Village Shepherd

Buzter hummed to himself. He was happy in his work, and he always hummed when he was happy. And he was never happier than when he was a busy, buzzy bee.

Today, along with all the other workers, he had been sent out by the Queen Bee to collect nectar from the roses growing at the end of the garden. Buzter loved collecting nectar, for it was a delicious taste. And he loved the way pollen from the roses caught on his coat, for it was a delicious scent which he carried from rose to rose to help the roses bloom even more brightly.

When the worker bees returned to the hive loaded with nectar, it would be converted into honey for the nursery bees and the Queen. So Buzter hummed to himself as he busily flew from rose to rose, loading himself with as much nectar as he could carry.

Out of the corner of his eye Buzter glimpsed an elderly worker bee lying on the ground on his back with his legs kicking feebly in the air. Nobody else seemed to have noticed the problem, so with a sigh Buzter laid down his load of pollen and flew to the side of the elderly worker. He pushed and he shoved and he jostled and he nudged until last he managed to turn the old bee over onto his tummy. The old bee panted and gasped for a moment or two, then staggered to his feet and was able to fly off.

Buzter started collecting his nectar all over again, and was soon back on the flight path to and from the hive. Towards the end of his working shift, when he was feeling quite tired with all the work, Buzter nearly flew into the middle of a sticky spider's web. He saw the danger just in time, but noticed another worker had not been so fortunate. Without stopping to think, Buzter flew towards the worker and began pulling and tugging and hauling and yanking at his friend. After a while they both fell backwards out of the web, free at last.

When Buzter returned to the hive for the final time, he was summoned to the Royal Court. The Queen herself had demanded to see him. Buzter found himself shivering and shaking, wondering what he had done wrong.

"Buzter," began the Queen, "your quota of nectar is low today. In fact, you hardly ever bring in as much nectar as most of the other workers. How do you account for this?"

Buzter's lip began to tremble. He always worked so hard, but he'd never realised he brought in less nectar than anyone else. He couldn't think of any reason why.

"Your Majesty," he said in a trembling voice, "I'm very sorry. I didn't know my work was sub-standard. I'll try much harder in future."

"You certainly won't," retorted the Queen. Buzter's eyes opened wide in shock. Then he noticed that the Queen was smiling. "There are very few of my workers who care about their fellow worker bees," she added. " But I know all about your little acts of kindness. Never a day goes by without you helping somebeedy out. You have quietly improved the lot or saved the lives of many a struggling bee."

Buzter's eyes opened even wider. Then he frowned. "Your Majesty?" he said uncertainly. "I don't remember ever saving anyone's life!"

"That's just the point," replied the Queen. "There's so much love and goodness inside you Buzter, that you offer these little act of kindness without even noticing. So from now on, I want you to stay with me in the Royal Court, helping me to teach and prepare the baby bees in the nursery. It's the most important job in the hive, and it needs a bee who knows how to love. That bee is you, Buzter. Welcome to the Royal Court."

If you go to that hive today, you'll hear a very loud humming indeed, for Buzter is still a busy, buzzy bee. But now there are lots more busy, buzzy bees, for Buzter is raising all those baby bees in the nursery to be just like him. And it's a very happy hive.