No matter to what extent their own plans have been thwarted, they will none
the less do what they know to be their profound and primitive duty.  And as
to what this duty may be they are never in doubt.  It is written in their
tongue, in their mouth, over every organ of their body, that they are in
this world to make honey; as it is written in our eyes, our ears, our
nerves, in every lobe of our brain, that we have been created to think, to
reason, to understand, to improve our sense of justice, our knowledge, to
cultivate our soul.  The bees know not who will eat the honey they harvest,
as we know not who shall profit by the spiritual treasure we gather.  As
they go from flower to flower absorbing nectar beyond what they or their
hive will need, so let us go from thought to thought, forever seeking the
truth.  And let the knowledge that this is our duty quicken the zeal, the
ardor and purity with which our soul turns to the light.
 
THE END
 
from The Children's Life of the Bee  by Maurice Maeterlinck (1919)
 
 
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!