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 The pedigree of honey
 Does not concern the bee;
  A clover, any time, to him
  read more 
 The pedigree of honey
 Does not concern the bee;
  A clover, any time, to him
   Is aristocracy. 
 The solitary Bee
 Whose buzzing was the only sound of life,
  Flew there on restless wing,
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 The solitary Bee
 Whose buzzing was the only sound of life,
  Flew there on restless wing,
   Seeking in vain one blossom where to fix. 
 His labor is a chant,
 His idleness a tune;
  Oh, for a bee's experience
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 His labor is a chant,
 His idleness a tune;
  Oh, for a bee's experience
   Of clovers and of noon! 
 The honey-bee that wanders all day long
 The field, the woodland, and the garden o'er,
  To gather read more 
 The honey-bee that wanders all day long
 The field, the woodland, and the garden o'er,
  To gather in his fragrant winter store,
   Humming in calm content his winter song,
    Seeks not alone the rose's glowing breast,
     The lily's dainty cup, the violet's lips,
      But from all rank and noxious weeds he sips
       The single drop of sweetness closely pressed
        Within the poison chalice. 
 The bee is enclosed, and shines preserved, in a tear of the 
sisters of Phaeton, so that it seems read more 
 The bee is enclosed, and shines preserved, in a tear of the 
sisters of Phaeton, so that it seems enshrined in its own nectar. 
It has obtained a worthy reward for its great toils; we may 
suppose that the bee itself would have desired such a death. 
 Seeing only what is fair,
 Sipping only what is sweet,
  . . . .
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 Seeing only what is fair,
 Sipping only what is sweet,
  . . . .
   Leave the chaff, and take the wheat. 
 How doth the little busy bee
 Improve each shining hour,
  And gather honey all the day
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 How doth the little busy bee
 Improve each shining hour,
  And gather honey all the day
   From every opening flower. 
 "O bees, sweet bees!" I said; "that nearest field
 Is shining white with fragrant immortelles
  Fly swiftly read more 
 "O bees, sweet bees!" I said; "that nearest field
 Is shining white with fragrant immortelles
  Fly swiftly there and drain those honey wells."