Boys vs. Bees

Two of the Hester boys, age three and five, stand amongst the swarm of bees, swinging tree branches at them furiously, doing their best to kill. Honoring my duty as protector of insects, I try to reason with them, but they far outdo my logic, explaining how carpenter bees are very destructive, and most certainly will destroy the cabin’s structural integrity. So I try another method, try their sympathy. “But won’t their families be sad that you killed them?” Eli thinks on this a moment, weighing the costs and benefits. He finds a solution: “We’ll just kill their families, too!”