CHAPTER VI
_Nuova and Hero, and the Birth of the Princess_
All through their song Nuova had given the drones her absorbedattention. She admired them greatly for their fine appearance, and whenshe learned from their song that they did no work, but had all day onlyto follow their own sweet will, she became especially interested inthem. She was a little puzzled, too, for, from what she had heard fromSaggia and the others, and from all she had seen, she had come tobelieve that all bees worked all the time. And here were all thesestout-bodied, vigorous bees proudly singing that they loafed all thedays through. She was so much interested in this that she approached oneend of the line of drones and spoke to the one nearest her.
"What a fine time you drones must have," she said. "Don't you ever haveto do any work?"
The drone did not hear her at first and paid no attention to her, but asshe repeated her question louder and more insistently, he turned andstared at her amazed.
"Well, well, bless my eyes!" he said, stammering in his amazement atbeing addressed by a common worker bee. "Bless my eyes! I say, work?Work? Me work? Who ever heard such a question? What sort of a bee areyou? Who are you, anyway?" He touched the drone next to him to call hisattention. "Look here, who is this bee?"
Nuova was nettled by his manner and by what he said. She answered,rather sharply, "Well, I'll tell you who I am. I am a bee that works;anyway, I am the kind of a bee that works, like all the others exceptyou, and you" (looking defiantly at the second drone, who was staringinsolently at her) "and I want to know why you do not work--you and youothers that loaf around all the time and eat what we bring in, and donothing but sing and dance in the hive, or fly around doing nothing inthe garden, and keep all dressed up and just look handsome."
The drone was more and more astonished, but he was also a littleflattered by her reference to his clothes and appearance.
"Well, you are a silly little bee," he said; "that's what we are herefor. Drones work? It isn't done, you know. Our business is to love. Andsinging and dancing and looking handsome, and not getting all dusty withpollen and sticky with wax and dirty with cleaning, is part of it.That's our work; not working, but loving."
"Drones work? It isn't done, you know."]
Nuova was so astonished by hearing this, and so excited to learn thatsome bees did not have to work, and also so angry to think that thesebees were allowed to live without working, while she was always beingtold to work, and scolded for resting for even the shortest time, thatwhen she answered him she spoke so loudly as to attract the attention ofother bees near her, including Saggia, who was moving around near by,cleaning the floor.
"So that is what you call your work, is it?" she burst out. "Well, I amglad to know there is some kind of bee work besides feeding babies andsweating out wax and filling up cracks and scrubbing up floors. Loving,you call it; well, I want to do some of that; show me how."
The two drones were stupefied with astonishment by Nuova's words, butthe one nearest her, to whom she was speaking directly, was rather takenby the audacity of the pretty little bee's demand, and he involuntarilystrutted and swaggered a little and eyed her with special attention. Heeven smiled down at her rather pleasantly, and seemed to be about tospeak to her again when Saggia and three or four other bees, who hadheard her last words and were scandalized to see and hear her talkingwith the drone, especially in such a manner, bustled up to her.
This last unheard-of behavior of Nuova was too much for Saggia. Herpatience and sympathy with her were exhausted, and she broke out in atirade of scolding.
"Well, I never in my life!" she exclaimed, grasping Nuova and jerkingher around; "what in the world are you doing and saying? Talking to adrone about love! You don't know anything about love. You can't knowanything about it. Only drones and princesses know what love is, or canknow. You are worse than a silly bee; you are a bad bee!" She jerked heragain and again; at the same time she went on with her scolding. "Well,I wash my hands of you! If you can't be a sensible bee we don't wantyou! Our thinking has all been done for us long, long ago. All we haveto do is what custom tells us to. And if you can't behave as the rest ofus do, you are useless. Here, take her, throw her out of the hive!"
Again Saggia jerked her vigorously, and other bees, especially Uno, Due,and Tre, hustled her and struck at her. A couple of soldiers even cameup and began jabbing at her with their lances. Poor Nuova seemed aboutto be torn piecemeal, like the Bee Moth, and turned out of the hive,when one of the drones, who was in the line some little distance fromNuova and Saggia, was attracted by the uproar. He came over to the groupin a lordly and leisurely manner, shouldering his way through the crowdand carelessly driving off the jostling bees. They left Nuovareluctantly, casting dark looks and making malevolent gestures towardher as they turned their attention again to the excitement still ragingabout the cell of the Princess. Poor Nuova, half dead from herill-treatment, could hardly utter her thanks to her rescuer. In a weakvoice she attempted to say something, but finding it too much of aneffort she contented herself with looking up gratefully into the face ofthe newcomer. He looked down at her curiously.
"What is the matter with you?" he said, not unkindly. "Can you not do asother bees do? What are you--a nurse, a wax-maker, or what? Why don'tyou stick to your work? Why don't you do what you are expected to do?Are you one of those dreadful creatures they call 'new bees'?"
Nuova, although still weak and faint from her jostling and fright, wasmade angry again by these questions. "I do not know what I am," shesaid, "but I'd rather die than be just a puppet in this hive. Is all mylife cut out for me, and not according to what I want to do and can do,but just according to rules made by somebody I don't know anything aboutand who doesn't know anything about me?"
She tried to say more, but a faintness came over her, and she staggereda little and would have fallen if the drone had not unconsciously put awing behind her and supported her. She looked up at him, unable to thankhim in words, but expressing her gratitude in her eyes.
As she rested this way, leaning heavily against him, she closed hereyes, happy to be protected, and even feeling strange little thrillsrunning over her body that were mysteriously enjoyable. Without openingher eyes she murmured: "I am very grateful to you. You are very good."He said nothing, but looked with more and more interest at thesweet-faced little bee beside him.
Soon she opened her eyes again, and this time a pathetic little smileran over her face. Indeed, it grew to be a roguish smile as aninteresting idea formed more and more clearly in her brain.
"But you," she said--"aren't you rather breaking bee tradition byhelping me? If I am a useless bee, and only in the way, and a trouble tothe community, shouldn't you let them sting me and throw me out of thehive? Are you" (she smiled again)--"are you, a--new bee, too?"
The drone, whose name was Hero, and who was truly the handsomest andfinest drone in the hive, was first surprised and then a littleembarrassed by what Nuova was saying. He looked rather fearfully aroundto see if other bees were observing them and tried gently to take hiswing from behind Nuova, who, however, on realizing his intention, gavenew signs of weakness and leaned more heavily than ever on it. In fact,it must be confessed, she nestled as closely against him, enclosed byhis protecting wings, as she could.
"No, I am not a new bee," he said, rather stiffly. "I know my duty, andI try to do it." He looked again into his companion's pretty face, andthen spoke more gently.
"Still, I admit that some of our ways are old-fashioned, rather absurdin fact," he said, with a manner and voice growing more and moreconfidential. "I have often had a curious feeling as if I should like towork." He smiled down at her. "Terrible, isn't it? And sometimes it ispretty hard to work up a violent love for a Princess you never see untilyou are just about to dash after her in the Great Courting Chase. Still,that's something worth while. One such flight is excitement and exertionenough for a whole life."
"Have you ever done it?" asked Nuova, curiously and even a littleenviously. "And d
id you win?"
"Yes," said Hero, "I have been in one chase. But I was so young my wingswere hardly dry and, of course, I didn't win, or I shouldn't be herenow. Don't you know that the winner always dies in the winning?"
"Oh, how dreadful!" cried Nuova, shocked. "And how silly! To die just asyou become King. How is it worth it?"
"What!" said Hero, surprised, and in a reproving and even stern voice."Not worth while to win in the Great Courting Chase? To prove yourselfthe fastest and strongest and boldest of all the drones, and to be theconsort of the Queen, the father of all the Queen's children? Not worthwhile dying for? What do I live for but that?"
"Ah, yes," cried Nuova, carried away for the moment by his enthusiasm,"that _is_ something to live for!"
Suddenly, however, she realized that if Hero won in the Great Chase thatwas soon to occur--that is, would take place when the Princess, alreadytrying to get out of her cell, was really out and ready for her weddingflight--he would really have to die for a bee, so far unseen andunknown, and who had done nothing to deserve such a sacrifice, and whowould give her love as well to any other drone as to Hero, this handsomeand kind new friend.
This made her angry and bitter again, and very sad, too, for she wasbeginning to realize that she liked this beautiful, strong bee much morethan she liked Saggia or Beffa. He was different from all the other beesshe knew, and her liking for him was different. She wanted to be withhim all the time, and to have him talk to her or even just to look ather. This must be loving, she thought, or part of it, anyway. She beganto dislike this Princess that was soon to come out of her cell. Probablyshe would be very beautiful. When she thought of that she disliked hermore than ever. She could not bear to think of Hero's loving her or ofher loving Hero.
She looked keenly at Hero, and then spoke to him slowly and cautiously,growing suddenly wise because of her new feeling for him.
"But how do you know you will love the new Princess?" she said. "Is shecertain to be beautiful and sweet? And will she certainly love you?"
Hero looked at her curiously. It was strange how this pretty little beeattracted him. And it was strange that she seemed to have very clearlycertain thoughts that were already rather hazily in his own mind.
"Oh, well," he said musingly, "I shall not see much of her. It is not,in a sense, love for her, but the response to the call of the race, thefulfilling of my duty to our community, that will drive me to my besteffort to win her. But, of course, it is love for her, too; that is, sofar as there is love at all among bees. We can love only Princesses, youknow, we drones; that is honey-bee tradition."
Hero had seen no betrayal of Nuova's real feeling in her questions. Heonly saw in them the expression of her odd, independent way of lookingat things and thinking about them. Nuova realized this and so becamebolder by his blindness. And she was made bitter, too, by hearing thishero of hers repeat that always irritating phrase of "honey-beetradition."
"Oh, yes," she exclaimed, "you can only do what your grandfathers andyour great-grandfathers did! You must keep your eyes closed and yourheart cold and loll and loaf through all your life until they tell youto go and love--love a Princess--love her, sight unseen--love her sohard that if you win her you kill yourself! You are not _you_; you arenot a bee with a heart and brain and strong body of your own, to liveand strive and suffer and succeed after your own way and your owndesires, but you are a machine, an automaton, to do what custom hasfashioned you to do! You are not a bee; you are a clock-work; big andstrong and handsome--and hollow!"
Hero, amazed at her vehemence and her breaking of all bee tradition,looked at her more and more interestedly. He found a responsive feelingin himself, not only to the ideas expressed by her words, but to her ownattractiveness and boldness.
"Well," he said amazedly, but also sympathetically--"well, you _are_ asilly little bee!"
But now the excitement around the Princess's cell broke out afresh. Shewas evidently about to come forth. From inside her cell she piped moreloudly and more often than ever. Suddenly a loud, answering trumpetingwas heard, and Beffa came hopping and humming to announce the approachof the old Queen. It was the Queen who was making the answeringtrumpeting. She came majestically along toward the cell of the Princesswith a group of attendant bees about her. These attendants always keptcircling slowly, but animatedly, about her, facing toward her, andalthough constantly shifting and changing places, always maintaining acomplete circle around her. Every now and then she gave a loudtrumpeting, and each time she was answered by a shrill piping from thecell. Or perhaps it was the old Queen who was defiantly answering thechallenges of the Princess.
All the bees were enormously excited. They moved about constantly,buzzing and grouping in dense masses, now here, now there, but mostlyclose to the great cell. They were, however, plainly divided in theirfeeling, for some of the groups were intent on keeping near the Queen.
All the drones, however, clustered around the Princess's cell. OnlyHero, who still stood by the side of Nuova a little to one side, had notjoined the group of drones which was giving all its attention to theawaited appearance of the Princess. None of them paid the slightestattention to the Queen.
The excitement steadily increased. It was evident that the climax was athand. Suddenly a breathless silence succeeded the buzzing whir. All thebees stood still with eyes fastened on the royal cell, and there cameslowly forth from it, with beautiful but cold, set face and slowautomatic movement, the new Princess.
There came slowly forth--the new Princess]
As she stepped clear of her cell, with long, slender body erect, andshining delicate wings already nearly dry and straight, the whole massof the bees quivered with renewed excitement. She carried a long,shining silver lance which she held point upward and used to support herfirst rather uncertain steps.
The old Queen, staring defiantly at the shining Princess, seemed torealize that the end of her reign had come. But she lifted her own longlance threateningly in the air and gave out a challenging trumpet callthat sounded loud through all the hive.
The Princess, though obviously not yet in full control of her movementsbecause of her long confinement in the cell, nevertheless faced thethreatening old Queen with full defiance, and piped back a vigorousanswer.
The Queen seemed to lose all her self-control at this, and stooping alittle, and putting her lance in place so that it pointed directly atthe Princess, started to rush at her. But a mass of bees threwthemselves in front of her, blocking her way and pushing her lance up.
Thwarted in her intention of killing the Princess or putting her toflight, the old Queen hesitated a moment, and then with a loud cry of"Who loves me, follow me to make a new home," she rushed for the openingof the hive followed by a great swarm of worker bees.
Nuova turned anxiously to Hero to see if he were going to follow the oldQueen from the hive. Her own inclination was to go with her, for shedetested the haughty, cold-faced new Princess, both because of herappearance and insolent manner and because she felt that Hero wouldsurely win in the Great Courting Chase and hence become the RoyalConsort of the Princess and have to die for her sake. So she timidlytouched him with one of her antennae to attract his attention, which wasall being given to the stirring scene before them.
"Are you going to follow the old Queen?" she asked, "or stay with thePrincess?"
Hero started, as she spoke, as if awakened from a daze. He looked downat her curiously, as if only half recognizing her. Then he turned againto look intently at the Princess and the group of drones about her. Witha quick turn back to Nuova he answered her as if astonished by herquestion:
"I shall stay with the Princess of course." Then he straightened upproudly and added: "Indeed, I think she will be my Princess; my Queen."
He looked toward the Princess again, this time eagerly and bendingrather toward her as if impatient to go to her. And even as he lookedtoward her, her eyes, moving slowly and proudly over the whole group ofbees who had elected to remain in the hive with her, rested on him,
andstopped there. As she saw the handsome drone bending toward her with hiseager eyes fixed on her, a slow smile came over her face. It was thefirst appearance of anything but defiance or cold insolence to which shehad yet given expression. Both Hero and Nuova saw it. Poor Nuova! It wastoo much for her. She could hardly stand. Hero felt her trembling at hisside. He turned his face to look down at her, and was astonished andthen suddenly touched and even moved to see in her wet eyes the revealedlove of this pretty little worker bee for him.
He spoke to her half curiously, half tenderly. "And are you going withthe old Queen, or will you stay here with the Princess?" he asked.
"Stay, stay," whispered Nuova, almost sobbing. "I think--she willbe--my--Queen, also."
As she said this she turned away. Just then the old Queen and the swarmof bees about her rushed from the hive. All the bees remaining began tosing a loud song of gladness and welcome to the Princess who was to betheir new Queen. And they all joined in a mad dance of joy--exceptNuova, who hid her tear-stained face and limp body behind the nearestgreat honeycomb.