In days whose scent is deeply buried, there was a worker who was named Yaka. Yaka was clever, and so she could learn quickly and precisely. She could learn of unshared things, such was her skill. Those who joined her labors were often eager to gather Yaka's learning that was made and not itself gathered from sisters. Thus her labors were rarely alone, and Yaka's part in them was often small or simple in its doing.

One day Yaka was foraging with one-and-one others, and as ever she was eager to gather learning Outside. Though Yaka was smallest of her group of one and two, she was leading, and was pleased to have her sisters following. Together the group of one-and-two traveled far from the Colony on Yaka's clever paths that she had made without first following a sister. They found a very large bush that was burdened by many ripe sweetpinks. Sweetpinks were her favorite, and she was eager to eat them without first bringing them back to the colony untasted in the manner of foraging that was learned.

Yaka and her sisters then began their labors, and they each began to gather as many as they could hold. Most could hold five and still walk, though strong Iss could lift as many as one and four! Seeing that Iss could carry twice as many sweetpinks as the others, an evil learning came to be among Yaka's thoughts.

She spoke to Iss as the others began to return to the Colony with their sweetpinks. “Iss,” she said to her, “this place where we have found the sweetpinks offers much to be learned.”

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“I do not smell this,” said Iss, for the Queen had gifted her with strength and skillful watching, instead of quick learning. “Will you gather what I cannot smell?”

“Yes,” said Yaka, “I will have much to share, but it will not be a small labor for me. I can carry five sweetpinks, but it will take all of my effort to carry them from this place and I will not be able to learn so burdened. You are strong while I am not, and I have seen that you can carry enough for two. If you would carry my share of sweetpinks, I will be able to learn here without burdens and I will have more to share upon my return.”

Iss considered the offer. It would not be easy to carry two and three sweetpinks, but Iss was eager to enjoy the learning that Yaka could gather, for she had learned that Yaka could gather things rarer even than a bush of sweetpinks. Strong Iss then lifted two and three sweetpinks, and her legs endured great strain as she carried them.

Yaka was joyful at the completion of her evil labor, which was to have her burden of sweetpinks lifted by Iss instead, and she explored much of the place where the sweetpink bush had been found. She stayed long by the sweetpink bush, until the sun had traveled far across the sky and dragged the shadows long. But when she returned to the Colony, she found that there were no sweetpinks left for her. Since Iss had worked so hard to carry the burdens of two sisters, the Nest-Keepers had shared with her two stomachs' worth of sweetpinks, leaving none for Yaka.

Yaka was very hungry that night and was forced to fill herself with the bitter armor of beetles instead of soft fruit, having learned the evil of discarding her joined labors in favor of those that she had made.