The Secret of the Bees

LET’S GO BEE TREE HUNTING! RIGHT NOW!
AND I WILL SHOW YOU HOW!
I’LL BE IN THE WOODS THIS SUMMER!
WHERE THE BEES ARE HUMMING! AND SO AM I!
SO COME GET YOURSELF SOME HONEY!
I’LL BE WAITING OUT HERE!
AND I HAVE SOME OF THAT SWEET STUFF!
JUST FOR YOU!

THERE WAS ALWAYS LOT’S OF HAPPY SMILING FACES IN MYTRIBE DURING THE SUMMERS IN TEXAS WHEN THE FLOWERS WERE BLOOMING… BY THE JILLION MILLIONS! AND THE PLEASANT SCENTS FROM THE FLOWERS WET THE AIR! ALONGSIDE THE DEEP WOODS WITH A PLEASANT AROMA! AND IN YOUR EARS…YOU HEAR THE HAPPY HUM OF HAPPY HONEY BEES BUZZING… EVERYWHERE AROUND YOU!

    I’M OUTHERE! MY NAME IS JOHNNY! I LIKE TO BEE TREE HUNT! THE BEES ARE MY FRIENDS! ON WARM DAYS I CAMPED IN THE HEART OF MY TEXAS BEE TERRITORY…, AND I WAITED UNTILL MID-MORNINGS TO GO FOR THE WOODS! I LOVED TO SCOUT FOR BEE TREES! I ONLY CARRIED WITH ME MY SUGAR WATER! MY HUNTING BOW! MY ARROWS! AND MY TRUSTY LONG BLADE! 

    AT FIRST, I WOULD FIND A GOOD SPOT  IN THE SUNLIGHT! IN BUSY BEE TERRITORY TO MAKE A BEE BAIT. THEN I WOULD CUT SIX STRAIGHT STICKS WITH ‘OLD TRUSTY’ MY LONG BLADE. AND I WOULD STICK THEM IN THE GROUND AND SHAPE THEM UP LIKE A LITTLE TEEPEE! THEN I WOULD START PICKING SOME OF THE BRIGHTEST FLOWERS I COULD FIND! AND PUT THEM ON TOP OF THE TEEPEE! IT LOOKED LIKE ONE BIG FLOWER! AND I  SPRINKELED MY SUGAR WATER ON THE FLOWERS!

     “LOOK OUT! HERE THEY COME!”

    ON THE FIRST DAY, I SET-UP THREE BEE BAITS… CLOSE TOGETHER IN A CIRCLE! IN A ROUND ABOUT WAY… IN THE SAME FIELD! ON THE SECOND DAY, I WOULD HEAD OUT OF CAMP AROUND NOON TO SPRINKLE A LITTLE BIT MORE SUGAR WATER ON MY BAITS. AND NATURALLY, I WOULD WATCH THE BEES BUZZ AROUND A BIT…THEY LOVED MY TEEPEE SHAPED BEE  BAITS! AND THEY KEPT COMING BACK FOR MORE! AND MORE OF THAT SWEET STUFF!

    NOW ON THE THIRD DAY, I WATCHED THE BEES A LOT!  LANDING, AND TAKING OFF A LOT…IN THE SUNLIGHT! MOST OF THE BEES WOULD CIRCLE AROUND ONE OR TWO TIMES ABOVE MY BEE BAIT AND THEN THEY WOULD BUZZ OUT! STRAIGHT FOR HOME! THE HIVE! WHERE THEY UNLOADED THE SWEET STUFF! AND BUZZED BACK FOR MORE, AND MORE…BEES GALORE!

     I SAW WHICH WAY THE BEES WERE HEADING,AND I WOULD MOVE RIGHT ALONG WITH THEM… KEEPING MY EYES ON THAT GOLDEN BEE TRAIL IN THE SKY! I LOOKED FOR THOSE SPOTS WHERE THEY TURNED! AND WHERE THEY NOSE DIVED! STRAIGHT FOR THE HIVE!

    SOMETIMES  WHEN I FOLLOWED THE BEES… THEY WENT  WAY BACK IN THE DEEPWOODS! AND I WOULD LOSE TRACK OF THEIR TRAIL FOR A WHILE! AND THEN I WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK TO MY NEAREST BEE BAIT, TO START ALL OVER AGAIN! YOU UNDERSTOOD YOU WERE SORTA CLOSE TO THE HIVE WHEN YOU SAW A LOT OF BEES ON YOUR BEE BAITS!

    NATURALLY, YOU ARE GOING TO GET TIRED OF WALKING AROUND  IN THE WOODS! LOOKING UP! AT THE SKY ALL DAY! FOLLOWING BEES TRAVELING AT HIGH SPEEDS…  IN THE BRIGHTEST SUNLIGHT! SO OCASSIONALLY… YOU HAVE TO STOP! AND REST YOUR EYES A BIT! TO TAKE A SHORT NAP! AND SEE BEES-BEES-BEES… EVERYWHERE IN YOUR SLEEP!

     SOMETIMES, IT TAKES DAYS AND WEEKS OF STUDY TO FIND A BEE TREE. IT CAN BECOME HARD WORK! AND IT IS NOT THAT EASY! AND MOSTLY, YOU FOUND THE HIVE IN A PLACE UNABLE TO REACH! SO NATURALLY, YOU HAD TO GIVE UP! AND GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

     EVERYBODY THAT LOVES BEES, FAVORS THE GOOD BEES! THE ONES THAT LIVE QUIETLY IN THE HOLLOWS OF THE OLD OAK TREES, CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE GROUND TO WHERE IT WAS EASY TO REACH IN AND PULL OUT A PIECE OF HONEYCOMB! REAL SLOWWwww  TO GET YOURSELF A TASTE! …SO GET YOURSELF READY TO PUT YOUR HONEYCOMB IN A BUCKET! OR IN A BIG JAR! AND TAKE ONLY A LITTLE BIT OF THE HONEY… THE FIRST TIME…THIS WILL KEEP THE BEE’S HAPPY! UNTILL YOU COME BACK FOR A LITTLE  MORE! THE BEES GOT TO KNOW ME REAL GOOD! AND THEY SHARED THEIR HONEY WITH ME! I FOUND A LOT OF HONEY IN THE BEE TREES IN TEXAS!! AND I MADE A LOT OF FRIENDS! IN SOME REALLY GOOD BEE TREES!

    BUT THIS CAN BE A WARNING! FOR ALL-YA’LL IN TEXAS! WHO DARE TO HUNT BEE TREES! THE BAD BEES ARE HERE…JUST WAITING FOR YOU! TO CHASE YOU! DOWN THE ROAD! TO STING YOU! ANDTO TANGLE UP! IN YOUR HAIR! SO RUN AS FAST! AS YOU CAN RUN! STRAIGHT FOR THE RIVER! OR HEAD FOR THE DUCK POND… AND HIDE UNDER WATER! OR BETTER YET…NEXT TIME, WEAR A HAT! AND IF YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY? REMEMBER YOUR TIME TO RUN IS COMING! AND IF THE BAD BEES STING YOU!  I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE!  NO! NOT EVEN ONCE! SO GO FIND YOURSELF A BIG BROTHER! BEFORE YOU TRY TO JAR THE HONEY BY YOURSELF!  AND WHENTHE BEES START TO BUZZ YOU! BUILD YOURSELF A SMALL FIRE! NEAR THE TREE IN A SAFE PLACE! AND PUT SOME GREEN LEAVES ON IT! THE BEES WILL GET LOST IN ALL THE SMOKE! AND YOU CAN MOVE IN SLOW! TO GO FOR THE HONEY!

      IF YOU SEE THE QUEEN BEE? SHE WILL BE THE BIGGEST BEE IN THE HIVE! PUT HER ON A SMALL LIMB NEARBY! THE WORKER BEES WILL FIND HER! AND SWARM AROUND HER! TO PROTECT HER! AND KEEP HER WARM! AND WHILE THEY ARE PROTECTING HER!…THE HONEY WILL BE YOURS!      MYSELF, I ALWAYS BUILD A NEW HOUSE! FOR THE QUEEN BEE! THIS WAY SHE WILL BE HAPPY! IN HER NEW HOUSE! THIS WAY THE WORKER BEE’S WILL MOVE IN FASTER! TO MAKE MORE HONEY! SO BE LOOKING FOR A GOOD BEE HOUSE! AND BESURE TO PUT A GOOD ROOF ON IT! FOR GOODNESS SAKES…AND THE HONEY WILL BE YOURS FOREVER! BUZZ! BUZZ BUZZzzz.