--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They all seemed hungry, happy, and…" description: "\"“They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzing—oh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with poll..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/janet-frame-8769_bees_they-all-seemed-hungry-happy-and-healthy_3183239.jpg" --- # They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their… ![“They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzing—oh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with pollen and sun haze, and there were tiny black flies stuck to one another crowded by the creek and a creek stink rising from the deep pool under the…” quote by Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/janet-frame-8769_bees_they-all-seemed-hungry-happy-and-healthy_3183239.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/janet-frame-8769_bees_they-all-seemed-hungry-happy-and-healthy_3183239.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80e/janet-frame-8769_bees_they-all-seemed-hungry-happy-and-healthy_3183239.jpg) > ““They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzing—oh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with pollen and sun haze, and there were tiny black flies stuck to one another crowded by the creek and a creek stink rising from the deep pool under the willow tree where a wheat sack of new kittens had been drowned, and their tiny terrible struggling had shot like an electric current through the confusion of muddy water and up the arm of the person who had tied the stone around the mouth of the sack and thrust it into the water; and the culprit had not been able to brush away the current; it penetrated her body and made her heart beat with fear and pity. I was the culprit.”” [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, chaotic scene of suffering and guilt is described, revealing the narrator’s deep remorse and fear. **In simple terms:** The narrator feels guilt and terror over a tragic act. Key Takeaway Acknowledge and process guilt. Themes guilt remorse trauma nature memory Mood somber intense Type literary emotional When to use this quote - confession - therapeutic writing - mental health counseling Key Concepts psychological distress environmental symbolism human cruelty Questions to Reflect On - What does the natural setting symbolize? - How does guilt shape identity? A Different Perspective The narrative may be too graphic for some readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) [Bees Filled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees-filled-5841541/) [Black Flies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-flies-1585133/) [Cat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cat/) [Cats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cats/) [Creek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creek/) [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Electric current](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electric-current/) [Flies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flies/) [Heart beat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-beat/) [Kitten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kitten/) [Kittens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kittens/) [Pity Culprit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pity-culprit-5841542/) [Willow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willow/) [Willow-tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/willow-tree-206810/) ## Related quotes > [“As I followed Elsie back along the riverbank, I brushed my fingertips against the silky catkins on the willow trees and wished Daddy had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazel-gaynor/as-i-followed-elsie-back-along-the-riverbank-i-brushed-my-fingertips/) [Hazel Gaynor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazel-gaynor/) > [When you were straight, evil thoughts and memories came pouring up out of the darkness inside you; buzzing black flies clinging to the insides…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-were-straight-evil-thoughts-and-memories-came-pouring-up-out/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The insecticides kill the black flies, but also destroy much of the food chain for the bird, fish, and animal life which also inhabit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/the-insecticides-kill-the-black-flies-but-also-destroy-much-of-the/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [The view of the Rocky Mountains from the Divide near Kiowa Creek is considered one of the finest in Colorado.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/the-view-of-the-rocky-mountains-from-the-divide-near-kiowa-creek-is/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [The village had a mill near it, situated on the little creek, which made very good flour. The population consisted of civilized Indians, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zebulon-pike/the-village-had-a-mill-near-it-situated-on-the-little-creek-which/) [Zebulon Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zebulon-pike/) > [“Yes, I understand it’s 5 AM...Millie Watkins from the Medlin Creek Times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-c-lewis/yes-i-understand-it-s-5-am-millie-watkins-from-the-medlin-creek-times/) [N.C. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-c-lewis/) > [As I was leaving graduate school in 1974, I was recruited to join a fledgling SETI project at the Hat Creek Observatory in California,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-tarter/as-i-was-leaving-graduate-school-in-1974-i-was-recruited-to-join-a/) [Jill Tarter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-tarter/) > [I remember very much there in Falls Church there was a creek that was flowing down into 4 Mile Run. I believe it's now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fowler/i-remember-very-much-there-in-falls-church-there-was-a-creek-that-was/) [Jim Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fowler/) > [One catfish does not make a creek, nor one hero a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper-brann/one-catfish-does-not-make-a-creek-nor-one-hero-a-nation/) [William Cowper Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper-brann/) > [All I care is what the boys at the forks of the creek think of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-long/all-i-care-is-what-the-boys-at-the-forks-of-the-creek-think-of-me/) [Huey Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-long/) > [“the distant whisper of the creek as it runs between the roots of trees so much older than I am that they probably never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seanan-mcguire/the-distant-whisper-of-the-creek-as-it-runs-between-the-roots-of/) [Seanan McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seanan-mcguire/) > [The people who watched 'Dawson's Creek' when it originally aired aren't too old to enjoy 'Life Unexpected.' And then you've got the whole next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerr-smith/the-people-who-watched-dawson-s-creek-when-it-originally-aired-aren-t/) [Kerr Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerr-smith/) > [Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-rather/don-t-taunt-the-alligator-until-after-you-ve-crossed-the-creek/) [Dan Rather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-rather/) > [For myself, the Creek satisfies a thing that had gone hungry and unfed since childhood days. I am often lonely. Who is not? But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/for-myself-the-creek-satisfies-a-thing-that-had-gone-hungry-and-unfed/) [Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-kinnan-rawlings/) > [God willing and the creek don't rise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-hawkins/god-willing-and-the-creek-don-t-rise/) [Benjamin Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-hawkins/) ## More by Janet Frame > [Very often the law of extremity demands an attention to irrelevance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/very-often-the-law-of-extremity-demands-an-attention-to-irrelevance/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I must go down to the seas again to find where I buried the hatchet with Yesterday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-must-go-down-to-the-seas-again-to-find-where-i-buried-the-hatchet/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“So I went up north to a land of palm trees and mangroves like malignant growths in the mud-filled throats of the bays, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/so-i-went-up-north-to-a-land-of-palm-trees-and-mangroves-like/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“A certain pleasure was added to Grace’s relief at establishing herself as a migratory bird. She found that she understood the characters in her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/a-certain-pleasure-was-added-to-grace-s-relief-at-establishing/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“I have to cry out here that language is all we have for the delicacy and truth of telling, that words are the sole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-have-to-cry-out-here-that-language-is-all-we-have-for-the-delicacy/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [The only certainty about writing and trying to be a writer is that it has to be done, not dreamed of or planned and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/the-only-certainty-about-writing-and-trying-to-be-a-writer-is-that-it/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [“Life is hell, but there are prizes. ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/life-is-hell-but-there-are-prizes/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I don't want to inhabit the human world under false pretenses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-want-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretenses/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [Listening to her, one experienced a deep uneasiness as of having avoided an urgent responsibility, like someone who, walking at night along the banks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/listening-to-her-one-experienced-a-deep-uneasiness-as-of-having/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [I don't wish to inhabit the human world under false pretences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/i-don-t-wish-to-inhabit-the-human-world-under-false-pretences/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [People dread silence because it is transparent; like clear water, which reveals every obstacle—the used, the dead, the drowned, silence reveals the cast-off words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/people-dread-silence-because-it-is-transparent-like-clear-water-which/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [So we went to bed, assaulted by sleep that fumed at us from medicine glasses, or was wielded from small sweet-coated tablets -- dainty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/so-we-went-to-bed-assaulted-by-sleep-that-fumed-at-us-from-medicine/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [She grew more and more silent about what really mattered. She curled inside herself like one of those black chimney brushes, the little shellfish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/she-grew-more-and-more-silent-about-what-really-mattered-she-curled/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [Conversation is the wall we build between ourselves and other people, too often with tired words like used and broken bottles which, catching the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/conversation-is-the-wall-we-build-between-ourselves-and-other-people/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) > [But it is imperative, for our own survival, that we avoiid one another, and what more successful means of avoidance are there than words?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-frame/but-it-is-imperative-for-our-own-survival-that-we-avoiid-one-another/) [Janet Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) [Explore all 77 Janet Frame quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-frame/) ## More Bees quotes > [Those who have not been stung will hardly fear a bee the same as those who have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/those-who-have-not-been-stung-will-hardly-fear-a-bee-the-same-as/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Arouse a bee and it will come at you with the force of a dragon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/takeda-shingen/arouse-a-bee-and-it-will-come-at-you-with-the-force-of-a-dragon/) [Takeda Shingen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/takeda-shingen/) > [Pray look upon the plants and birds, the ants, spiders, and bees, and you will see them all exerting their nature, and busy in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-aurelius/pray-look-upon-the-plants-and-birds-the-ants-spiders-and-bees-and-you/) [Marcus Aurelius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-aurelius/) > [You see, years ago I was just an ordinary bee minding my own business, smelling flowers all day, and occasionally picking up part-time work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norton-juster/you-see-years-ago-i-was-just-an-ordinary-bee-minding-my-own-business/) [Norton Juster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norton-juster/) > [As the bee collecteth honey with great zest, so the fool collecteth wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kabir/as-the-bee-collecteth-honey-with-great-zest-so-the-fool-collecteth/) [Kabir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kabir/) > [It is hard to imagine a world without bees. It would be even harder to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/it-is-hard-to-imagine-a-world-without-bees-it-would-be-even-harder-to/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [When I heard that the bees were in trouble, the fact that they're disappearing and not coming back to the hive, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-schwartzberg/when-i-heard-that-the-bees-were-in-trouble-the-fact-that-they-re/) [Louie Schwartzberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-schwartzberg/) > [Precise, graceful, and generous, the poems in SuperLoop, seem to be born out of a deep, careful attention and a profound compassion. Sometimes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ada-limon/precise-graceful-and-generous-the-poems-in-superloop-seem-to-be-born/) [Ada Limon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ada-limon/) > [The little bee returns with evening's gloom, To join her comrades in the braided hive, Where, housed beside their might honey-comb, They dream their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-tennyson-turner/the-little-bee-returns-with-evening-s-gloom-to-join-her-comrades-in/) [Charles Tennyson Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-tennyson-turner/) > [“This time of year, the purple blooms were busy with life- not just the bees, but butterflies and ladybugs, skippers and emerald-toned beetles, flitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-wiggs/this-time-of-year-the-purple-blooms-were-busy-with-life-not-just-the/) [Susan Wiggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-wiggs/) > [“Bees chase flowers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracy-l-shreve/bees-chase-flowers/) [Tracy L. Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracy-l-shreve/) > [My banks they are furnish'd with bees, Whose murmur invites one to sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/my-banks-they-are-furnish-d-with-bees-whose-murmur-invites-one-to/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/there-are-certain-pursuits-which-if-not-wholly-poetic-and-true-do-at/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The Bee Gees are a fly-by-night sort of group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gibb/the-bee-gees-are-a-fly-by-night-sort-of-group/) [Barry Gibb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gibb/) > [“I don't like to hear cut and dried sermons. No—when I hear a man preach, I like to see him act as if he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-don-t-like-to-hear-cut-and-dried-sermons-no-when-i-hear-a-man/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) [Browse all 770 Bees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“They all seemed hungry, happy, and healthy enough in their buzzing—oh the days were hot, and the noise of bees filled the air that was dusty with pollen and sun haze, and there were tiny black flies stuck to one another crowded by the creek and a creek stink rising from the deep pool under the willow tree where a wheat sack of new kittens had been drowned, and their tiny terrible struggling had shot like an electric current through the confusion of muddy water and up the arm of the person who had tied the stone around the mouth of the sack and thrust it into the water; and the culprit had not been able to brush away the current; it penetrated her body and made her heart beat with fear and pity. 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