In 1963 a Lancaster bomber crashed on Wallis Island, a remote place in the South Pacific, a long way west of Samoa. The plane wasn't too badly damaged, but over the years, the crash was forgotten and the wreck remained undisturbed. Then in 1989, twenty-six years after the crash, the plane was accidentally rediscovered in an aerial survey of the island. By this time, a Lancaster bomber in reasonable condition was rare and worth rescuing. The French authorities had the plane packaged and moved in parts back to France. Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. It has four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, but the group will need to have only three of them rebuilt. Imagine their surprise and delight when they broke open the packing cases and found that the fourth engine was sweet as honey -- still in perfect condition. A colony of bees had turned the engine into a hive and it was totally preserved in beeswax!
在1963的兰开斯特轰炸机坠毁在沃利斯岛，一个偏远的地方在南太平洋，萨摩亚以西很远的地方。飞机损坏的程度并不严重，但是，多年来，事故已被遗忘，残骸仍然不受干扰。然后在1989，二十六年后坠毁，飞机被意外地发现了在航测的岛。到这个时候，状况良好的兰开斯特轰炸机实属罕见，值得抢救。法国政府让人把飞机包装和部分地搬回法国。一群热心人去修复这架飞机。它有四个劳斯莱斯梅林发动机，但是他们只需要三的重建。想象的惊奇和兴奋——当他们拆开包装箱时，他们发现第四台发动机就像蜂蜜一样甜——发动机完好无损。一群蜜蜂把发动机当作了蜂房和它完全保存在蜂蜡！
