Honey Bee & Little Typhoon

I was wrong in thinking that Little Typhoon would soon forget the sting of a honey bee. A thorough kid she is, she never considered anything ‘closed’ and always found out a way to reopen the old subject. Reopening means lot of doubts to make one nervous – like a under-prepared student opening the question paper on a tough subject.

Her first question was, “How honey is made by bees?”

I managed to reply saying, “The bees drink nectar and they have special digestive system to change it to honey”

    

“If it is taking place in their stomachs, how do we get honey? Don’t they use it all?”

My reply, “The bees spit out the honey and store it in the Honey comb” was not convincing.

She had a grave doubt, sorry grave doubts – “Do you mean that the honey what we taste is actually a spittle of number of bees? Is it not unhygienic? Why the honey bee does not swallow and digest all the honey in their stomachs?  Then, there will not be a need to build honey combs, is it not?

Thinking for acceptable answers, I replied, “Actually the honey drops are very thick and do not flow like milk or water. Bees are small insects, need little food. Honey is very nourishing and so drops are enough for them”.

To take the hidden sting out of further probable questions, I added, “They are very busy collecting nectar from flowers and can easily top up, while working, with drops of honey!They build the comb to stay and also store the honey" 

At this point of poignant silence, I could hear her brain humming with arguments – whether to leave the matter there or try and make me uncomfortable. I wished for the former. But she chose the latter.

“Why the honey comb looks dry and not wet with honey and how the honey comes to the market in 

bottles?” 

Yes! This is a definite trap and I immediately upgraded my survival equipments. I mumbled, “The honey is thick and we have to squeeze the comb to get honey flow out. It is sold in market so that anybody can buy a bottle and enjoy the taste.   

"Are we not hurting the bees while squeezing the honey comb and is it correct to disturb or kill the bees only for collecting the honey?

Cornered, I continued mumbling, " See these insects are born to make honey and get chased away or the combs are destroyed , as a practice".

After another of my unconvincing answer, I felt, again like an under-prepared student writing down, whatever he knows for any unknown question. Me and he tried to pass off, hoping undetected.

I could feel her sympathy for honey bees, not withstanding the experience of being 'stung' by a bee . Who knows, she might have even forgiven that bee!

She parted company , with a beseeching look, without saying,"You better do your home work properly"

My explanations might not have satisfied her curiosity. Not to be cowed down, I decided to become a thoroughly prepared student to face her further examinations.