The Bees and the Beekeeper

Once upon a time there lived an old beekeeper. He took great care of many bees and beehives. He had made all of the beehives himself, and it hadn’t been easy to finish the perfect house for each of his bee families. In return, the bees would pollinate all the flowers and trees in his garden so that every plant would bear delicious fruits. They also flew to the surrounding woods and meadows, collecting pollen which they would work with so he was never short of good honey all year round. Of course, he shared the honey equally with the bees, just as every good beekeeper should.

So on they lived as friends, helping each other for many years. But one day a thief visited the garden. He had learnt that he needed to catch a moment when the hives were empty and the beeper wasn’t around either. Crouched in the bushes, he waited for the right time.

Even after the bees had left to collect pollen from flowers, the beekeeper continued tending to their hives and scything the grass around them. Finally, when the sun was at the highest point in the sky, he put down his tools and left for lunch. After waiting in the bushes for all that time, the thief couldn’t wait any longer. He rushed to the hives and, not knowing how to open them, destroyed every last hive and pulled out all the honeycombs.

When the beekeeper came back and saw the mess, he couldn’t believe his eyes. There were honeycombs lying everywhere, the hives were broken to pieces and the honey was gone. He ran around the broken hives, pulling his hair and looking for something he could still save. In the end he had no choice but to build…