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I came to like the life here. Tsuyoshi was a nice guy and bees were nice guys, too. Then, another happy thing happened. I learned that Mother and my baby sister would get out of the hospital before summer vacation. I was so happy I jumped and jabbered away. When Mother and baby sister came home to me, I yelled, "Mom, Mom," and grasped at her. Mother was no different from the mother that I remembered. Baby sister was too small to look cute like a doll or be picked up as easily as a stuffed animal. But I never got tired of looking at her. The baby was very important, precious, and cute all the same. Summer vacation came. Father took time off from the company and came to the country for one week. That made me very busy. In one week, I had to show Father how well I could fish and take him to my secret cave. Above all, I wanted to show him that I am a beekeeper. I showed him around for the entire week. I decided to write a report of self study for the homework assigned for the summer vacation. It was entitled "Observation of Bees." I wrote that they came in a huge swarm to the pine tree in my yard, that I started to keep them in a beehive, and that they really worked hard. I also summed up what I read in books and what Tsuyoshi's grandpa told me. I also drew illustrations on how to collect honey. I opened the lid of the beehive, blew smoke in it to calm the bees, and took out honeycombs with lots of honey in them. When bees are smoked, they fly away or put their heads in the cells in a hurry. Then, I cut open the lids of the honey cells and put it in a centrifugal separator to remove the honey. After that, I poured it through a cloth filter. I put lots and lots of effort into this report, probably for the first time for something called homework, because it was so much fun. Summer vacation was over all too soon. My report, "Observation on Bees" was selected as the representative work of my grade. Then, the day came for me to give a presentation in front of all the students at school. I felt a cold sweat in my hands and heard my heart beating fast. The autumn came. My sister had grown a little bigger and my bees were buzzing among the cosmoses in the yard. There was going to be an autumn festival that celebrated harvest. Every year, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other groups set up their tents and sold vegetables, handicrafts, and so on. Grandma was eager to sell her sweet potatoes. She always boasted that her sweet potatoes, when steamed, were soft and sweet and enjoyed a very good reputation every year. So I thought maybe I could sell my honey. When I consulted with Tsuyoshi's grandpa about it, he said, "I am going to arrange to open a booth for my honey, Kenta, so I will arrange yours, too." I wrote to Father that I was going to open a booth and sell my honey. A few days later, I received a reply from him.
I opened the package to find labels that Father designed and that I could put on the bottles of honey. The labels said, in big letters: Kenta's Honey and bees flew around the logo. One of the bees carried cards that said:
I was so delighted. I put labels on the bottles and put honey in them and, there they were, Honey with Kenta's Brand, really good-looking. On the day of the autumn festival, I decided to sell my honey between the honey of Tsuyoshi's grandpa and Grandma's sweet potatoes. I was surprised. Mother shouted, with my baby sister on her back, "Walk up! Walk up! Kenta's Brand Honey! It's so tasty!" and she almost never raised her voice in public. 'Honey has a great power. It fills you full of energy,' I thought to myself and also shouted, "Honey with Health Brand!" Then Mother said, "You've really grown healthy, Kenta. You were never absent from school since April and you no longer gasp because of your chest." That gave me a start. I had completely forgotten. Yes, I used to gasp because of my chest. Tsuyoshi, standing next to me, asked, "Was something the matter with you?" I replied, "No way! I am as healthy as a bee." Tsuyoshi said, "I bet. It's the only thing that can be said in your favor." Then he started to run away. I ran after him as fast as I could. The breeze blowing on the cosmoses was comfortable. I heard Grandma say, far away, "Hey, Kenta! Mind your store like you should! I'm here for my sweet potatoes, not your honey!" |
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