There was this farmer who had a calf....  Just kidding!  Seriously, when
I'm not busy trashing everyones' subscription options I like to read a
good book.  I'm currently reading _The_Forgotten_Pollinators_ by Stephen
L. Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan (Island Press - ISBN 1-55963-352-2).
In Chapter 9, "Keepers of the Flame" pages 146-147 the authors tell a
fable behind the rituals of harvesting honey from Apis dorsata in the
rainforests of Malaysia.
 
"Seems in ancient times, there was a Hindu handmaiden called Hitam Manis,
'Dark Sweetness,' for she was a dusky beauty.  She fell in love with the
reigning sultan's son, who returned her love.  But they could not marry,
for she was a commoner.  She and her fellow maidens - called Dayang -
were forced to flee the palace, for the furious ruler wanted to kill
her.  As she ran away, a metal spear pierced her heart.  She and her
friends were turned into bees and they flew away.
 
One day, the prince - now engaged to a princess - noted a honey comb
high up in a tree.  He climbed the tree for it and discovered a sticky,
sweet substance inside.  He called down to his servants for a knife and
pail.  When the pail was hauled down, they discovered to their horror
that the prince's body was in it, all chopped to pieces!
 
A disembodied voice cried out that he had committed a sacrilege by
using a metal knife in cutting the comb, for Hitam Manis herself had
perished from a metal instrument.
 
Later, a golden shower by the bees restored the prince to entirety."
 
Here the authors are careful to distinguish the golden shower of the
bees from the yellow rain of the Vietnam war era.  The bees' "golden
showers" are considered a gift of nitrogen to the depleted of the
Malaysian rain forest.
 
The fable continues, "To this day, no metal - only equipment of wood,
hide and cow bone - is used at all stages, in deference to the early
anguish of Hitam Manis."
 
                         > End of Fable <
 
_The_Forgotten_Pollinators_ is a good book but a sad tale of diminishing
and fragmented habitat for plants and the animals on which they rely to
successfully reproduce, enlightening the reader about endangered
relationships rather than endangered species.  The wake up call is the
message that the endangered relationships must be protected.  Good
reading, highly recommended!
 
Aaron Morris - I think, therefore I bee!