Nuova; or, The New Bee

by Marion Ames Taggart

  CHAPTER XI

  _Hero finds Nuova in the Garden_

  Saggia had joined a group of foragers at work, among whom were Uno andTre. These two bees at first moved away a little as Saggia came over,but in their foraging work they gradually came close to her again.Pretty soon Uno, after glancing toward Beffa sitting quietly by thedandelion, spoke to Saggia.

  "The garden is not a place for jesting," she said sharply; "nor forlistening to jesting. Beffa is not a good example for bees who work." Asshe said this she looked significantly at Saggia, and several of theother bees, overhearing her, smiled maliciously.

  Saggia said nothing at first, but busied herself at her flowers. As shechanged, however, from one flower to another one near by, she saidquietly: "Beffa works harder than most of us."

  "Do you call jesting work?" asked Tre indignantly.

  "I call Beffa's work hard work--for Beffa; and useful work," Saggiareplied.

  "What other hive has a jester, a bee that does no work, that just hopsand sings?" demanded Uno angrily.

  "We are more fortunate than other hives," said Saggia evenly. "We have abee who has time to think, and a clever tongue to say what he thinks."

  No one spoke for a moment, then Tre said mechanically, as if repeatingby rote: "Bees ought not to think; and if they do they ought to keeptheir thoughts to themselves." Then she added maliciously: "I think Ilearned that from you, Saggia."

  The other bees turned and smiled.

  "One lives and learns," said Saggia, a little confused.

  "Oh, worse yet!" exclaimed Uno. "'Bees do not learn: they know.' Thatalso is from Saggia," she said, turning to the other bees.

  They all smiled again enjoying Saggia's discomfiture.

  "Well," said Saggia desperately, "bees do know most things,but--not--everything."

  Just then Beffa came hopping toward them hurriedly. He was singingloudly, too, and was evidently much excited about something. As hereached the group of foraging bees he did not stop, but kept hoppingright on by them singing loudly as he passed:

  "Hoptoad squats beneath the flower; Waits that pleasant fateful hour When honey-bee on food intent Comes within his leafy tent; Open! Shut! Poor bee, good-bye; An ugly, horrid way to die!"

  As the bees heard this, they all became much frightened and excited,skipping about and peering in all directions.

  "The Toad!" they cried. "Where? There! I don't see him! Where, Beffa?Beffa, where?"

  Beffa's movements plainly indicated the direction of danger to be towardwhere he had come from, and the way of safety correspondingly in thedirection of his hopping. All the bees, therefore, with much buzzing andjumping about, moved along with the hopping and singing Beffa. OnlySaggia seemed a little slow to take alarm or to follow him closely. Shewatched him curiously, and kept turning to look in the direction fromwhich he had come. She remembered that Nuova was back there somewhere,and she could not believe that Beffa would leave her in danger in orderto warn ever so many other bees. Saggia knew well poor Beffa's hopelesslove for Nuova.

  As a matter of fact, Beffa had seen not a toad, but something else,which, under the circumstances of bee life and tradition, was much moreextraordinary, and he had come hopping over to lead off the other beesthat they might not also see it.

  What he had seen was something that his keen wits had told him all alonghe might see: in fact, he had been looking for it all the time since hehad been in the garden; it was something that made him happy and unhappyat the same time. It was something that would make Nuova the happiestbee in the world, for a little while at least, though it might meansomething very dreadful to her in the end. And what could make Nuovahappy made him happy--even though her happiness should come from seeingsomebody else who would almost make her forget that Beffa ever lived.What Beffa had seen was Hero flying slowly down into the garden nearwhere Nuova was. It was certain that they would see each other in amoment.

  In fact, Nuova, turning away from the flower which she had been slowlyand listlessly rifling of nectar, saw Hero just a moment after healighted. Her heart gave a great jump, and her first impulse was to slipaway before he could see her; but when she saw how dejected and sad heseemed, she felt a great pity for him and wanted to comfort him. Justthen he lifted his eyes and saw her. He started, then controlled himselfand came to her. "Nuova," he said quietly but earnestly; "Nuova, I amglad you are here."

  Nuova could hardly speak. She was so tense with excitement, with wonder,with happiness that they were together again. But what had happened? Howcould this be?

  "You did not win?" she stammered. "You are not dead?" She stared at himwith painful intentness.

  "I did not go on," said Hero slowly and somberly.

  Nuova did not understand. "An accident?" she cried. "You could not fly?Your wings were not--" she stopped, alarmed and almost in tears at herthought. "Surely I did not hurt them when I--I--pulled them?"

  Hero did not understand clearly what she meant. In fact, he was toointent on the overwhelming fact of what he had just done, of theabsolute break he had just made with bee tradition, to think, for themoment, of anything else.

  "No, no," he said; "I just decided not to go on. I--wanted to come toyou."

  Nuova could not realize at once all he meant by these words. The thingclearest in her mind just now was what Saggia and all the others hadtold her so often. She began to speak slowly and almost mechanically asher memory guided her.

  "But you can't do that," she said. "It--it--isn't done, you know. You_must_ chase the Princess; you _must_ win her; and you--you"--shesobbed--"you _must_ die."

  She stepped toward him, excitedly, with her hands outstretched to urgehim on. "Go on!" she exclaimed. "Go on! Start again! You are so muchswifter and stronger than the others! You can beat them yet! Hurry!Fly!"

  In her excitement and half-crazed exaltation she pressed against him topush him into starting. He held her closely to him for a moment,caressing her gently. But soon she drew violently away, and spoke againwith choking voice. "Fly!" she said. "Go on! Go on!"

  Hero shook his head doggedly. "No, I will not go. I cannot go. I neverwanted to go. I wanted to come to you. I didn't know you were in thegarden. But here you are." In his joy at being with her, he began todismiss the dark thoughts of his break with bee custom. He lookedintently and eagerly at her.

  "Yes, here you are, I have come to you. I have come to tell you thatI"--he stumbled a little in his speech, and smiled slightly--"I--am anew bee, too!"

  Nuova laughed happily. Then she grew serious and puzzled. "And Saggiaand Beffa," she said. "Are we all new bees in this hive?"

  Hero smiled. "Uno, Due, and Tre--" he said.

  "Ugh! horrid bees," said Nuova with a grimace. "They would like to killme."

  "Beasts!" broke in Hero, "I'll kill them!" But then he remembered thefact that he had no lance nor by bee tradition could have any. "Absurd,"he said in disgust. "What a world, where only the women may carry lancesand fight and work, and the men are only loafers and lovers, and canonly love by tradition, at that. Bah! I'd rather be even a human being.They are silly enough, those awkward giants, and can't fly and eat otheranimals as spiders and snakes do, but their men can work and fight; andthey can love whom they like. At least they can if they don't try to betoo much like us, as some of them seem to want to be. It's a terriblething to be a man bee. We have no rights at all!"

  Nuova looked up at him wonderingly. "Why, the other drones seem to liketo loaf," she said. "Anyway, they don't object."

  "Don't object!" exclaimed Hero contemptuously. "They don't think; theydon't feel! Each just does what the others do and all just do whatdrones have always done."

  "But how else are we to know what to do," persisted Nuova, who hadlearned her lesson well from Saggia, "except by seeing what others do,and being told what the bees before us did?"

  Hero was amazed and disconcerted to hear Nuova talk in this way.

  "Why, you talk like Saggia!" he said. "What do you mean? Haven't youalways objec
ted to doing what the others do? Haven't you always tried todo what you most wanted to? And haven't you wanted to talk with me? Ithought you--liked me."

  Nuova was disconcertingly calm. "Oh, yes, I have objected to somethings, and I do like to talk with you. And I like you. But all thatmust not interfere with the work and life of the community. And I amafraid it is interfering. I ought to be getting more honey, and youought to be flying after the Princess." She paused; then she added,determinedly and even severely: "You must go right away. You can catchup with them yet, and beat them, and--and--win her." Nuova had grownmore excited and earnest as she continued urging him, but her voicebroke a little as she uttered the last words.

  Hero, paying too little attention to her manner and reading nothing init, so seized was he by surprise at Nuova's new attitude, was yetdoggedly intent on speaking out his own feelings. "No, I am not goingafter the Princess," he declared, speaking almost roughly in hisvehemence. "I stopped flying because I wished to, and I came herebecause I wished to, and I shall talk to you because I wish to. You_must_ hear me! Nuova, it is not the Princess that I love; it is you."Nuova started. "Yes, you; just you; all you. I love _you_, Nuova."

  Nuova had stood rigidly at first, but then unconsciously swayed a littletoward him. Then she caught herself and stepped back, all the timestaring at him fixedly. He leaned toward her as he finished speaking,but made no other motion.

  Nuova began to speak, still holding herself rigid and staring at him.She spoke in an even, monotonous voice, even mechanically, and as ifdirected by some foreign influence.

  "You cannot love me," she said. "You can only love a Princess. I cannotlove you. I cannot love anybody. There are other things for me to do. Ihave not cleaned floors; I must clean floors. And you, you must chasePrincesses, chase Princesses, chase--Princesses--all--the--time." Hervoice trailed away into tense silence, and she swayed as if about tofall, but recovered herself, and half-turned as if to move away.

  Hero stepped forward, caught hold of her roughly, and spoke harshly."You shall not clean floors," he said, "and I will not court thePrincess." Then suddenly he spoke tenderly, "Nuova, I love you. Saggiasays I can't; all of them say I can't; you say I can't. Well, I do. Thatis all. That is the answer. I have never loved a Princess and I do loveyou; I have loved you from the moment I saw you." He spoke moreimpetuously. "I didn't know what it was at first; now I do. I found outwhen I started to fly after Principessa. I can fly faster than any otherdrone; yet every one was beating me. I can fly higher than any otherbee; but I couldn't rise at all. Why? Because of _you_, Nuova; because Iloved _you_, Nuova, and could not love Principessa. And they say thatyou cannot love me. Saggia says so, does she?--and all of them say so,do they?--and you say so, do you? Well, they are all mistaken. Just asthey are all mistaken about me. I can love _you_, because I _do_. Youcan love me, because you are going to. You were not an Amazon, yet youfought. You are not a Princess, but you are going to love. I can teachyou; I _will_ teach you."

  Nuova was almost carried away by Hero's speech--and her owninclinations. But she still fought blindly and feebly against what shewanted most. "No, no," she stammered; "I must work; I must go; I am onlya worker bee; I _cannot_ love; it is all fixed; it has been that way fora long time; _I_ know; Saggia knows; _Beffa_--"

  She stopped short, remembering some of Beffa's cryptic words.

  Just then Beffa's voice was heard. He was coming toward them hopping andsinging.

  CHAPTER XII

  _The Happy Ending_

  Beffa had not been able to hold the foragers any longer away from thatpart of the garden where Nuova and Hero were. The flowers here were moreabundant and sweeter with honey, and the bees soon forgot their frightof the toad they had not seen--and that Beffa had not, either.

  Hero and Nuova were still concealed by the bush, behind which theystood, from the returning bees, but it was only a matter of a short timebefore they would certainly be seen. Beffa, therefore, came hoppingtoward them and singing. He could at least warn them of the approach ofthe others. So he sang loudly:

  "Ah, well, who knows? Ah, well, who knows? The old world for the old bee; The new world for the new; For who may know the real truth? The untrue may be true. Ah, well, who knows? Ah, well, who knows?"

  Hero turned triumphantly to Nuova. "Yes, yes, you hear?" he said. "Beffaknows. Say it; say it. Beffa knows: not Saggia; not the others; butBeffa. They are all blind. They only see what has been, but Beffa seeswhat may be. And you see it, Nuova, and I see it. You are a new bee,Nuova, and so is Beffa, and so am I. And we shall do new things; live anew life. Ah, Nuova, my little Nuova! I love you, and you love me. Mylittle Nuova!"

  Nuova could say nothing, do nothing. It was too much. She could onlylook up through a mist of tears into Hero's face and smile happily athim; it was half-smiling, half-crying, but unmistakable to Hero for whatit truly was; the full revelation of Nuova's consent to all he had said.They stood together, silent in their great happiness. And thus Uno sawthem. Uno was the first of the returned foragers to come, in seeking newflowers, around the bush and in sight of them. She stared at themamazed. Then, angry and malevolent, she beckoned, without calling out,to her companions to come to her. They crowded up and looked where Unopointed. They were astounded and outraged. Uno first spoke up.

  "They call themselves bees!" she said with scorn and malice.

  "Beasts, rather!" said Due similarly.

  "No, human beings," said Tre. "Like the daughter of the owner of thegarden and her lover. In secret, and against all the customs. Shame andscandal!"

  "Drive them out! Kill them!" burst out all the other bees, who had comecrowding up at the words of Uno, Due, and Tre. "Call the Amazons! Stingthem to death! Hero, the faithless one! Nuova, the silly new bee! Hero,our finest drone! Nuova, the pretty little nurse! Traitors! Kill them!"

  It was a terrible moment for Nuova and Hero, for death looked them inthe face. But they stood quietly side by side realizing their impendingfate, yet fearless in their exaltation. Neither one spoke. They lookedat each other with great eyes shining with love and happiness.Death--together--was such a little thing. It was even a thing, under thecircumstances, to be courted. There seemed, indeed, nothing else thatcould be a "happy ending" for Nuova and Hero's romance. And as theAmazons pressed forward with lances set and already almost touching thedevoted pair, it seemed to be the inevitable and immediate end. Yet,just at the moment when Nuova, with one last look of love and joy toHero, turned full toward the shining lance points as if to say,"Welcome, sweet Death!" something happened.

  A cry from the air just above them was heard. A messenger bee, greatlyexcited and almost breathless, was dropping down to them and gasping:"The Princess! The Princess! The Princess is lost! The Bee-Bird hascaught the Princess!"

  The mob about Hero and Nuova stopped in its attack and stood still,thunderstruck by the news. The messenger dropped to the grass justbetween the foremost Amazons and the pair of lovers, and there collapsedwith fatigue and grief. She was caught and supported by Saggia andBeffa, who had pushed forward out of the crowd at the first cry from themessenger.

  The horror-stricken bees were dumb for a moment, overwhelmed by thecatastrophe. Then they began to call out, all speaking confusedlytogether: "The Princess is lost! The Bee-Bird has killed Principessa!Our only Princess! The old Queen gone, the new Queen killed! Our hive isdoomed! We are queenless! No more children in our hive! It is our end!"

  "The Princess is lost!"]

  All the while they were speaking they surged back and forth, turning toeach other. They seemed utterly at a loss what to do. None any longerpaid any attention to Nuova and Hero standing there, still silent andmotionless together, as if with no more thought of their presentmomentary escape from the death that was so close to them than they hadhad for their apparent certain destruction a moment before.

  Saggia had not called out with the other bees. Nor had she moved awayfrom her position near Hero and Nuova, where she was still supportingthe messen
ger. But she had been looking keenly first at the shoutingbees and then at Nuova and Hero. Her face was alight with a new thoughtand strong purpose. As the cries of the bees died down from exhaustionfor a moment, she lifted her head and began to speak in a loud, clearvoice.

  "Bees," she said, "a terrible thing has happened to us!" Some of thebees cried out again in lamentation. Saggia paused a moment till therewas silence again. Then she went on.

  "But we stand before a wonderful happening that may be our saving." Asshe said this, she half-turned toward Hero and Nuova so as to call theattention of the bees to them. As she did this a few bees, notably Uno,Due, and Tre, began to gesture angrily again toward the couple, and tomutter against them. But Saggia paid no attention to this, exceptperhaps to lift her voice a little higher and to speak more rapidly.

  "I am an old bee," she said, "and know the lore of bees better than anyothers of you. And I tell you plainly that the death of the Princessdoes not mean that all is lost. I tell you that we have a means ofsaving our hive. Sometimes a bee is born, who is not a Princess, but whois of a different sort from the rest of us workers; a bee who can notonly work, but _love_; who can love and be loved and be the mother ofbees."

  She turned now swiftly to Nuova, stretched out her antennae and wingsdramatically, and spoke as with the voice of an oracle.

  "Nuova is such a bee!" she exclaimed solemnly. "Nuova can be a Queen forus! She loves Hero. Do you, Nuova?" Nuova turned a rapt face up toHero's.

  "And Hero loves Nuova. Do you, Hero?" Hero leaned down to Nuova andkissed her.

  Saggia turned again to the bees. "That Hero loves Nuova proves that shecan be loved; that Nuova loves Hero proves that she can be our Queen.Let Nuova, the new bee, be our new Queen!"

  The bees were already buzzing and fluttering about in great excitementagain. They were not able to comprehend immediately all that Saggia'swords implied, but they saw in them a hope for their hive, and some ofthe bees already began to call out joyously. Just then Beffa begandancing vigorously and waving his wings and antennae in triumph andsinging loudly and clearly:

  "Bee-Bird may yet be beaten; We yet may peal the wedding bell, Although our Queen is eaten!"

  Then he made a grand whirl which brought him squarely in front of Nuova,and with a deep curtsy and elaborate gesture he called out to all thebees, like a herald:

  "The Queen has passed. Long live the Queen!"

  And Saggia immediately echoed him, also bowing low before Nuova: "TheQueen has passed. Long live the Queen!"

  Other bees took up the shout, which soon spread to all. Beffa beckonedall to follow him in a triumphal march and dance around the amazed andhappy pair, and altogether they set up a great song of joy and triumph.Nuova and Hero were not only saved, but they were become in a secondKing and Queen of the hive. It was breath-taking. They could only lookat each other in utter thanksgiving and love. But as Beffa, tiring ofthe exertion of the dance, stopped by the side of Nuova, she put out anantenna caressingly to him and then turned to Hero.

  "Hero, my King," she said proudly.

  "Hero, our King!" proudly shouted all the bees.

  And then she turned to Beffa.

  "Beffa, my jester," she said lovingly.

  "Beffa, our jester!" shouted all the bees.

  Beffa gave a little hop; then looking up at Nuova, he sang:

  "Ah, well, who knows? Ah, well, who knows?"

  THE END