The Beekeeper

A man, having got into a beekeeper's place in his absence, had stolen honey and combs. On his return, the beekeeper, seeing the hives empty, stopped to examine them. But the bees, coming back from foraging and finding him there, stung him with their stings and mistreated him terribly. "Wicked creatures," he said to them, "you let the one who stole your combs get away unpunished, and me, who look after you, you strike without mercy!"