The unsettled beehives

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

The beekeeper had placed three hives beside the orchard wall. Mr Lyle, whose cart used the adjoining lane, complained that the bees followed his horse. He wanted every hive removed before the next market day. The beekeeper asked where the horse had been standing when it was stung. Mr Lyle said the place did not matter; a sting was a sting.

His daughter recalled that the cart had stopped beside the flowering lime tree. She had seen her father strike the horse’s neck with a cloth while bees circled the blossoms. Mr Lyle told her not to complicate a simple complaint. The beekeeper walked with them to the tree, where its branches hung directly over the waiting place.

They moved the cart to the bare wall farther along the lane. The horse stood quietly while the beekeeper checked the nearest hive. He did not promise that no bee would ever reach it, and Mr Lyle did not withdraw his complaint. They agreed to use the new waiting place for a week before deciding what else should change.

At the next market, Mr Lyle stopped beside the bare wall. His daughter held the reins while he unloaded. No sting occurred that morning. On the way home, he asked whether the lime tree would flower much longer. She answered without reminding him that the place had once been said not to matter.

“The passage presents a practical compromise more convincingly than a complete agreement.”

Evaluate how successfully the writer presents this idea. Support your judgement with detailed references to the passage.