Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: name; they were neither lazy, nor ill-treated, but shared in the common labour. Thus in perfect harmony and peace they passed their happy days, till the leaves began to fall around them; and even till the latest autumn flowers faded. Then Mrs. Humble died in a good old age, having lived a whole year, which is a long life for a humble bee; and having given a good example of cheerfulness and constant industry to all her household. ' . Many of her children had dropped off before, and none long survived her except a few females; who finding that there were no more flowers to ransack, and that their once cheerful home was deserted, crept each into a warm hole to sleep till the next spring; then to wake sprightly and active, to be themselves mothers of more happy families. TRAVEL. A Father resolved to send his son, a painter, into foreign countries for the purpose of increasing his store of knowledge, and improving himself in his art. When the day of his departure drew nigh, the father conducted the youth into the garden, and named to him all the celebrated cities and countries which he was to visit. His mother, who had gone out with them, when she heard this, was affrighted and said: Who will guide his steps, and take care of him during so long a pilgrimage, that he may keep in the right way. The lather answered and said: Concern not thyself about that?God and his own heart. He then led his son to a bee-hive, and said: Observe the simple form and manners of these insects. Their vocation is to collect abroad, the juices and dust of the flowers of the fields, and to transform them into honey and wax. The bee accordingly goes forth, mindful of its home and its destination: and God guides the insect, so that it never loses its way, and supplies it with abundance of f...