Brown - 2 Short Stories About Bees - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

Today continues a study in Brown, but a very different author, Elizabeth V. Brown, and it's very different emphasis is on nature.  I get upset when people mistake hornets for bees.  There's a Michigan tale told by our Native People about how they came to be so different, but here we look at bees.  Bees have a furry look and will only sting to protect themselves or their hive.  Without bees pollination wouldn't happen, so our fruits and vegetables wouldn't grow.  Here is a look at them from EVB, as she signs herself in

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Yes, Stories of Woods and Fields is a reader.  World Book produced it in 1902.  Unfortunately it's not online, but this introduces a wide assortment of topics without feeling overwhelmingly like a textbook.  First let's see her bee stories and then I'll give a quick overview of topics covered.

The story really is continued with

 

That's factual, but not too dry.

The book looks at plants, insects, spiders, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals, and also some unexpected history, holidays, and miscellaneous.  Of course there's never a guarantee that the specific species you want will be covered and not everything is by Brown as she includes other writers and occasional brief poetry by poets like Stevenson, Longfellow, and Emerson to enrich a topic.  You never know what to expect.  It's rather like the mother mockingbird near our back deck who's teaching her nestlings all her songs!

The next selection will also be by an author continuing our study in brown, but this will be a Browne with an "e" before moving on to another story from the public domain.

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This is part of a series of bi-weekly posting of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories. 

Currently I'm involved in projects taking me out of my usual work of sharing stories with an audience.  My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them.  This fall I expect to return to my normal monthly posting of a research project here.  Depending on response, I will decide at that time if "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my monthly postings.