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The Witch's Plan to Kill the
Bees |
 "It is nonsense," replied the old woman. "Removing the stinger does nothing. That young man is up to something." The artist stared at the old woman. "What, are you a witch?" Shin asked her. "Don't be so impudent," the old woman said sternly. "I am the best witch in the kingdom and I answer only to the king." "So the best witch in the kingdom doesn't even know a thing about bees, huh?" The witch's face grew red with anger. "Shut your trap. Of course I know about bee stingers." "Then may I ask why you didn't pull the stinger out right away?" "Humph," grumbled the witch as she thrust out her crystal-topped cane. "The bee was in love with the princess. You can't remove cupid's arrow." "Ha ha ha ha." Shin broke out in laughter. "That's absurd. The only bees that have stingers are the worker bees and the queen bee. And both are female." Hearing this, the king was impressed. "Even the best witch in the kingdom makes mistakes, I guess. You may leave us now." Thus declaring, the king made the witch leave the room, and he stepped onto the balcony with the artist. "My beloved people," the king began as looked out over the crowd, "the princess is all right. Let the celebrations continue!" The people cheered below. |
 The
artist was getting ready to head back to his ship. Seeing this, the king
stopped him."I invite you to the dinner celebration tonight. Please stay overnight with us." "I am a traveler," said Shin. "I am honored by your invitation, but I could never feel at home in such a grand castle." "Your leaving like this will never do. The princess must also thank you." "All right, then. I will bring my ship to the castle. When I am ready to go to sleep I will return to my ship." Shin got permission to do this and left the castle. The witch was in her room at the top of the tower. She paced back and forth, irritated, grumbling to herself. "Who does he think he is, that meddler? I've got to do something about him." The witch remembered how she had pretended to touch the princess' neck, applying the poison onto it that she had previously taken from a bee's stinger. For if a bee picked up the scent, it would sting her in that spot. That's right. The witch had an evil scheme up her sleeve. "I should have learned more about bees. He really put me to shame." Thus pondered the witch as she stood by the window. "Anyway, the bee stinging the princess went as planned. Let's move on to the next tactic." She watched as the artist's ship rose slowly into the air and headed toward the castle. "Later I shall slowly roast that meddler." The witch left to go to the king. |
 The
king remained at the princess's bedside.The princess had just woken up. She smiled quietly as she listened to the king speak. "I really want to meet that artist soon," said the princess. "I can't wait to thank him." Just then the witched brusquely entered the room. "King, I bring serious tidings." "Then let me hear it." "It is a bad sign that the princess was stung by a bee. We must do something." "Is that right? What do you think we should do?" "We have to kill all the bees." The king was surprised at this. "Kill all the bees? Is that really necessary?" "Yes," replied the witch. "This is proof that the bees have started to rebel against the kingdom. That was the sign." "Yes... How unbelievable that a bee would sting the princess!" "Our kingdom must take revenge upon the bees. We need to show firm resolution." The king had crossed his arms and was thinking it over, but now he stroked the princess's hair and said, "Whatever you say. I leave it up to you." After the king sent the witch away, the princess spoke. "I don't hate the bees. It's no good to kill them." "Mmm," said the king, "Let's see how things go." |
 The
artist traveled leisurely until he reached the castle once more.As he was ready to enter the castle, a large regiment of soldiers came marching out. "What's going on?" Shin asked the lead soldier. "We're going to kill the bees," replied the soldier. "King's orders." Shin was shocked. "Kill the bees? Maybe the king has gone mad," he thought. The artist spread his arms wide and stood in front of the soldiers. "Wait. You mean you're going out to kill innocent bees?" "It's not our choice," said the lead soldier. "It is an order from the king." "You say it is the king's orders, but don't you think that's strange?" The lead soldier was getting tired of this kind of talk. Suddenly he pointed his spear at the artist. "That is for the king to decide. Our job is to go and kill the bees. You will step aside now." "I will not," said Shin as he glared at the soldier. "I love the bees. I cannot let you do such a foolish thing." "It's only bees," said the soldier. "How can you give up your life only for that?" "Only bees...," repeated Shin slowly. "Is that because the bees are small creatures? I have been to many small planets like this one." The soldier remained silent. "Everyone living on those planets was kind," said Shin. The soldiers didn't know what to do now. "Please give me a little time," said Shin. "I will go to the king and find out his reason." "If so, we wouldn't be disobeying orders. We'll wait a little while, then." Actually the soldiers didn't agree with the orders, and seemed relieved as they sat down to wait. Shin went into the castle and hurried to find the king. |
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