He sniffed again that honey smell.

He stared up at the bee tree, and noted that the opening was much larger than it had been before his visit.

A big crack extended from it for nearly two feet down the trunk.

Moreover, there did not seem to be so many bees buzzing about the hole." The Babe's eyes grew so round with inquiry at this point that Uncle Andy felt bound to explain.
"You see, as soon as the bees got it into their cunning heads that their enemy was going to succeed in breaking into their storehouse, they decided that it was more important to save their treasures than to fight the enemy.

It's like when one's house is on fire.