So much done successfully, and with very little trouble, Buzzing Ben
examined his captive for a moment, to make sure that all was right.
Then he took off his cap and placed it over tumbler, platter,
honeycomb, and bee. He now waited half a minute, when cautiously
raising the cap again, it was seen that the bee, the moment a
darkness like that of its hive came over it, had lighted on the
comb, and commenced filling itself with the honey. When Ben took
away the cap altogether, the head and half of the body of the bee
was in one of the cells, its whole attention being bestowed on this
unlooked-for hoard of treasure. As this was just what its captor
wished, he considered that part of his work accomplished. It now
became apparent why a glass was used to take the bee, instead of a
vessel of wood or of bark. Transparency was necessary in order to
watch the movements of the captive, as darkness was necessary in
order to induce it to cease its efforts to escape, and to settle on
the comb.
As the bee was now intently occupied in filling itself, Buzzing Ben,
or le Bourdon, did not hesitate about removing the glass. He even
ventured to look around him, and to make another captive, which he
placed over the comb, and managed as he had done with the first.
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