“Bees offer honey far more readily than they sting…” The Elder Queen whispered to her young daughter. “But why? You always say to protect our honey at all costs! That it’s the future of the Hive!”

The Queen smiles gently at the tiny bee on her knee; a smile like the sunbeams that gently stroke the daisies in summer. “Well, yes. That is exactly what I mean.”

“But-“

“In order to protect our Hive, we will have to make some sort of sacrifice. In my lifetime, I’ve seen that there is two sacrifices that a bee can make, the first is a bee’s life. When something attacks the Hive, say a bear, all my Soldiers and Workers have to swarm around it and sting it until it goes away. But-”

The Old Monarch paused, placing her wing softly on her daughter’s head. “But what, mother?” Whispered the young bee, leaning into her mother’s fuzz. The Queen sighed.

“But, many of my subjects will lose their lives by stinging even once. So, instead we share an alliance with the Humans, who give us housing and protection in exchange for some of our honey. Therefore, we can survive to make our legacy.”

“Whoah.” Said the Queen’s daughter as she nestled farther into her mother’s warm, soft fuzz.