Morbid, Wasp, Scapegoat

Morbid - characterized by an abnormal and unhealthy interest in disturbing and unpleasant subjects
Wasp - an insect with wings and yellow and black stripes across its body. Wasps have a painful sting like a bee but do not produce honey
Scapegoat - to blame them publicly for something bad that has happened

Nestor, the old man, he had lived on the very edge of the village, his lopsided house seemed leaning to the ground seeking rest after a long working life. Even the owner, old Nestor, with years passing bore some resemblance to his dwelling. He was harmless – could not hurt a fly, was slouching all the time about his pitiful house. Though some villagers looked strange at him and scared their children with old man. He was a man of few words, true, but it didn't make him vicious or anything. I always greeted him passing by and though he never greeted me back, he always gave me some honey of his. Yes, he was a committed bee-keeper, had several hundreds of comb hives on his land. That was how he managed to live – by selling honey. And I would be lying if I say it wasn't superb quality. He treated me even though we weren't acquainted, and I guess he would benignly treat anyone who dared come closer. By and large, people were frightened by him; don't know why, but they really looked at his obsession about bees as if it was some morbid interest. No wonder they scapegoated him after several men and women in the village died from wasp stings. Those who died probably had an allergy on wasp poison or something, but anyhow villagers soon put the blame on the old chap. Poor bastards! They couldn't even distinguish a bee from a wasp, and old Nestor wouldn't speak for himself. Eight of them came at night with torches and lynched the old man, they hanged him right in front of his own house, and, as I heard, he didn't say a word. The next day when I saw a cheerful crowd and asked what was going on, I was told that the old dwarf was killed tonight and wouldn't make any trouble anymore. Immediately I went to sheriff and arranged buying the old man's apiary: Nestor was kind to me and I wanted to save his life's work from being demolished. I was too late though, the same night those blind earth worms burned the apiary as well as the house. I was out of luck. What has happened during the next months you can call bloody irony or, perhaps, justice, but these eight ignorant farmers, who wouldn't say which of their arms are left, all died from bee stings.