Bee Kind

“Don,” said Grandma, shaking the little sleeper, “it’s time to wake up!”

Don turned over, rubbed his eyes, and with a deep sigh, settled back to sleep.

“Here, here!” cried Grandma, shaking him again. “Do you want us to leave you at home all alone? We’re going fishing today!”

Instantly Don was wide awake. He bounced out of bed and began to dress as quickly as he could. In five minutes he was in the kitchen; but Joyce was there ahead of him, helping Grandma to pack the lunch basket.

Don was so excited that Grandma could coax him to eat only a few bites of breakfast. He was the first one in the car, ready to start for the river.

The sun was just peeping over the hills, when they drove into a pretty, shady nook on the bank of the river. “This is always a good place to fish,” said Grandpa. They stopped under a tree whose great, spreading branches leaned far out over the water; and soon they were untying the fishing poles and baiting their hooks.

“I’ll give a nickel to the one who catches the first fish,” said Grandpa.

Suddenly Don’s cork began to bob up and down in the water. Joyce felt a strong pull on her line, too. Almost at the same instant each of them lifted a fish from the water. Grandpa took the little perch from Don’s hook, and a catfish from Joyce’s; and with his big, hearty laugh he gave them each a nickel.

The hours passed so quickly that before the children knew it, it was time for lunch. But when Grandma spread out the chicken and sandwiches and cookies and lemonade in the shade of the big tree, they found that they were as hungry as bears.

After lunch, Grandma lay down in the shade and tried to take a nap, while the others went back to their fishing. But the fish did not bite so well as they had done in the morning.

They had already caught a great many fish, so they decided to go home early. Grandpa had been stringing the fish one by one, as they had caught them; and he had let the line hang down in the water. Now, when he lifted it out, the children were delighted to see how many fish they had caught.

“That is a longer string of fish than Daddy has in the picture!” cried Don.

“We cannot use so many fish ourselves,” said Grandpa. “We shall have to share with the neighbors.”

When they reached home, Don helped Grandpa to clean the fish. Grandpa skinned the catfish, and Don scraped the scales from the perch. When they had finished, Don had fish scales all over him—even in his hair.

But this trouble was all forgotten at supper time, when Grandma set a large platter of fish on the table. Grandpa said it tasted better than the fried chicken.

In the evening, the children came to Grandma for their usual story. They sat down on the porch, with the soft summer dusk gathering about them.

“I shall tell you a story tonight,” began Grandma, “about a bee that every child should listen to and obey. Its name is Bee Kind.

“James and Richard lived near each other, and they were playmates. One day they were flying their kites in a vacant lot, when they saw a dirty little puppy. Richard began to stamp his feet and try to scare it; but as he could not chase it away, he threw stones at the poor little thing.

“A stone struck the puppy on his head, and hurt him very badly; for he began to turn round and round, whining and howling pitifully. Richard laughed, as if he thought it a great joke.

“ ‘Shame on you!’ cried James, ‘for treating a poor little puppy like that!’

“ ‘You’re a sissy,’ said Richard, ‘or you wouldn’t care.’

“ ‘You may call me what you please,’ said James, ‘but I shall never hurt a poor little dog that can’t help himself. Maybe he’s lost.’

“With that, he lifted the little creature in his arms and carried him home. The puppy’s head was bleeding where Richard had struck him with the stone. James washed the blood away and gave the little dog something to eat, talking to him kindly and petting him all the while.

“When his father came home that evening, he told James that the puppy showed marks of being a very good dog; and that if the owner never came, he might keep him for his own.

“James was delighted. He named the dog Rex, and at once began to teach him to do all sorts of tricks. Rex learned to walk on his hind feet, sit up straight and beg for something to eat, play ‘dead dog,’ roll over, chase his tail, and run through a hoop.

“In a few months, Rex had grown to be quite a large dog. By this time, James had taught him how to swim; and when the boy would throw a stick into the water and say, ‘Go get it, Rex,’ the dog would bring it back in his mouth.

“All the boys in the neighborhood liked Rex; and he liked them all—except Richard. Whenever he came around, the dog would growl and show his teeth.

“Two years later, one warm Saturday afternoon in April, James called Rex and started for the pond. Oftentimes fishing parties visited this pond, so a number of small boats were tied among the willows fringing the shore. On this particular afternoon, Richard and his little brother Harry had also gone to the pond; and Richard untied one of the boats to take a ride. Of course he had no right to use a boat that did not belong to him; but he thought that no one would ever know.

“Just as James came around a clump of willows, he saw the little boat tip over; and Richard and Harry fell in, at the deepest place in the pond. James knew they could not swim; so he began to call for help as loudly as he could. Rex ran back and forth whining, looking first at James, then at the boys in the water. Suddenly a happy thought struck James. Pointing to the two boys, he said, ‘Go get them, Rex!’ Immediately the dog jumped into the water and began to swim toward the boys. He soon had Harry’s collar between his teeth, and was swimming back to shore.

“James helped Harry to his feet; and then, pointing to Richard, he said, ‘Go get the other one!’

“Richard had gone down the second time when Rex reached him; but as he came up to the surface of the water, the dog caught him and began to swim back. It was a hard task, as Richard was heavier than Harry; but at last Rex brought him safely to shore.

“All this time James had been calling for help; and now several men came running toward the pond. They began working with Richard, and after some time he came back to consciousness.

“ ‘Who got me out of the water?’ he asked, as soon as he could speak.

“ ‘Rex,’ answered James.

“Tears rolled down Richard’s face as he said brokenly, ‘Just think! I almost killed him when he was a little puppy! I know one thing—I’ll never do such a thing again.’

“Everybody petted and praised Rex for what he had done. Richard’s father bought a beautiful new collar for him. But although the dog had saved Richard’s life, he never would have anything to do with him afterward. He could not forget how cruelly the boy had treated him in his puppyhood.”

“Daddy promised to get a puppy for me soon,” said Don. “I shall name him Rex, after the good dog in the story.”

“And I’m quite sure,” said Grandma, “that you’ll always be as kind to him as James was to Rex. But I know a little man that will be asleep in about five minutes. Hustle him off to bed, Grandpa, or you’ll have to carry him upstairs.”

Don said a sleepy good night; and sure enough, five minutes later he was fast asleep.