'
"And her father having gone out by a side door, when he returned he
said--
"'It is all right, my child; I have closed the hive.'
"Half an hour afterwards the girl, rousing herself once more from her
reverie, murmured--
"'There are no more bees about, but under the roof of the apiary there
are some waiting; they are in the sixth hive near the door; please go and
let them in, father.'
"The old man left the house at once. He was away more than a quarter of
an hour; then he came back and told his daughter that everything was as
she wished it--the bees had just gone into their hive.
"The child nodded, and replied--
"'Thank you, father.'
"Then she seemed to doze again.
"I was standing by the stove, lost in a labyrinth of reflections; how
could that poor blind girl know that from such or such a hive there were
still some bees absent, or that such a hive had been left open? This
seemed inexplicable to me; but having been in the house hardly one hour,
I did not feel justified in asking my hosts any questions with regard to
their daughter, for it is sometimes painful to talk to people on subjects
which interest them very nearly.
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