TWO brothers of Old Road, Devonshire Castle village on the Essequibo Coast had the scare of their life last Saturday, when out of the blue, they were set upon by a swarm of angry African bees. 

According to reports, the brothers, Laurence and Adam, were out in their backyard weeding and cleaning an area in preparation to building a chicken pen when the incident occurred.
Noting that the flurry of activity had apparently disturbed the insects, the men said they suddenly swooped down on them from a coconut tree in a neighbour’s yard and started to sting them about their body.
Dropping their cutlasses, the men said they both made a dash for the front of their yard, with the bees in hot pursuit. Adam said he was so scared he initially ran past the house, but turned back, and, diving into the verandah, made a beeline for the front door, locking it quickly behind him.
Laurence, meanwhile, managed to gain entry into the house from another source, and together they secured the house from the bees.
The insects reportedly remained at the windows and glass front door for quite a while before going back to the coconut tree.
Of the two, Adam said he got off lightly with only four stings. Laurence was not so lucky, as he was stung no less than twenty-five times.
They have since exacted their vengeance on the insects by setting the coconut tree in which they nested alight, taking them all out in one fell swoop.
(Rajendra Prabhulall in Essequibo)