the wings of the giants."

No sound was heard. It must have been the poor fellow's
terrified imagination, he must have thought he was still being
pursued.

"How many are there?" asked the queen sternly. "Answer in a low
voice."

"I counted forty."

Although the queen was startled by the enemy's numbers, she gave
no sign of shock.

In a ringing, confident voice that all could hear, she said:

"Not one of them will see his home again."

Her words, which seemed to sound the enemy's doom, had instant
effect. Men and officers alike felt their courage rise.

But when in the quiet of the morning an ominous whirring was
heard outside the hive, first softly, then louder and louder,
and the entrance darkened, and the whispering voices of the
hornets, the most frightful robbers and murderers in the insect
world, penetrated into the hive, then the faces of the valiant
little bees turned pale as if washed over by a drab light
falling upon their ranks. They gazed at one another with eyes in
which death sat waiting, and those who were ranged at the
entrance knew full well that one moment more and all would be
over with them.

The queen's controlled voice came clear and tranquil from her
place on high:

"Let the robbers enter one by one until I give orders to attack.
Then those at the front throw themselves upon the invaders a
hundred at a time, and the ranks behind cover the entrance. In
that way we shall divide up the enemy's forces. Remember, you at
the front, upon your strength and endurance and bravery depends
the fate of the whole state. Have no fear; in the dusk the enemy
will not see right away how well prepared we are, and he will
enter unsuspecting...."

She broke off. There, thrust through the doorway, was the head
of the first brigand. The feelers played about, groping,
cautious, the pincers opened and closed. It was a blood-curdling
sight. Slowly the huge black-and-gold striped body with its
strong wings crept in after the head. The light falling in from
the outside drew gleams from the warrior's cuirass.

Something like a quiver went through the ranks of the bees, but
the silence remained unbroken.

The hornet withdrew quietly. Outside he could be heard
announcing:

"They're fast asleep. But the entrance is half walled up and
there are no sentinels. I do not know whether to take this as a
good or a bad sign."

"A good sign!" rang out. "Forward!"

At that two giants leapt in through the entrance