The Parable of the Youth and the Beehive

One day while teaching, Josh was asked, ”Teacher, on the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg, might certain legislatures want to reflect on the consequences of hubris and overreach?”

Josh spoke thus:

Two youths were in a wood and spied a beehive high in a tree.

“I love honey,” the first youth said, “I’m going to climb up in that tree and get us some honey.”

“That hive is too high up,” the second youth said.

“Are you saying it’s too dangerous?” the first youth asked, “Are you scared?”

“I’m not saying it’s too dangerous,” the second youth said, “I’m saying you can’t climb that high.”

The first youth was already up in the tree.

At first, the climbing was easy.  The branches were firm and not too greatly spaced to be reached.

“Mmmm, mmm!” the first youth called down to the second, “I can almost taste the honey from here!”

“You won’t make it!” the second youth called up.

“Mmmmm, mmmmmmmmm!” the first youth said, still climbing.

The branches were slimmer now, but they were also closer together, and as long as the first youth kept close to the trunk, the footing was firm.

“I’ll knock the beehive down!” the first youth shouted.

“Don’t knock it down!” the second youth shouted back, “I don’t want a swarm of angry bees all around me.”

“That’s how it’s done!” the first youth shouted, “You knock the hive down, the bees swarm around, but the hive is smashed.  By the time you get down, the bees have gone off.  Then you take the honey.”

“That’s rubbish!” the second youth shouted, “I’m leaving!”  The second youth walked away.

“More honey for me!” the first youth shouted.  The first youth climbed to the level of the beehive.  The first youth could hear the bees inside.

The beehive was near the top of the tree, and the branches were slim.  That meant the first youth needed to be careful holding on, but it also meant that the beehive was hanging near the trunk, barely more than an arm’s length away.  This was lucky for the first youth, because the first youth had forgotten to bring a stick with which to knock the beehive to the ground.  As it was, the first youth could knock the beehive with a well-aimed fist.

Unfortunately, the first youth’s fist was not well aimed, and only brushed the beehive.  In the meantime, the first youth was forced to grab the branch for balance.  This bent the entire branch, causing the first youth to sway and teeter. The first youth was forced to grab the branch with both hands, in order not to tumble to the ground. 

The resultant shaking of the branch roused the bees, and they set on the youth, who had to choose between swatting the bees away and holding on to the branch to keep from falling to the ground.  

After a number of stings, the first youth began to swat.  The first youth’s grip slipped, and the first youth and the beehive both tumbled from the tree.  As the beehive split on the ground, the first youth, battered but not broken, hung from a branch halfway down the tree.

The bees indeed did swarm, but they did not fly away until a bear approached the beehive and tore the beehive to pieces, devouring almost all the honey.  The bees dissipated, the bear moved on, and the first youth at last was able to descend to the ground.  The first youth grabbed a small remaining honeycomb and returned home to show it off to the second youth.

When the first youth returned home, the second youth was excited.

“You should have come home with me!” the second youth exclaimed, “You missed all the adventure!  There was a bear!”