《The Love of Life》- Bees Prevent A Miscarriage of Justice

Stories for children of all ages
translated by GB Talovich
Edited by Silent Voices

One day a bartender in a tavern happened to see that there was a bee drowning in one of his liquor kegs. He felt sorry for the little bee, so he lowered a chopstick to the bee so it could climb out. He put the chopstick down and watched as the bee dried out. It flapped it wings so they could dry out faster. Then, when it was all dry again, it flew away buzzing busily. 

After that, the bartender noticed that quite a few bees were attracted by the smell of the liquor; they fell in, and drowned. From then on, he kept an eye out for them, and rescued many bees.

This went on for many years. One day, he was startled when bailiffs from the court marched into his tavern. Without a word of explanation, they handcuffed him and marched him off to the court. When he got there, he discovered he had been framed. Some captured bandits who held a grudge against him said that the bartender was one of their gang. The judge in charge of the case had him hauled in to behead him with the rest of them.

The bartender protested that he was innocent, but the bandits had already said he was guilty, so the authorities assumed he was guilty. The bartender's heart went cold. He saw the main judge pick up the red brush used for writing out the death sentence.

Just as the main judge picked up his brush to write, a loud buzzing was heard coming closer, getting louder and louder. A great swarm of bees came flying in the window and landed on the judge's red brush! The judge waved the brush to shake them off, but more and more bees came. They didn't sting, but they wouldn't go away, either. 

The judge thought this most extraordinary. He mused: "Perhaps these bees are here to prevent a miscarriage of justice."

At that, the main judge questioned the bandits again, and found contradictions in their testimony. He grilled them over again. This time he was sure that they had almost executed an innocent man.

Only when the judge called off the bartender's death sentence did the swarms of bees fly away. Then the judge asked the bartender if he knew why the bees had come to save him. 

"I really don't know either, your honor, maybe it's because I have saved lots of bees that almost drowned in my liquor vats. They come to the smell. Then they fall in and can't get out. When l see that, I always save them. Now, I guess they've come to save me."

"This is truly wonderful! You have had a narrow escape. Always remember that you owe your good life to your good deeds. Remember to do all the good deeds you can. You are sure to enjoy good fortune in the future."

The judge's words proved true. The bartender kept doing all the good deeds he could. His business got better year after year. He lived a long, happy life, and died peacefully, a very rich man.

Source Of Information:
《Wisdom of the Buddhas》, by Venerable Wu Ling, based on the Talks of Venerable Master Chin Kung, translated by Silent Voices, published in August, 2012, distributed by Amitabha Buddhist Society Malaysia (92, Jalan Pahang, 53300 Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
*** The information provided above does not contain personal opinion of this blog.