为什么蜜蜂只能蜇一次

Bees Sting Only Once

Long time ago, Zeus lived high atop Mt. Olympus where he sat upon his gold throne, governing the world below. One day, after spending many hours listening to petitioners' request of all sorts of favors from the gods, Zeus decided to give out gifts to all the animals and birds, fishes and insects. He called upon them to gather around his throne. "Each of you will be granted one wish," said the great god, "Choose wisely."

The deer quickly chose antlers with which to fend off his enemies. The eagle asked for great wings that she might fly high over the world. Others, like the peacock, requested great beauty, while still others asked for soft voices.

Finally, all of the creature requests were taken care of except for the little honeybee.

Zeus looked down and in his mighty voice asked, "What is it that you would like, Honeybee?"

Much to his surprise the little honeybee came before his throne and, bowing low, said, "Of all the gifts that you could give to me, only one will do. I'd like the power to inflict great pain whenever I choose to."

"What an awful wish!" said great Zeus. "Are you sure there is not something else that you would like?"

The honeybee replied quickly that there was no other wish.

"All right," said the mighty Zeus. "You have made your wish and I will grant this one to you. I hereby give you a sharp sting. But, I'm sure you'll use this weapon carefully in times of anger and strife. I say this because you will be allowed to use it only once, for using it will cost you your life."

And to this day, whenever the little honeybee stings another creature, it dies shortly.

很久以前，在高高的奥林匹亚山顶上，天地之王宙斯坐在他的黄金宝座上，统治着人间世界。有一天，宙斯听了请愿者向神提出的各种各样的赏赐要求后，决定让所有的动物和鸟，昆虫和鱼都能得到神的赏赐。他把鸟兽鱼虫都召集到他的宝座周围。“我让你们各实现一个愿望，”伟大的宙斯说。“你们要明智地做出选择。”

鹿立刻选择了可以赶走敌人的鹿角。鹰请求要一对能够让她翱翔天空的翅膀。其他的动物，像孔雀，请求无比的美貌。还有些动物想要柔美的声音。

最后，所有动物都实现了自己的愿望，只剩下了小蜜蜂。

宙斯望下去，用他那威严的声音问：“你想要什么，蜜蜂?”

让他大吃一惊的是小蜜蜂走到他的宝座前，深鞠一躬，说道：“在您能赐予我的全部礼物中，我只想要一样。我希望拥有能随时给他人带来巨大痛苦的力量。”

“多么可怕的愿望!”伟大的宙斯说，“你肯定不想要其他东西?”蜜蜂很快回答说没有其他愿望。

“好”，伟大的宙斯说，“你已经说出了你的愿望，我将满足你的愿望。我就给你一根尖刺。但是，你要慎用之，在发怒和反抗时才使用这件武器。我这么说是因为你只能用一次，因为使用这件东西你要付出生命的代价。”

所以直到今天，只要小蜜蜂一蜇其他动物，自己也就会很快地死去。