Elementary Reading Exercise

My Father's Unusual Job

My father has a very unusual job. He doesn't work in an office or a shop; my dad is a beekeeper. This means his job is to look after thousands and thousands of honeybees all year round. He has about fifty wooden boxes, called hives, in a large field behind our house. The hives are painted in bright colours like blue and yellow, so the field looks very pretty in the summer.

When he works with the bees, he has to wear a special white suit and a veil over his face. This is to protect him from bee stings. He moves very slowly and calmly when he is with the bees because he doesn't want to scare them. His job is very quiet and he spends all day outside.

In the late summer, it is time to collect the honey. He uses a special tool with smoke to make the bees calm, and then he opens the hives. The fresh honey is sweet and golden, and my dad says different flowers make different tasting honey. He puts all the honey into small glass jars with a special label that has a picture of a bee on it.

On Saturdays, he sells the jars at the local farmers' market. People love his honey because it is fresh and natural. My father is a very patient person and he loves his job. He says it is important to help the bees because they are important for nature. I am very proud of my dad and his unusual job, and I love eating his delicious honey on my toast!