They were, however, a long while before they had repaired all the disorder the bear had committed, and some of their young ones were crushed to death.