THE BEE.
Buz! buz! buz!
Over blossoms heavy laden with their treasures;
Hear its music as it rifles
From the flowers their seeming trifles;
We may watch it in the sunshine at our leisure.
"Hearty toil."
See! their secrets it espying
In their tinted depths while prying,
As it works thro' the long summer day;
"Be in earnest in your quest,
Hearty toil brings well-earned rest,"
Seems the burden of its light-hearted lay.
"Well-earned rest."
Lessons here of self-reliance,
And "defence but not defiance,"
As Volunteers are taught by the Bee.
As it works on active wing,
Self-protected with its sting,
'Tis a grand working model, good to see;
". . . Its music as it rifles."
Pointing out how each is sharing
In the common task, and bearing
His just portion; where no idler is seen:
All are busy in the hive
Where these happy workmen thrive,
And they're loyal, every one, to their Queen.
"This poor Black-Beetle's ill!."