noon
He was too ignorant to reflect that it was a great deal too early in the season to hope for any store , but , consulting only his own inclinations , he lost no time in climbing up the tree ; and when he had reached the spot where the now angry bees were hurrying to and fro more vigorously than ever , he thrust his great paw into a hole with the hope of drawing forth a famous booty . But the indignant insects now came out in a swarm , and attacked him with the utmost fury ; three of them settled on his nose , and pricked him most unmercifully ; a dozen or two planted themselves on a great patch behind , where his trousers were worn thin ; and a whole troop fastened on to the sore place in his head -- for it was not quite healed up -- and so stung him , that , roaring with pain and rage , he threw himself , rather than descended , from the tree , and went flying through the wood to get rid of his determined little enemies : they stuck fast , however , to their points of attack , nor did Bruin get clear of his tormentors till he dashed himself into a pool of water and buried his head for a moment or two under the surface . It was with some degree of trepidation that he raised his nose above water and peeped about him ; the bees were all gone , so he crawled out of the mud , and after an angry shake or two , for his coat was quite wet , he resumed his journey . Bruin now travelled on till noon ; and what with hunger and his long walk , you may believe his temper was not improved . A rustling noise on the left , accompanied every now and then with a short , contented kind of grunt , attracted his attention , and looking through some brambles , he descried in an open space a very large boar , with two most formidable tusks protruding from his jaws , busily engaged in rooting up the ground , from which he had extracted a curious variety of roots and other edibles , the sight of which made Bruin 's mouth water . For the first time in his life he felt the necessity of civility ; for though he had never made any personal acquaintance with the tribe to which the animal before him belonged , there were many tales current in his family of their ferocity when provoked ; and the few reasoning powers he possessed were sufficient to assure him , that not even his rough paws or burly strength would secure him from those glistening tusks if directed angrily against him . So Bruin resolved to try and be civil ; and with this determination walked into the stranger 's domain , and accosted him in as polite a way as his rude nature would permit him to assume .