<em>"Is it true that a bee can only sting once?" I asked him, as he bent again over the crocus beds.<br /><br />He laughed.<br /><br />"What would be the good of a sword to a soldier," he said, "if only one blow could be struck with it? It is certainly true that the bee does not usually sting a second time, but that is only because you are too hasty with her. ...But now watch how the thing works naturally."<br /><br />A bee had settled on his hand as he was speaking. He closed his fingers gently over it, and forced it to sting.<br /><br />"Now," he continued, quite unconcernedly, "look what really happens..." </em>(from The Bee-Master of Warrilow)<br /><br />The Bee-Master of Warrilow, steeped from his earliest years in the lore of his bee-keeping forefathers, is a guardian of the English bee-garden life and of the fascinating creature that is the honey bee. (Summary by Steve C)
