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The Witch's Plan to Kill the
Bees |
 "I wonder why a bee stung the princess. Just for fun?" "No," said Shin. "Bees will never sting a person just for fun." "But they always have a stinger. Don't they want to use it sometimes?" "Your Majesty, after a bee stings a person it dies." "Really?" said the king. "They sting just once and die? I didn't know that." "Bees behave in interesting ways," said Shin. "If one bee stings a person and the other bees pick up that scent, they also go to sting that person." "Really! Then why did the bee think the princess was an enemy?" "Maybe," said Shin, lowering his voice, "someone evil is using the bees." Just then, the witch, who had been eating dinner with her cane standing by, placed the cane under the table. The people around them were drunk on wine and laughing loudly. Nobody seemed to notice. Except for Shin, who noticed immediately since he was keeping a close eye on the witch as he talked with the king. "Clang!" Shin pretended he had dropped his spoon and bent down to peek underneath the table. "Aha!" The tip of the cane had popped off and bees were streaming out. "Finally she is carrying out her evil plan," thought Shin. "There's no time to lose." He crawled underneath the table and grabbed the tip of the cane out of the witch's hand. A great clamor arose. The table overturned and people started screaming. Shin untwisted the ruby and took out a small vial. "No," stammered the witch as she turned pale and backed away. "Do you know what that is?" "Of course I know, you evil witch!" With that, Shin popped the cork and threw the vial at the witch. |
 "Crack!"The vial hit the witch's hand and broke open, splashing the liquid all over her. The bees swarmed to her and stung her on her hands and face. "Agggh!" She swung her cane and chanted a spell, but no magic spells would work. The red ruby was off and the black cane was of no use. "You rotten pipsqueak!" She threw away her black cane, and turned into a red-eyed crow. Flapping her wings loudly she flew to an open window and escaped. "That red-eyed crow! It was the Black Witch!" shouted the king, overcome with surprise. The king had only heard rumors that the Black Witch lived in the neighboring land. "The Black Witch?" said Shin. "Who is that?" "She is a terrible witch who does many evil things." |
 The
king immediately dispatched his messenger to the castle of the neighboring
land."Have them apprehend the Black Witch. Now is our chance. She does not have her magic cane." The messenger soon arrived back from the neighboring land. "The Black Witch has been caught and her evil plan exposed." According to the messenger's story, the Black Witch controlled the beekeepers of the neighboring land. She had cast a spell of black magic over the honey and wanted to send the honey to all the neighboring lands. That is why she wanted all the bees of this kingdom killed, so that people in the kingdom would buy her honey. Black magic is the most terrible kind of magic. Anyone who tasted that honey would soon want to start fighting. With more people wanting to fight, a war would soon break out. This was her plan. "What a terrible witch!" said the king. "Why did the Black Witch enjoy fighting?" asked Shin. "Because she could take advantage of it," said the king. "If a country was at peace, she would have to mind her own business." The king gave Shin a hero's badge of honor. The princess gave him a kiss. The kingdom returned to peace. "Well, now it is time for me to leave," thought the artist. The king and princess looked sad. But Shin had made up his mind to go. He had to continue on his journey studying drawing. "I'll return next May," he told them. The artist's ship rose slowly into the air and sailed off. Later, people noticed that the king had changed. He often went out of the castle in good spirits. Sometimes he would lie on the grass, and sometimes he would sit on stone steps in the town and talk lightheartedly with the townsfolk. The princess had also changed. She asked the king to buy her a sketchbook and colored pencils, and she began to study drawing with great earnest. |
