"It so happened, however, that the keeper of the royal hives had
leanings towards Christianity himself, and moreover, like most of
the Court officials, he was very much attached to Vespaluus. On
the eve of the execution, therefore, he busied himself with
removing the stings from all the royal bees; it was a long and
delicate operation, but he was an expert bee-master, and by
working hard nearly all night he succeeded in disarming all, or
almost all, of the hive inmates."
"I didn't know you could take the sting from a live bee," said the
Baroness incredulously.
"Every profession, has its secrets," replied Clovis; "if it hadn't
it wouldn't be a profession. Well, the moment for the execution
arrived; the king and Court took their places, and accommodation
was found for as many of the populace as wished to witness the
unusual spectacle. Fortunately the royal bee-yard was of
considerable dimensions, and was commanded, moreover, by the
terraces that ran round the royal gardens; with a little squeezing
and the erection of a few platforms room was found for everybody.
Vespaluus was carried into the open space in front of the hives,
blushing and slightly embarrassed, but not at all displeased at
the attention which was being centred on him.
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