In a bee-line is a pretty country way of saying a straight line, but the name of the little maid occurring quaintly in the idiom made them laugh.
Bee picked flowers growing by the ditch: flowers of the mallow and the mullein, asters and oxeyes, making a posy of them; the flowers faded visibly in her little hands, and they looked pitiful when Bee crossed the stone bridge. As she did not know what to do with her posy, the idea occurred to her of throwing them in the water to refresh them, but she preferred to give them to the "Headless Woman."
She asked George to lift her in his arms to make her tall enough, and she placed her handful of country flowers in the folded hands of the old stone figure.
At a distance she turned her head and saw a dove on the shoulder of the statue.
They walked some time, and Bee said:
"I am thirsty."
"So am I," said George, "but the river is far behind us, and I can see neither stream nor spring."
"The sun is so hot, it must have drunk them all up; what shall we do?"
Thus they talked and complained, when they saw a countrywoman with a basket full of fruit.
"Cherries," cried George. "What a pity it is that I have no money to buy any!"