If he objected, the director, scratching at his beard and playing the religious scholar, would invariably tell him a story about the life of Noah or Jonas, or perhaps the Last Prophet, to let Sidi know that he would do well to obey. With a heavy heart, the beekeeper opened his hives and bitterly began to make the requisite, repugnant motions. He blackened his soul to meet the prince’s needs.
