The lazy bee
Horacio Quiroga was a once in a beehive a bee that would not work, ie, ran through the trees one by one to take the juice of the flowers, but instead of keep it to make honey, took it all.
was therefore a lazy bee. Every morning, just the sun warmed the air, the bee looked out the door of the hive, I saw that it was fine, combed his hair with his feet, as do flies, and then threw to fly, very happy with the nice day . Like dead buzzed from flower to flower, entered the hive, came out again, and so I spent all the day while the other bees were killed working to fill the hive of honey, because honey is the food of newly hatched bees.
As bees are very serious, they began to quarrel with the behavior of the lazy sister. At the door of the hive bees are always a few who are on duty to ensure that no bugs enter the hive. These bees are usually very old, with great experience and they have the stripped back because they have lost all the hairs rub against the door of the hive.
one day, then, lazy bee arrested when he went to enter, saying
-Mate: it is necessary to work, because all the bees must work.
The Bee replied: "I'm
all day flying, and I get very tired.
"There is no question you get tired a lot," replied, "but you work a little. This is the first warning that you do. So saying
let her pass. Lazy bee
But not corrected. So the next afternoon the bees were on duty said, "We must work
sister.
And she answered immediately:
- One of these days I'll do it!
"There is no question that you do one of these days but they replied tomorrow. Remember this.
And let them pass.
the evening following repeated the same thing. Before you say anything, the bee said:
- Yes, yes, sisters! Now I remember what I promised!
-not a question of you remember what was promised, "I replied, but you're working. Today is April 19. Well, is that tomorrow, 20, have brought even a drop of honey. And now, it happens.
And so saying, he departed to let go.
But on April 20 went in vain as everyone else. With the difference that when the sun eventually broke down and began to blow a cold wind.
The lazy bee hive flew hastily to her, thinking it would be warm in there. But when he wanted to go, the bees that were on duty stopped him.
- do not enter! "He said coldly.
- I want to go! "Cried the bee. This is my hive.
"This is a hive of bees working poor," they replied the other. There is no entry for the lazy.
- Tomorrow without fail go to work! 'Said the bee.
"No tomorrow for not working," answered the bee, who know a lot of philosophy. So saying
pushed out.
The bee, not knowing what to do, he flew for a while yet, but as night fell and he looked barely. He wanted to pick a leaf, and fell to the ground. Her body was numb from the cold air, and could not fly. Crawling
then on the floor, climbing and descending of the sticks and stones, that seemed mountains, came to the door of the hive, in time they began to fall cold drops of rain.
- Oh, my God! Cried the helpless. Going to rain, and I'm going to die of cold.
And tempted to enter the hive.
But again blocked her way.
- Excuse me, "moaned the bee. Let me in!
"It's late," they replied.
- Please sisters! I have dream! "It's
even later.
- Companions, for pity's sake! I have cold!
"Impossible.
- For the last time! I'm going to die! Then he said:
"No, not die. Learn in one night what the rest donated to the job. Go.
And the cast.
Then, trembling with cold, wet and stumbling wings, bee crawled, he crawled until he suddenly shot through a hole, tumbled, rather, to the bottom of a cave.
believed that he would not ever lower end. At last he reached the bottom, and suddenly found himself with a snake, a green snake brick back, as he looked coiled and serves to jump on it.
In fact, this cave was the hollow of a tree that had transplanted some time, and had chosen the snake den.
The snakes eat bees, like a lot. Thus the bee, faced his enemy, closing his eyes he murmured:
- Goodbye my life! This is the last time I see the light.
But to his surprise, the snake devoured not only failed but said
- How are you, Bee? There has to be hard working to be here at this hour.
is true, "murmured the bee. I do not work, and I I have guilt.
-Being and the snake, "he added mockingly," I will take the world to a bad bug like you. I will eat you, bee.
Bee, shaking, then said:
- it's not fair, not fair! It is not fair that you eat me because it is stronger than me. Men know what justice is.
- Ah, ah! "Said the snake, curling slightly. Do you know good men? Do you think that men who take away the honey you are more fair, very great fool?
"No, that's why they take away the honey-bee said.
- Why, then?
"Because they're smarter.
So said the bee. But the snake burst out laughing, crying,
- Well! Fairly or not, I'll eat apróntate.
And echo back to jump on the bee. But it said:
"You do that because they are less intelligent than I am.
- I less intelligent than you, brat? - The snake laughed.
"Yes," said the bee.
"Well," said the snake, "we'll see. We will do two tests. Which makes the test more rare, that wins. If I win, I like.
- What if I win? - Asked the bee.
-If you win you, "his enemy," you have the right to spend the night here, while it is day. Do you agree?
"Accepted," said the bee.
The snake laughed again, because he had been a thing could never make a bee. And here's what he did: He left a moment
out so quickly that the bee did not have time for anything. And returned with a capsule of seeds of eucalyptus, a eucalyptus tree that was next to the hive, which gave shade. The boys do dance like tubes these capsules, and call them Trompitos eucalyptus.
"This is what I do," said the snake. Pay attention, attention! And
tail coiling strongly about as a piolín Trompitos unwrapped at full speed, so fast that the Trompitos was dancing and buzzing like crazy. The snake laughed, and with good reason, because a bee has ever done or can do a Trompitos dance. But when the Trompitos, who had fallen asleep humming, as happens to the tops of the orange and finally fell to the ground, the bee said:
"This test is very cute, and I can never do that.
"So you like" said the snake.
- a minute! I can not do that, but do something that nobody does.
- What is that?
-Vanish.
- How? "Said the snake, jumping surprise. Does it go away without getting out of here?
-Sin out of here.
- And not hide in the earth?
-Sin hide in the earth.
"Well, do it! And if you do not, as you soon, "said the snake.
The fact is that while the Trompitos dance, the bee had time to examine the cave and had seen a plant that grew there. It was a arbustillo, almost yuyito, with large leaves the size of a two-cent coin.
The bee himself to the seedling, taking care not to touch her, and said:
"Now my turn, Mrs. Culebra. I will you please turn around and count to three. When I say "three" Look for me everywhere, and I will not be!
And so it went, indeed. The snake said quickly: "One ... two ... three," and he turned and opened his mouth how great it was, surprise: no one was there. He looked up, down, everywhere, traveled the corners, the seedling, fumbled around with his tongue. Useless: the bee was gone.
The snake then realized that if the evidence of Trompitos was very good, proof of the bee was just extraordinary. What had he done? Where was I?
a barely audible voice, the voice of the bee, went off the middle of the cave.
- Are not you going to do anything? "Said the voice. "I can count on your oath?
"Yes," replied the snake. I swear. Where are you?
"Here," answered the bee, suddenly appearing from a door closed on the seedling.
What had happened? A very simple thing: the seedling in question was a sensitive, very common in Buenos Aires, which is unique in that its leaves close at the slightest touch. Only that This affair happened in Misiones, where the vegetation is very rich, and hence very large leaves of the sensitive. Hence, the contact of the bee, the leaves are closed, completely hiding insect.
intelligence had not reached the snake never notice this phenomenon, but the bee had watched, and took advantage of it to save his life. The snake said nothing, but was very irritated by his defeat, while the bee spent the night reminding her enemy had made the promise to respect it.
was a long night, interminable, that the two spent Arrimadas higher against the wall of the cave, because the storm had broken, and water came like a river inside.
was very cold, too, and in complete darkness reigned. Occasionally the snake felt urge to throw on the bee, and she believed then come to the end of his life.
never ever thought that one night the bee could be so cold, so long, so horrible. He remembered his previous life, sleeping night after night in the hive, rather warm, and then wept silently.
When the day came and the sun came out, because time had been made, the bee flew away and cried again in silence before the door of the hive effort made by the family. Guard bees passed up without saying anything, because they realized that returning was not paseandera lazy, but had a bee in one night learning a hard life.
It was indeed. Henceforth, none as she collected both pollen and produced so much honey. And when autumn came, and was also the end of his life, even had time to give one last lesson before dying at the young bees around her:
"It is our intelligence, but our work who makes us so strong. Once I used my intelligence, and was to save my life. There would be no need of that effort, if he had worked as all. I have tired both flying here and there, as working. What I lacked was the sense of duty, I bought that night. Work, comrades, thinking that they tend to our efforts, the happiness of all-is far superior to the fatigue of each. A man calls this ideal, and rightly so. There is no philosophy in the life of a man and a bee. FIN
