When spring began, various animals started to wake up from their winter sleep. One of them was the big bear Bubsy. All winter long he had been sleeping in his hidden den. But when the winter was over, he came out, stretched and looked for something to eat. He got a huge appetite for honey. But he had no idea what he’d have to do to enjoy it.
He was walking around the forest looking for where he could find honey. After a while, he came to a huge tree. It was so huge that he couldn’t even see the end of its top. As he stood under it, a bee flew by now and then. Bubsy swung his big paw at it, but then he realized that where there were bees, there must be honey. He walked around the tree and looked carefully at the top. And then he saw it. There really was a beehive hanging from one of the branches. “There must be honey there,” he thought.
He started to try to shake the tree, but it was too big. It didn’t help. Suddenly a couple of little bees flew up to him and started shouting, “What are you doing, you big bear! What do you think, just because you’re hungry for honey, you’re going to come and shake our whole hive? Stop it right now!”
The bear wanted to say something. As soon as he took a breath to answer, the bees began to buzz and fly around in a frenzy. “Here they come, they’re here again, and now they’re sure to cut it down. Help! Help!” At first, Bubsy didn’t understand what had gotten into them. But then he noticed the large, strong people coming towards the tree from a distance. They had chainsaws in their hands. As they approached the tree, it all dawned on him. People want to cut down a beautiful and big tree. Plus, they’ll destroy the bee hive! “I won’t allow it!!!” said Bubsy loudly.
He hid behind the tree trunk. The moment the people came, he ran out from behind the tree and started screaming as loud as he could. He stood on his hind paws and waved his front paws. Slowly he approached the surprised people and kept terrifying them. The people turned pale. They threw down their saws and axes and ran away. They were never seen there again.
Then Bubsy, exhausted after such a feat, lay down under a tree and realized that his stomach was still growling. The bees watched everything from the tree, and being grateful that Bubsy had saved their tree and home, they brought him a nice big pile of honey from their hive. Since then, Bubsy has been going to the bees regularly for honey. He no longer shakes the whole tree, but asks nicely for it. And he makes sure that no one tries to destroy the tree or the hive of his bee friends.
