Gli Amici del Bosco — Miele & Marmellata

Among the many beautiful things in the world, without a shadow of a doubt my favorite is in the large forest near the high mountain. To see it, however, one must make oneself very small and not make a sound... Beyond the old oak tree, almost completely hidden from the curious animals, there is a giant beehive. It is the home of the bees. All around it is a buzzing of wings: some are looking for the most beautiful flowers, some are returning from their inspection tour, some are checking that everything is in order. And the bees are so numerous that it's really very difficult to count them all... Fortunately, though, they never make a mistake! They are so good at their work that each one always knows what it has to do... And they produce so much honey for their colony that often some drops drip here and there. It is not uncommon, in fact, for many animals to try to snatch that true delight. But one must be careful: collecting honey can be dangerous... Bees are so jealous of their product that they don't like to share it with others. This morning even the red fox, who is usually so kind, approached their beehive. To tell the truth, she doesn't even know why she went. After listening to the other animals who always boast about having defied the prohibition of getting too close to the bees' home, she also wants to see it... As soon as her pointed snout peeks out from the green bush, the young sentinel bee Pia begins to buzz, already worried. "There's something strange here!" says Pia. "If I'm not mistaken, there's an animal there!" And she flies to check.