Zoe worked in an office, but she wanted something alive in her life. She took a beekeeping course and put two beehives on the roof of her apartment building. The first summer gave her very little honey. Then a swarm of bees landed on a neighbor's balcony. Mr. Brandt, who lived downstairs, was afraid of bees, and he complained loudly.
Zoe learned to be patient. She used smoke, kept her hands calm and watched the entrance of the hive. In the autumn she gave Mr. Brandt a jar of honey. It tasted of the linden trees on their street. The next summer he came up to the roof with water for the bees.