[110]Honeyball looked at Spinaway busily mending her net, torn by the adventure of Sipsyrup, and laughed as she thought of the folly5 of her companion. Honeyball was not vain enough to be enticed6 by sugared words; her dangers arose from quite another source—her greediness and great self-indulgence. Her eye was now attracted by a little bottle hung up by the porch, not far from the rosebush; it had been placed there by Tom to catch wasps7. Perhaps he had hoped to entrap8 some others of the winged tribes, for he had just taken a fancy to make a collection of insects, and woe9 unto any small creature that might fall into his merciless hands!
Honeyball alighted on the bottle, then fluttered to the top, allured10 by the sugary scent11. The brim was sticky; she unsheathed her long bright tongue, tasted, approved, and then sipped12 again. At this moment she heard a buzz near her, and looking up with her back eyes, perceived her friend Silverwing.
[111]“Do come from that huge, bright, hard cell,” cried the bee; “I am sure that it never was formed by any of our tribe, and I do not believe that it holds honey.”
“It holds something very good, and in such abundance too,” replied Honeyball; “a thousand honeysuckles would not contain so much!”
“There is danger, I am certain that there is danger,” cried Silverwing. “What if it should have been placed there on purpose to catch us?”
“You think me as foolish as Sipsyrup!”
“No, not foolish, but—”
“Too fond of good living, and too lazy to like trouble in procuring13 it. Well, I daresay that you are right, Silverwing; I believe that, as you say, there may be danger.”
“Then why not come away?” persisted the bee.
“Because the taste is so good,” said her companion, bending over the rim—the next moment she was struggling in the syrup4!
[112]Ah, Honeyball, weak, foolish insect! In vain do you struggle, in vain do you buzz, in vain your grieved friend flutters against the glass,—you have sacrificed yourself for a little indulgence, like thousands who look at the tempting14 glass, know their danger, yet will not abstain15!
As Silverwing on the outside of the bottle was uttering her hum of pity and regret, suddenly a handkerchief was thrown over her, and the loud, rough voice of Tom was heard.
“Rather a paltry16 beginning to my collection, a wretched hive-bee! But I caught it so cleverly, without its being crushed, or spoiled by the syrup; and I will keep it till I get that stuff which Ben told me of, which kills insects without hurting their beauty!”
Poor unhappy Silverwing! she was indeed in a terrible position. She had not even power to use her sting in self-defence, for to plunge17 it into the handkerchief would have been useless indeed; and she felt all that a[113] bee might be expected to feel, in the power of its most cruel foe18. Tom carried her into the cottage, and carefully unclosing the handkerchief, after he had mounted upon a chair to reach the shelf easily, he shook his poor prisoner into his own mug, and tied some paper firmly over the top.
Silverwing flew round and round, buzzing in terror; she only hurt her wings against the sides. Then she crawled over the paper which formed the ceiling of her prison; but no hole for escape could she find. It was clear that she was now shut out from all hope, condemned19 perhaps to some lingering death. While her companions were flying about, busy and happy, she was to pine, a lonely prisoner, here. At first her feelings were those of despair; then, quietly, though sadly, she made up her mind to submit to her cruel fate. She no longer fluttered about restlessly, but settling at the bottom of the mug, in patience awaited the return of her tormentor20.
[114]Hours passed before Tom came back. There had been other voices in the cottage, but no one had touched the place of Silverwing’s imprisonment21. Mrs. Wingfield had been called out hastily by her neighbour Mrs. Bright, on the discovery of the illness of the baby; and as Minnie had not then returned from school, the cottage was left quite empty. Presently there was a rapid step, then the sound of some one jumping up on the chair. Silverwing felt the mug moved, then the paper raised; she was ready to make a last effort to escape through the opening; but her little tyrant22 took good care to give no time for that; he only shook in another victim, and then shut down the paper quickly, and placed a book on the top.
Silverwing paid no attention to what was passing in the cottage round her, though I may as well remind the reader of what passed in the last chapter,—how Tom had scarcely got down from the chair before his[115] mother came in and ordered him to go off for the doctor, as Mrs. Bright’s baby was very ill indeed; how Tom hesitated, and said that he would go by the fields, and then was sent off direct by his mother in much displeasure. To all this, as I said, Silverwing paid no attention; her little world was contained in the mug, and all her interest was aroused by her fellow-prisoner. Poor Violetta, with her fine purple wings, was the prey23 of the collector of insects! He had not cared to explore her curious home, to learn her customs and ways, or admire her instinct; he only wished to have the dead body of an insect that he thought curious, and had no scruple24 about destroying it to gratify this wish.
Violetta was not so patient as poor Silverwing had been. She dashed herself against the mug in passionate25 distress26; she would listen to no words of comfort! Then she vainly tried to exercise her wonderful powers of gnawing27. From a wooden box she perhaps[116] might have worked her way to freedom, but the hard slippery crockery resisted her utmost efforts; her poor little teeth could not even make an impression! Exhausted28 at last, she remained quite still, and Silverwing, forgetful of her own distress, began to attempt to soothe29 her companion.
Thus they remained till the evening without food, almost without hope. Mrs. Wingfield had gone to attempt to comfort her neighbour, nearly wild at the loss of her Johnny; and now Minnie and Tom both entered the cottage together. Their conversation had no interest for the bees, in their mug; but as it is possible that it may have some for my reader, I shall proceed to give some account of it in the following chapter.
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1
dwelling
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| n.住宅，住所，寓所 | |
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situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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rendering
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| n.表现，描写 | |
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syrup
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| n.糖浆，糖水 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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enticed
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| 诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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7
wasps
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| 黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人 | |
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8
entrap
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| v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套 | |
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woe
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| n.悲哀，苦痛，不幸，困难；int.用来表达悲伤或惊慌 | |
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10
allured
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| 诱引，吸引( allure的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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scent
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| n.气味，香味，香水，线索，嗅觉；v.嗅，发觉 | |
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12
sipped
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| v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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14
tempting
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| a.诱人的, 吸引人的 | |
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15
abstain
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| v.自制，戒绝，弃权，避免 | |
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paltry
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| adj.无价值的，微不足道的 | |
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plunge
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| v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲 | |
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foe
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| n.敌人，仇敌 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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tormentor
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| n. 使苦痛之人, 使苦恼之物, 侧幕 =tormenter | |
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imprisonment
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| n.关押，监禁，坐牢 | |
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tyrant
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| n.暴君，专制的君主，残暴的人 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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distress
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| n.苦恼，痛苦，不舒适；不幸；vt.使悲痛 | |
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gnawing
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| a.痛苦的，折磨人的 | |
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exhausted
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| adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的 | |
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29
soothe
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| v.安慰；使平静；使减轻；缓和；奉承 | |
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