THEHOUSEATPOOHCORNER

TheHouseAtPoohCorner

A.A.MILNEDECORATIONSBYErnestH.Shepard

DuttonChildren'sBooks

ANIMPRINTOFPENGUINGROUP[USA]INC.

DuttonChildren'sBooksADIVISIONOFPENGUINYOUNGREADERSGROUP

PublishedbythePenguinGroup

PenguinGroup(USA)Inc.,375HudsonStreet,NewYork,NewYork10014,USAPenguinGroup(Canada),90EglintonAvenueEast,Suite700,Toronto,

Ontario,M4P2Y3Canada(adivisionofPearsonPenguinCanadaInc.)PenguinBooksLtd,80Strand,LondonWC2R0RL,EnglandPenguinIreland,25StStephen'sGreen,Dublin2,Ireland(adivisionofPenguinBooksLtd)PenguinGroup(Australia),250CamberwellRoad,Camberwell,Victoria3124,Australia(adivisionofPearsonAustraliaGroupPtyLtd)PenguinBooksIndiaPvtLtd,11CommunityCentre,PanchsheelPark,NewDelhi-110017,IndiaPenguinGroup(NZ),67ApolloDrive,Rosedale,NorthShore0632,NewZealand(a

divisionofPearsonNewZealandLtd.)PenguinBooks(SouthAfrica)(Pty)Ltd,24SturdeeAvenue,Rosebank,Johannesburg2196,SouthAfricaPenguinBooksLtd,RegisteredOffices:80Strand,LondonWC2R0RL,EnglandThisbookisaworkoffiction.Names,characters,places,andincidentsareeithertheproductoftheauthor'simaginationorareusedfictitiously,andanyresemblancetoactualpersons,livingordead,businessestablishments,events,orlocalesisentirely

coincidental.

Thispresentationcopyright(c)2009byTheTrusteesofthePoohPropertiesColoringoftheillustrationscopyright(c)1992byDuttonChildren'sBooksTheHouseAtPoohCornercopyright(c)1928byE.P.Dutton;copyrightrenewal,1956,byA.A.MilneAllrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybe

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PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyDuttonChildren'sBooks,adivisionofPenguinYoungReadersGroup

345HudsonStreet,NewYork,NewYork10014www.penguin.com/youngreadersISBN:1-101-15894-8

YougavemeChristopherRobin,andthen

YoubreathednewlifeinPooh.

Whateverofeachhasleftmypen

Goeshomingbacktoyou.

Mybookisready,andcomestogreet

Themotheritlongstosee--

Itwouldbemypresenttoyou,mysweet,

Ifitweren'tyourgifttome.

Contradiction

AN INTRODUCTION is to introducepeople,butChristopherRobin andhis friends,whohavealreadybeenintroducedtoyou,arenowgoingtosayGood-bye.Sothisistheopposite.WhenweaskedPoohwhattheoppositeofanIntroductionwas,hesaid"Thewhatofawhat?"whichdidn'thelpusasmuchaswehadhoped,butluckilyOwlkepthisheadand toldus that theoppositeofan Introduction,mydearPooh,wasaContradiction;and,asheisverygoodatlongwords,Iamsurethatthat'swhatitis.

Whywe are having aContradiction is because lastweekwhenChristopherRobinsaidtome,"Whataboutthatstoryyouweregoingtotellmeaboutwhathappened to Poohwhen--" I happened to say very quickly, "What about ninetimesahundredandseven?"Andwhenwehaddonethatone,wehadoneaboutcowsgoing throughagateat twoaminute,and thereare threehundred in thefield,sohowmanyareleftafteranhourandahalf?Wefindtheseveryexciting,andwhenwehavebeenexcitedquiteenough,wecurlupandgotosleep...andPooh, sitting wakeful a little longer on his chair by our pillow, thinks GrandThoughts tohimself aboutNothing,untilhe, too, closeshis eyesandnodshishead, and follows us on tip-toe into the Forest. There, still, we have magicadventures,morewonderfulthananyIhavetoldyouabout;butnow,whenwewakeupinthemorning,theyaregonebeforewecancatchholdofthem.Howdid the last onebegin? "OnedaywhenPoohwaswalking in theForest, therewereonehundredandsevencowsonagate...."No,yousee,wehavelostit.Itwas the best, I think.Well, here are some of the other ones, all thatwe shallremembernow.But,ofcourse,it isn'treallyGood-bye,becausetheForestwillalwaysbethere...andanybodywhoisFriendlywithBearscanfindit.

A.A.M.

Contents

CHAPTERONE

INWHICHAHouseIsBuiltatPoohCornerforEeyore

CHAPTERTWO

INWHICHTiggerComestotheForestandHasBreakfast

CHAPTERTHREE

INWHICHASearchIsOrgandized,andPigletNearlyMeetstheHeffalumpAgain

CHAPTERFOUR

INWHICHItIsShownThatTiggersDon'tClimbTrees

CHAPTERFIVE

INWHICHRabbitHasaBusyDay,andWeLearnWhatChristopherRobinDoesintheMornings

CHAPTERSIX

INWHICHPoohInventsaNewGameandEeyoreJoinsIn

CHAPTERSEVEN

INWHICHTiggerIsUnbounced

CHAPTEREIGHT

INWHICHPigletDoesaVeryGrandThing

CHAPTERNINE

INWHICHEeyoreFindstheWoleryandOwlMovesIntoIt

CHAPTERTEN

IN WHICHChristopherRobin andPoohCome to anEnchantedPlace, andWeLeaveThemThere

THEHOUSEATPOOHCORNER

ChapterOne

INWHICH

AHouseIsBuiltatPoohCornerforEeyore

ONE DAY when Pooh Bear had nothing else to do, he thought he would dosomething,sohewent round toPiglet'shouse toseewhatPigletwasdoing. Itwasstillsnowingashestumpedoverthewhiteforesttrack,andheexpectedtofindPigletwarminghistoesinfrontofhisfire,buttohissurprisehesawthatthedoorwasopen,andthemorehelookedinsidethemorePigletwasn'tthere.

"He'sout,"saidPoohsadly."That'swhatitis.He'snotin.IshallhavetogoafastThinkingWalkbymyself.Bother!"

But first he thought that he would knock very loudly just to make quitesure...andwhilehewaitedforPigletnot toanswer,he jumpedupanddowntokeepwarm, and a hum came suddenly into his head,which seemed to him aGoodHum,suchasisHummedHopefullytoOthers.

Themoreitsnows

(Tiddelypom),

Themoreitgoes

(Tiddelypom),

Themoreitgoes

(Tiddelypom),

Onsnowing.

Andnobodyknows

(Tiddelypom),

Howcoldmytoes

(Tiddelypom),

Howcoldmytoes

(Tiddelypom),

Aregrowing.

"SowhatI'lldo,"saidPooh,"isI'lldothis.I'lljustgohomefirstandseewhatthetimeis,andperhapsI'llputamufflerroundmyneck,andthenI'llgoandseeEeyoreandsingittohim."

Hehurriedbacktohisownhouse;andhismindwassobusyonthewaywiththehumthathewasgettingreadyforEeyorethat,whenhesuddenlysawPigletsitting in his best armchair, he could only stand there rubbing his head andwonderingwhosehousehewasin.

"Hallo,Piglet,"hesaid."Ithoughtyouwereout."

"No,"saidPiglet,"it'syouwhowereout,Pooh."

"Soitwas,"saidPooh."Iknewoneofuswas."

Helookedupathisclock,whichhadstoppedatfiveminutestoelevensomeweeksago.

"Nearly eleven o'clock," said Pooh happily. "You're just in time for a littlesmackerelofsomething,"andheputhisheadintothecupboard."Andthenwe'llgoout,Piglet,andsingmysongtoEeyore."

"Whichsong,Pooh?"

"Theonewe'regoingtosingtoEeyore,"explainedPooh.

TheclockwasstillsayingfiveminutestoelevenwhenPoohandPigletsetouton theirwayhalf anhour later.Thewindhaddropped, and the snow, tiredof

rushingroundincirclestryingtocatchitselfup,nowflutteredgentlydownuntilitfoundaplaceonwhichtorest,andsometimestheplacewasPooh'snoseandsometimes it wasn't, and in a little while Piglet was wearing a white mufflerround his neck and feelingmore snowy behind the ears than he had ever feltbefore.

"Pooh," he said at last, and a little timidly, because he didn'twant Pooh tothink he was Giving In, "I was just wondering. Howwould it be if wewenthomenowandpractisedyoursong,andthensangittoEeyoretomorrow--or--orthenextday,whenwehappentoseehim."

"That'saverygoodidea,Piglet,"saidPooh."We'llpractise itnowaswegoalong.Butit'snogoodgoinghometopractiseit,becauseit'saspecialOutdoorSongwhichHasToBeSungInTheSnow."

"Areyousure?"askedPigletanxiously.

"Well,you'llsee,Piglet,whenyoulisten.Becausethis ishowitbegins.Themoreitsnows,tiddelypom--"

"Tiddelywhat?"saidPiglet.

"Pom," saidPooh. "Iput that in tomake itmorehummy.Themore itgoes,tiddelypom,themore--"

"Didn'tyousaysnows?"

"Yes,butthatwasbefore."

"Beforethetiddelypom?"

"Itwasadifferent tiddelypom,"saidPooh,feelingrathermuddlednow."I'llsingittoyouproperlyandthenyou'llsee."

Sohesangitagain.

Themoreit

SNOWS-tiddely-pom,

Themoreit

GOES-tiddely-pom

Themoreit

GOES-tiddely-pom

On

Snowing.

Andnobody

KNOWS-tiddely-pom,

Howcoldmy

TOES-tiddely-pom

Howcoldmy

TOES-tiddely-pom

Are

Growing.

Hesangitlikethat,whichismuchthebestwayofsingingit,andwhenhehadfinished, hewaited for Piglet to say that, of all theOutdoorHums for SnowyWeatherhehadeverheard,thiswasthebest.And,afterthinkingthematteroutcarefully,Pigletsaid:"Pooh,"hesaidsolemnly,"itisn'tthetoessomuchastheears."

BythistimetheyweregettingnearEeyore'sGloomyPlace,whichwaswherehelived,andasitwasstillverysnowybehindPiglet'sears,andhewasgettingtiredofit,theyturnedintoalittlepinewood,andsatdownonthegatewhichledinto it. They were out of the snow now, but it was very cold, and to keepthemselveswarmtheysangPooh'ssongrightthroughsixtimes,Pigletdoingthetiddely-pomsandPoohdoingtherestofit,andbothofthemthumpingonthetopofthegatewithpiecesofstickattheproperplaces.Andinalittlewhiletheyfeltmuchwarmer,andwereabletotalkagain.

"I'vebeenthinking,"saidPooh,"andwhatI'vebeenthinkingisthis.I'vebeenthinkingaboutEeyore."

"WhataboutEeyore?"

"Well,poorEeyorehasnowheretolive."

"Norhehas,"saidPiglet.

"Youhaveahouse,Piglet,andIhaveahouse,andtheyareverygoodhouses.And Christopher Robin has a house, and Owl and Kanga and Rabbit havehouses,andevenRabbit'sfriendsandrelationshavehousesorsomethings,butpoorEeyorehasnothing.SowhatI'vebeenthinkingis:Let'sbuildhimahouse."

"That,"saidPiglet,"isaGrandIdea.Whereshallwebuildit?"

"Wewillbuildithere,"saidPooh,"justbythiswood,outofthewind,becausethis iswhere I thought of it.Andwewill call this PoohCorner.AndwewillbuildanEeyoreHousewithsticksatPoohCornerforEeyore."

"Therewasaheapofsticksontheothersideofthewood,"saidPiglet."Isawthem.Lotsandlots.Allpiledup."

"Thankyou,Piglet,"saidPooh."WhatyouhavejustsaidwillbeaGreatHelpto us, and because of it I could call this place Poohanpiglet Corner if PoohCornerdidn'tsoundbetter,whichitdoes,beingsmallerandmorelikeacorner.Comealong."

Sotheygotdownoffthegateandwentaroundtotheothersideofthewoodtofetchthesticks.

ChristopherRobinhadspent themorning indoorsgoing toAfricaandback,and he had just got off the boat andwaswonderingwhat itwas like outside,whenwhoshouldcomeknockingatthedoorbutEeyore.

"Hallo,Eeyore,"saidChristopherRobin,asheopenedthedoorandcameout."Howareyou?"

"It'ssnowingstill,"saidEeyoregloomily.

"Soitis."

"Andfreezing."

"Isit?"

"Yes," saidEeyore. "However," he said, brightening up a little, "we haven'thadanearthquakelately."

"What'sthematter,Eeyore?"

"Nothing,ChristopherRobin.Nothingimportant.Isupposeyouhaven'tseenahouseorwhatnotanywhereabout?"

"Whatsortofahouse?"

"Justahouse."

"Wholivesthere?"

"Ido.AtleastIthoughtIdid.ButIsupposeIdon't.Afterall,wecan'tallhavehouses."

"ButEeyore,Ididn'tknow.Ialwaysthought--"

"Idon'tknowhowit is,ChristopherRobin,butwhatwithall thissnowandonethingandanother,nottomentioniciclesandsuch-like,itisn'tsoHotinmyfieldaboutthreeo'clockinthemorningassomepeoplethinkitis.Itisn'tClose,ifyouknowwhatImean--notsoastobeuncomfortable.Itisn'tStuffy.Infact,Christopher Robin," he went on in a loud whisper, "quite-between-ourselves-and-don't-tell-anybody,it'sCold."

"Oh,Eeyore!"

"AndIsaidtomyself:TheotherswillbesorryifI'mgettingmyselfallcold.They haven't got Brains, any of them, only grey fluff that's blown into theirheadsbymistake,andtheydon'tThink,butifitgoesonsnowingforanothersixweeksorso,oneofthemwillbegintosaytohimself: 'Eeyorecan'tbesoverymuchtooHotabout threeo'clock in themorning.'Andthen itwillGetAbout.Andthey'llbeSorry."

"Oh,Eeyore!"saidChristopherRobin,feelingverysorryalready.

"Idon'tmeanyou,ChristopherRobin.You'redifferent.SowhatitallcomestoisthatIbuiltmyselfahousedownbymylittlewood."

"Didyoureally?Howexciting!"

"Thereallyexcitingpart,"saidEeyoreinhismostmelancholyvoice,"isthatwhenIleftitthismorningitwasthere,andwhenIcamebackitwasn't.Notatall,verynatural,anditwasonlyEeyore'shouse.ButstillIjustwondered."

ChristopherRobindidn't stop towonder.Hewasalreadyback inhishouse,puttingonhiswaterproofhat,hiswaterproofbootsandhiswaterproofmacintoshasfastashecould.

"We'llgoandlookforitatonce,"hecalledouttoEeyore.

"Sometimes,"saidEeyore,"whenpeoplehavequitefinishedtakingaperson'shouse,thereareoneortwobitswhichtheydon'twantandarerathergladforthepersontotakeback,ifyouknowwhatImean.SoIthoughtifwejustwent--"

"Comeon,"saidChristopherRobin,andofftheyhurried,andinaverylittletime they got to the corner of the field by the side of the pine-wood, whereEeyore'shousewasn'tanylonger.

"There!" saidEeyore. "Nota stickof it left!Ofcourse, I've stillgot all thissnowtodowhatIlikewith.Onemustn'tcomplain."

But Christopher Robin wasn't listening to Eeyore, he was listening tosomethingelse.

"Can'tyouhearit?"heasked.

"Whatisit?Somebodylaughing?"

"Listen."

They both listened...and they heard a deep gruff voice saying in a singingvoice that themore it snowed themore itwent on snowing and a small highvoicetiddely-pomminginbetween.

"It'sPooh,"saidChristopherRobinexcitedly.

"Possibly,"saidEeyore.

"AndPiglet!"saidChristopherRobinexcitedly.

"Probably,"saidEeyore."WhatwewantisaTrainedBloodhound."

Thewordsofthesongchangedsuddenly.

"We'vefinishedourHOUSE!"sangthegruffvoice.

"Tiddely-pom!"sangthesqueakyone.

"It'sabeautifulHOUSE...."

"Tiddely-pom...."

"IwishitwereMINE...."

"Tiddely-pom...."

"Pooh!"shoutedChristopherRobin....

Thesingersonthegatestoppedsuddenly.

"It'sChristopherRobin!"saidPooheagerly.

"He'sroundbytheplacewherewegotallthosesticksfrom,"saidPiglet.

"Comeon,"saidPooh.

Theyclimbeddowntheirgateandhurriedroundthecornerofthewood,Poohmakingwelcomingnoisesalltheway.

"Why,hereisEeyore,"saidPooh,whenhehadfinishedhuggingChristopherRobin, and he nudged Piglet, and Piglet nudged him, and they thought tothemselveswhatalovelysurprisetheyhadgotready.

"Hallo,Eeyore."

"Sametoyou,PoohBear,andtwiceonThursdays,"saidEeyoregloomily.

Before Pooh could say: "Why Thursdays?" Christopher Robin began toexplainthesadstoryofEeyore'sLostHouse.AndPoohandPigletlistened,andtheireyesseemedtogetbiggerandbigger.

"Wheredidyousayitwas?"askedPooh.

"Justhere,"saidEeyore.

"Madeofsticks?"

"Yes."

"Oh!"saidPiglet.

"What?"saidEeyore.

"I just said 'Oh!'" saidPiglet nervously.And so as to seemquite at ease hehummedTiddely-pomonceortwiceinawhat-shall-we-do-nowkindofway.

"You'resureitwasahouse?"saidPooh."Imean,you'resure thehousewasjusthere?"

"OfcourseIam,"saidEeyore.Andhemurmuredtohimself,"Nobrainatallsomeofthem."

"Why,what'sthematter,Pooh?"askedChristopherRobin.

"Well," said Pooh.... "The fact is," said Pooh.... "Well, the fact is," saidPooh...."Yousee,"saidPooh...."It'slikethis,"saidPooh,andsomethingseemedtotellhimthathewasn'texplainingverywell,andhenudgedPigletagain.

"It's like this," said Piglet quickly.... "Only warmer," he added after deep

thought.

"What'swarmer?"

"Theothersideofthewood,whereEeyore'shouseis."

"Myhouse?"saidEeyore."Myhousewashere."

"No,"saidPigletfirmly."Theothersideofthewood."

"Becauseofbeingwarmer,"saidPooh.

"ButIoughttoknow--"

"Comeandlook,"saidPigletsimply,andheledtheway.

"Therewouldn'tbetwohouses,"saidPooh."Notsoclosetogether."

Theycameroundthecorner,andtherewasEeyore'shouse,lookingascomfyasanything.

"Thereyouare,"saidPiglet.

"Insideaswellasoutside,"saidPoohproudly.

Eeyorewentinside...andcameoutagain.

"It'saremarkablething,"hesaid."Itismyhouse,andIbuiltitwhereIsaidIdid, so thewindmusthaveblown ithere.And thewindblew it rightover thewood, andblew it downhere, andhere it is asgoodas ever. In fact, better inplaces."

"Muchbetter,"saidPoohandPiglettogether.

"It justshowswhatcanbedonebytakingalittletrouble,"saidEeyore."Doyousee,Pooh?Doyousee,Piglet?BrainsfirstandthenHardWork.Lookatit!That'sthewaytobuildahouse,"saidEeyoreproudly.

So they left him in it; and Christopher Robin went back to lunch with hisfriendsPoohandPiglet,andonthewaytheytoldhimoftheAwfulMistaketheyhadmade.Andwhenhehadfinishedlaughing,theyallsangtheOutdoorSongforSnowyWeathertherestofthewayhome,Piglet,whowasstillnotquitesureofhisvoice,puttinginthetiddely-pomsagain.

"AndIknowitseemseasy,"saidPiglettohimself,"butitisn'teveryonewhocoulddoit."

ChapterTwo

INWHICH

TiggerComestotheForestandHasBreakfast

WINNIE-THE-POOHwokeupsuddenlyinthemiddleofthenightandlistened.Thenhegotoutofbed,andlithiscandle,andstumpedacrosstheroomtoseeifanybodywastryingtogetintohishoney-cupboard,andtheyweren't,sohestumpedbackagain,blewouthiscandle,andgotintobed.Thenheheardthenoiseagain.

"Isthatyou,Piglet?"hesaid.

Butitwasn't.

"Comein,ChristopherRobin,"hesaid.

ButChristopherRobindidn't.

"Tellmeaboutittomorrow,Eeyore,"saidPoohsleepily.

Butthenoisewenton.

"Worraworraworraworraworra," saidWhatever-it-was, andPooh found thathewasn'tasleepafterall.

"Whatcanitbe?"hethought."TherearelotsofnoisesintheForest,butthisisadifferentone.Itisn'tagrowl,anditisn'tapurr,anditisn'tabark,anditisn'tthenoise-you-make-before-beginning-a-piece-of-poetry,butit'sanoiseofsomekind,madebyastrangeanimal.Andhe'smakingitoutsidemydoor.SoIshallgetupandaskhimnottodoit."

Hegotoutofbedandopenedhisfrontdoor.

"Hallo!"saidPooh,incasetherewasanythingoutside.

"Hallo!"saidWhatever-it-was.

"Oh!"saidPooh."Hallo!"

"Hallo!"

"Oh,thereyouare!"saidPooh."Hallo!"

"Hallo!"saidtheStrangeAnimal,wonderinghowlongthiswasgoingon.

Poohwasjustgoingtosay"Hallo!"forthefourthtimewhenhethoughtthathewouldn'tsohesaid:"Whoisit?"instead.

"Me,"saidavoice.

"Oh!"saidPooh."Well,comehere."

SoWhatever-it-was came here, and in the light of the candle he and Poohlookedateachother.

"I'mPooh,"saidPooh.

"I'mTigger,"saidTigger.

"Oh!" said Pooh, for he had never seen an animal like this before. "DoesChristopherRobinknowaboutyou?"

"Ofcoursehedoes,"saidTigger.

"Well,"saidPooh,"it'sthemiddleofthenight,whichisagoodtimeforgoingto sleep. And tomorrow morning we'll have some honey for breakfast. DoTiggerslikehoney?"

"Theylikeeverything,"saidTiggercheerfully.

"Theniftheylikegoingtosleeponthefloor,I'llgobacktobed,"saidPooh,"andwe'lldothingsinthemorning.Goodnight."Andhegotbackintobedandwentfastasleep.

Whenheawoke in themorning, thefirst thinghesawwasTigger,sitting infrontoftheglassandlookingathimself.

"Hallo!"saidPooh.

"Hallo!"saidTigger."I'vefoundsomebodyjust likeme.I thoughtIwas theonlyoneofthem."

Poohgotoutofbed,andbegantoexplainwhatalooking-glasswas,butjustashewasgettingtotheinterestingpart,Tiggersaid:"Excusemeamoment,butthere's something climbing up your table," and with one loudWorraworraworraworraworrahejumpedattheendofthetablecloth,pulledittotheground,wrappedhimselfupinit threetimes,rolledtotheotherendof theroom,and,afteraterriblestruggle,gothisheadintothedaylightagain,andsaidcheerfully:"HaveIwon?"

"That'smytablecloth,"saidPooh,ashebegantounwindTigger.

"Iwonderedwhatitwas,"saidTigger.

"Itgoesonthetableandyouputthingsonit."

"ThenwhydidittrytobitemewhenIwasn'tlooking?"

"Idon'tthinkitdid,"saidPooh.

"Ittried,"saidTigger,"butIwastooquickforit."

Poohputtheclothbackonthetable,andheputalargehoney-potonthecloth,and they sat down to breakfast.And as soon as they sat down,Tigger took a

largemouthfulofhoney...andhelookedupat theceilingwithhisheadononeside, and made exploring noises with his tongue and considering noises, andwhat-have-we-got-here noises...and then he said in a very decided voice:

"Tiggersdon'tlikehoney."

"Oh!"saidPooh,andtriedtomakeitsoundSadandRegretful."Ithoughttheylikedeverything."

"Everythingexcepthoney,"saidTigger.

Poohfelt ratherpleasedabout this,andsaid that,assoonashehadfinishedhis own breakfast, he would take Tigger round to Piglet's house, and TiggercouldtrysomeofPiglet'shaycorns.

"Thankyou,Pooh,"saidTigger,"becausehaycornsisreallywhatTiggerslikebest."

SoafterbreakfasttheywentroundtoseePiglet,andPoohexplainedastheywentthatPigletwasaVerySmallAnimalwhodidn't likebouncing,andaskedTigger not to be too Bouncy just at first. And Tigger, who had been hidingbehindtreesandjumpingoutonPooh'sshadowwhenitwasn'tlooking,saidthatTiggerswereonlybouncybeforebreakfast,andthatassoonas theyhadhadafewhaycornstheybecameQuietandRefined.SobyandbytheyknockedatthedoorofPiglet'shouse.

"Hallo,Pooh,"saidPiglet.

"Hallo,Piglet.ThisisTigger."

"Oh, is it?"saidPiglet,andheedgedroundto theothersideof the table."IthoughtTiggersweresmallerthanthat."

"Notthebigones,"saidTigger.

"Theylikehaycorns,"saidPooh,"sothat'swhatwe'vecomefor,becausepoor

Tiggerhasn'thadanybreakfastyet."

PigletpushedthebowlofhaycornstowardsTigger,andsaid:"Helpyourself,"and then he got close up to Pooh and felt much braver, and said, "So you'reTigger?Well,well!"inacarelesssortofvoice.ButTiggersaidnothingbecausehismouthwasfullofhaycorns....

Afteralongmunchingnoisehesaid:

"Ee-ersoia-ors."

AndwhenPoohandPigletsaid"What?"hesaid

"Skoosee,"andwentoutsideforamoment.

Whenhecamebackhesaidfirmly:

"Tiggersdon'tlikehaycorns."

"Butyousaidtheylikedeverythingexcepthoney,"saidPooh.

"Everythingexcepthoneyandhaycorns,"explainedTigger.

Whenheheard thisPoohsaid, "Oh, I see!"andPiglet,whowas rathergladthatTiggersdidn'tlikehaycorns,said,"Whataboutthistles?"

"Thistles," saidTigger, "iswhatTiggers likebest." "Then let'sgoalongandseeEeyore,"saidPiglet.

Sothethreeofthemwent;andaftertheyhadwalkedandwalkedandwalked,theycametothepartoftheForestwhereEeyorewas.

"Hallo,Eeyore!"saidPooh."ThisisTigger."

"Whatis?"saidEeyore.

"This," explained Pooh and Piglet together, and Tigger smiled his happiestsmileandsaidnothing.

Eeyore walked all round Tigger one way, and then turned and walked allroundhimtheotherway.

"Whatdidyousayitwas?"heasked.

"Tigger."

"Ah!"saidEeyore.

"He'sjustcome,"explainedPiglet.

"Ah!"saidEeyoreagain.

Hethoughtforalongtimeandthensaid:

"Whenishegoing?"

Pooh explained to Eeyore that Tigger was a great friend of ChristopherRobin's,whohadcometostayintheForest,andPigletexplainedtoTiggerthathemustn'tmindwhatEeyoresaidbecausehewasalwaysgloomy;andEeyoreexplainedtoPigletthat,onthecontrary,hewasfeelingparticularlycheerfulthismorning;andTiggerexplainedtoanybodywhowaslisteningthathehadn'thadanybreakfastyet.

"Iknewtherewassomething,"saidPooh."Tiggersalwayseatthistles,sothatwaswhywecametoseeyou,Eeyore."

"Don'tmentionit,Pooh."

"Oh,Eeyore,Ididn'tmeanthatIdidn'twanttoseeyou--"

"Quite--quite. But your new stripy friend--naturally, hewants his breakfast.Whatdidyousayhisnamewas?"

"Tigger."

"Thencomethisway,Tigger."

Eeyoreledthewaytothemostthistly-lookingpatchofthistlesthateverwas,andwavedahoofatit.

"AlittlepatchIwaskeepingformybirthday,"hesaid;"but,afterall,whatarebirthdays?Heretodayandgonetomorrow.Helpyourself,Tigger."

TiggerthankedhimandlookedalittleanxiouslyatPooh.

"Arethesereallythistles?"hewhispered.

"Yes,"saidPooh.

"WhatTiggerslikebest?"

"That'sright,"saidPooh.

"Isee,"saidTigger.

Sohetookalargemouthful,andhegavealargecrunch.

"Ow!"saidTigger.

Hesatdownandputhispawinhismouth.

"What'sthematter?"askedPooh.

"Hot!"mumbledTigger.

"Yourfriend,"saidEeyore,"appearstohavebittenonabee."

Pooh'sfriendstoppedshakinghisheadtogetthepricklesout,andexplainedthatTiggersdidn'tlikethistles.

"Thenwhybendaperfectlygoodone?"askedEeyore.

"But you said," began Pooh--"you said that Tiggers like everything excepthoneyandhaycorns."

"And thistles," said Tigger,whowas now running round in circleswith histonguehangingout.

Poohlookedathimsadly.

"Whatarewegoingtodo?"heaskedPiglet.

Pigletknewtheanswertothat,andhesaidatoncethattheymustgoandseeChristopherRobin.

"You'llfindhimwithKanga,"saidEeyore.HecameclosetoPooh,andsaidinaloudwhisper:

"Could you ask your friend to do his exercises somewhere else? I shall behavinglunchdirectly,anddon'twantitbouncedonjustbeforeIbegin.Atriflingmatter,andfussyofme,butweallhaveourlittleways."

PoohnoddedsolemnlyandcalledtoTigger.

"Comealongandwe'llgoandseeKanga.She'ssuretohavelotsofbreakfastforyou."

TiggerfinishedhislastcircleandcameuptoPoohandPiglet.

"Hot!" he explained with a large and friendly smile. "Come on!" and herushedoff.

Pooh and Piglet walked slowly after him. And as they walked Piglet saidnothing,becausehecouldn'tthinkofanything,andPoohsaidnothing,becausehewasthinkingofapoem.Andwhenhehadthoughtofithebegan:Whatshallwedoabout

poorlittleTigger?

Ifhenevereatsnothinghe'll

nevergetbigger.

Hedoesn'tlikehoneyandhaycorns

andthistles

Becauseofthetasteandbecauseof

thebristles.

Andallthegoodthingswhichan

animallikes

Havethewrongsortofswallowor

toomanyspikes.

"He'squitebigenoughanyhow,"saidPiglet.

"Heisn'treallyverybig."

"Well,heseemsso."

Poohwasthoughtfulwhenheheardthis,andthenhemurmuredtohimself:

Butwhateverhisweightinpounds,

shillings,andounces,

Healwaysseemsbigger

becauseofhisbounces.

"Andthat'sthewholepoem,"hesaid."Doyoulikeit,Piglet?"

"Allexcepttheshillings,"saidPiglet."Idon'tthinktheyoughttobethere."

"Theywantedtocomeinafterthepounds,"explainedPooh,"soIletthem.Itisthebestwaytowritepoetry,lettingthingscome."

"Oh,Ididn'tknow,"saidPiglet.

Tiggerhadbeenbouncinginfrontofthemall thistime,turningroundeverynowand then toask,"Is this theway?"--andnowat last theycame insightofKanga'shouse,andtherewasChristopherRobin.Tiggerrusheduptohim.

"Oh, there you are, Tigger!" said Christopher Robin. "I knew you'd besomewhere."

"I'vebeenfindingthingsintheForest,"saidTiggerimportantly."I'vefounda

poohandapigletandaneeyore,butIcan'tfindanybreakfast."

PoohandPigletcameupandhuggedChristopherRobin,andexplainedwhathadbeenhappening.

"Don'tyouknowwhatTiggerslike?"askedPooh.

"I expect if I thought very hard I should," said Christopher Robin, "but IthoughtTiggerknew."

"I do," said Tigger. "Everything there is in the world except honey andhaycornsand--whatwerethosehotthingscalled?"

"Thistles."

"Yes,andthose."

"Oh,wellthen,Kangacangiveyousomebreakfast."

SotheywentintoKanga'shouse,andwhenRoohadsaid"Hallo,Pooh"and"Hallo, Piglet" once, and "Hallo, Tigger" twice, because he had never said it

beforeanditsoundedfunny,theytoldKangawhattheywanted,andKangasaidverykindly,"Well,lookinmycupboard,Tiggerdear,andseewhatyou'dlike."Becausesheknewatoncethat,howeverbigTiggerseemedtobe,hewantedasmuchkindnessasRoo.

"Shall I look, too?" said Pooh, who was beginning to feel a little eleveno'clockish.Andhefoundasmalltinofcondensedmilk,andsomethingseemedtotellhimthatTiggersdidn'tlikethis,sohetookitintoacornerbyitself,andwentwithittoseethatnobodyinterruptedit.

But themore Tigger put his nose into this and his paw into that, themorethingshefoundwhichTiggersdidn'tlike.Andwhenhehadfoundeverythinginthecupboard,andcouldn'teatanyofit,hesaidtoKanga,"Whathappensnow?"

ButKanga and Christopher Robin and Piglet were all standing roundRoo,watching him have his Extract ofMalt. And Roo was saying, "Must I?" andKangawassaying"Now,Roodear,yourememberwhatyoupromised."

"Whatisit?"whisperedTiggertoPiglet.

"HisStrengtheningMedicine,"saidPiglet."Hehatesit."

SoTiggercamecloser,andheleantoverthebackofRoo'schair,andsuddenlyheputouthistongue,andtookonelargegolollop,and,withasuddenjumpofsurprise,Kangasaid,"Oh!"andthenclutchedat thespoonagain justas itwas

disappearing,andpulleditsafelybackoutofTigger'smouth.ButtheExtractofMalthadgone.

"Tiggerdear!"saidKanga.

"He's takenmymedicine,he's takenmymedicine,he's takenmymedicine!"sangRoohappily,thinkingitwasatremendousjoke.

ThenTiggerlookedupattheceiling,andclosedhiseyes,andhistonguewentroundandroundhischops,incasehehadleftanyoutside,andapeacefulsmilecameoverhisfaceashesaid,"Sothat'swhatTiggerslike!"

Which explainswhy he always lived at Kanga's house afterwards, and hadExtract of Malt for breakfast, dinner, and tea. And sometimes, when Kangathought hewanted strengthening, hehad a spoonful or twoofRoo's breakfastaftermealsasmedicine.

"ButIthink,"saidPiglettoPooh,"thathe'sbeenstrengthenedquiteenough."

ChapterThree

INWHICH

ASearchIsOrgandized,andPigletNearlyMeetstheHeffalumpAgain

POOHWASSITTINGinhishouseoneday,countinghispotsofhoney,whentherecameaknockonthedoor.

"Fourteen,"saidPooh."Comein.Fourteen.Orwas it fifteen?Bother.That'smuddledme."

"Hallo,Pooh,"saidRabbit.

"Hallo,Rabbit.Fourteen,wasn'tit?"

"Whatwas?"

"MypotsofhoneywhatIwascounting."

"Fourteen,that'sright."

"Areyousure?"

"No,"saidRabbit."Doesitmatter?"

"Ijustliketoknow,"saidPoohhumbly."SoasIcansaytomyself: 'I'vegotfourteen pots of honey left.' Or fifteen, as the case may be. It's sort ofcomforting."

"Well, let'scall itsixteen,"saidRabbit."WhatIcametosaywas:Haveyou

seenSmallanywhereabout?"

"Idon't thinkso," saidPooh.And then,after thinkinga littlemore,hesaid:"WhoisSmall?"

"Oneofmyfriends-and-relations,"saidRabbitcarelessly.

This didn't help Pooh much, because Rabbit had so many friends-and-relations,andof suchdifferent sortsandsizes, thathedidn'tknowwhetherheought to be looking for Small at the top of an oak-tree or in the petal of abuttercup.

"Ihaven'tseenanybodytoday,"saidPooh,"notsoastosay'Hallo,Small,'to.Didyouwanthimforanything?"

"I don't want him," said Rabbit. "But it's always useful to know where afriend-and-relationis,whetheryouwanthimorwhetheryoudon't."

"Oh,Isee,"saidPooh."Ishelost?"

"Well,"saidRabbit,"nobodyhasseenhimforalongtime,soIsupposeheis.Anyhow,"hewentonimportantly,"IpromisedChristopherRobinI'dOrganizeaSearchforhim,socomeon."

Pooh said good-bye affectionately to his fourteen pots of honey, and hopedtheywerefifteen;andheandRabbitwentoutintotheForest.

"Now,"saidRabbit,"thisisaSearch,andI'veOrganizedit--"

"Donewhattoit?"saidPooh.

"Organized it.Whichmeans--well, it's what you do to a Search, when youdon'talllookinthesameplaceatonce.SoIwantyou,Pooh,tosearchbytheSixPineTreesfirst,andthenworkyourwaytowardsOwl'sHouse,andlookoutformethere.Doyousee?"

"No,"saidPooh."What--"

"ThenI'llseeyouatOwl'sHouseinaboutanhour'stime."

"IsPigletorgandizedtoo?"

"Weallare,"saidRabbit,andoffhewent.

AssoonasRabbitwasoutofsight,Poohrememberedthathehadforgottentoask who Small was, and whether he was the sort of friend-and-relation who

settledonone'snose,orthesortwhogottroddenonbymistake,andasitwasTooLateNow,he thoughthewouldbegin theHuntby lookingforPiglet,andaskinghimwhattheywerelookingforbeforehelookedforit.

"And it's no good looking at the Six Pine Trees for Piglet," said Pooh tohimself,"becausehe'sbeenorgandizedinaspecialplaceofhisown.SoIshallhave to lookfor theSpecialPlacefirst. Iwonderwhere it is."Andhewrote itdowninhisheadlikethis:

OrderofLookingforThings

1.SpecialPlace.

(TofindPiglet.)

2.Piglet.

(TofindwhoSmallis.)

3.Small.

(TofindSmall.)

4.Rabbit.

(TotellhimI'vefoundSmall.)

5.SmallAgain.

(TotellhimI'vefoundRabbit.)

"Which makes it look like a bothering sort of day," thought Pooh, as hestumpedalong.

Thenextmomentthedaybecameverybotheringindeed,becausePoohwassobusynot lookingwherehewasgoing thathe steppedonapieceof theForestwhichhadbeenleftoutbymistake;andheonlyjusthadtimetothinktohimself:"I'mflying.'WhatOwldoes.Iwonderhowyoustop--"whenhestopped.

Bump!

"Ow!"squeakedsomething.

"That'sfunny,"thoughtPooh."Isaid'Ow!'withoutreallyoo'ing."

"Help!"saidasmall,highvoice.

"That'sme again," thought Pooh. "I've had anAccident, and fallen down awell, and my voice has gone all squeaky and works before I'm ready for it,becauseI'vedonesomethingtomyselfinside,Bother!"

"Help-help!"

"There you are! I say thingswhen I'mnot trying.So itmust be a very badAccident."And thenhe thought thatperhapswhenhedid try to say thingshewouldn'tbeableto;so,tomakesure,hesaidloudly:"AVeryBadAccidentto

PoohBear."

"Pooh!"squeakedthevoice.

"It'sPiglet!"criedPooheagerly."Whereareyou?"

"Underneath,"saidPigletInanunderneathsortofway.

"Underneathwhat?"

"You,"squeakedPiglet."Getup!"

"Oh!"saidPooh,andscrambledupasquicklyashecould."DidIfallonyou,Piglet?"

"Youfellonme,"saidPiglet,feelinghimselfallover.

"Ididn'tmeanto,"saidPoohsorrowfully.

"I didn't mean to be underneath," said Piglet sadly. "But I'm all right now,Pooh,andIamsogladitwasyou."

"What'shappened?"saidPooh."Wherearewe?"

"Ithinkwe'reinasortofPit.Iwaswalkingalong,lookingforsomebody,andthen suddenly Iwasn't anymore, and justwhen I got up to seewhere Iwas,somethingfellonme.Anditwasyou."

"Soitwas,"saidPooh.

"Yes,"saidPiglet."Pooh,"hewentonnervously,andcamealittlecloser,"doyouthinkwe'reinatrap?"

Pooh hadn't thought about it at all, but now he nodded. For suddenly herememberedhowheandPiglethadoncemadeaPoohTrapforHeffalumps,andheguessedwhathadhappened.HeandPiglethadfallenintoaHeffalumpTrapforPoohs!Thatwaswhatitwas.

"WhathappenswhentheHeffalumpcomes?"askedPiglettremblingly,when

hehadheardthenews.

"Perhaps he won't notice you, Piglet," said Pooh encouragingly, "becauseyou'reaVerySmallAnimal."

"Buthe'llnoticeyou,Pooh."

"He'll noticeme, and I shall notice him," said Pooh, thinking it out. "We'llnoticeeachotherforalongtime,andthenhe'llsay:'Ho-ho!'"

Piglet shivereda littleat the thoughtof that "Ho-ho!"andhisearsbegan totwitch.

"W-whatwillyousay?"heasked.

Poohtriedto thinkofsomethinghewouldsay,but themorehe thought, themorehefeltthatthereisnorealanswerto"Ho-ho!"saidbyaHeffalumpinthesortofvoicethisHeffalumpwasgoingtosayitin.

"Ishan'tsayanything,"saidPoohat last."Ishall justhumtomyself,as if Iwaswaitingforsomething."

"Thenperhapshe'llsay,'Ho-ho!'again?"suggestedPigletanxiously.

"Hewill,"saidPooh.

Piglet'sears twitchedsoquickly thathehadto leanthemagainst thesideoftheTraptokeepthemquiet.

"Hewillsayitagain,"saidPooh,"andIshallgoonhumming.AndthatwillUpsethim.Becausewhenyousay'Ho-ho'twice,inagloatingsortofway,andtheotherpersononlyhums,you suddenly find, just asyoubegin to say it thethirdtime--that--well,youfind--"

"What?"

"Thatitisn't,"saidPooh.

"Isn'twhat?"

Pooh knewwhat hemeant, but, being aBear ofVeryLittleBrain, couldn't

thinkofthewords.

"Well,itjustisn't,"hesaidagain.

"Youmeanitisn'tho-ho-ishanymore?"saidPiglethopefully.

Poohlookedathimadmiringlyandsaidthatthatwaswhathemeant--ifyouwentonhummingallthetime,becauseyoucouldn'tgoonsaying"Ho-ho!" forever.

"Buthe'llsaysomethingelse,"saidPiglet.

"That's just it.He'll say: 'What'sall this?'And then I shallsay--and this isaverygood idea,Piglet,which I've just thoughtof--I shall say: 'It's a trap for aHeffalumpwhichI'vemade,andI'mwaitingfortheHeffalumptofallin.'AndIshallgoonhumming.ThatwillUnsettlehim."

"Pooh!"criedPiglet,andnowitwashisturntobetheadmiringone."You'vesavedus!"

"HaveI?"saidPooh,notfeelingquitesure.

But Piglet was quite sure; and his mind ran on, and he saw Pooh and theHeffalumptalkingtoeachother,andhethoughtsuddenly,andalittlesadly,thatitwouldhavebeenratherniceifithadbeenPigletandtheHeffalumptalkingsograndlytoeachother,andnotPooh,muchashelovedPooh;becausehereallyhadmorebrain thanPooh, and theconversationwouldgobetter ifheandnotPoohwere doing one side of it, and itwould be comforting afterwards in theevenings to look back on the day when he answered a Heffalump back asbravelyas if theHeffalumpwasn't there.Itseemedsoeasynow.Heknewjustwhathewouldsay:HEFFALUMP(gloatingly):"Ho-ho!"

PIGLET(carelessly):"Tra-la-la,tra-la-la."

HEFFALUMP(surprised,andnotquitesosureofhimself):"Ho-ho!"

PIGLET(morecarelesslystill):"Tiddle-um-tum,tiddle-um-tum."

HEFFALUMP (beginning to say Ho-ho and turning it awkwardly into a cough):"H'r'm!What'sallthis?"

PIGLET (surprised): "Hullo! This is a trap I've made, and I'm waiting for aHeffalumptofallintoit."

HEFFALUMP(greatlydisappointed):"Oh!"(afteralongsilence):"Areyousure?"

PIGLET:"Yes."

HEFFALUMP: "Oh!" (nervously): "I--I thought it was a trap I'd made to catchPiglets."

PIGLET(surprised):"Oh,no!"

HEFFALUMP:"Oh!"(apologetically):"I--Imusthavegotitwrong,then."

PIGLET:"I'mafraidso." (politely): "I'msorry." (Hegoesonhumming.) HEFFALUMP:"Well--well--I--well.IsupposeI'dbetterbegettingback?"

PIGLET(lookingupcarelessly): "Mustyou?Well, ifyouseeChristopherRobinanywhere,youmighttellhimIwanthim."

HEFFALUMP(eagertoplease):"Certainly!Certainly!"(Hehurriesoff)

POOH(whowasn'tgoingtobethere,butwefindwecan'tdowithouthim):"Oh,Piglet,howbraveandcleveryouare!"

PIGLET (modestly): "Not at all, Pooh." (And then, when Christopher Robincomes,Pooh can tell himall about it.)While Pigletwas dreaming this happydream, andPoohwaswondering againwhether itwas fourteen or fifteen, theSearch forSmallwas stillgoingonallover theForest.Small's realnamewasVerySmallBeetle,buthewascalledSmallforshort,whenhewasspokentoatall,whichhardlyeverhappenedexceptwhensomebodysaid: "Really,Small!"HehadbeenstayingwithChristopherRobin fora fewseconds,andhestartedround agorse-bush for exercise, but insteadof comingback theotherway, asexpected,hehadn't,sonobodyknewwherehewas.

"Iexpecthe'sjustgonehome,"saidChristopherRobintoRabbit.

"DidhesayGood-bye-and-thank-you-for-a-nice-time?"saidRabbit.

"He'donlyjustsaidhow-do-you-do,"saidChristopherRobin.

"Ha!"saidRabbit.Afterthinkingalittle,hewenton:"Hashewrittenaletter

saying howmuch he enjoyed himself, and how sorry hewas he had to go sosuddenly?"

ChristopherRobindidn'tthinkhehad.

"Ha!" saidRabbit again, and lookedvery important. "This isSerious.He isLost.WemustbegintheSearchatonce."

Christopher Robin, who was thinking of something else, said: "Where'sPooh?"--butRabbithadgone.Sohewent intohishouseanddrewapictureofPooh going a long walk at about seven o'clock in the morning, and then heclimbed to the topofhis tree andclimbeddownagain, and thenhewonderedwhatPoohwasdoing,andwentacrosstheForesttosee.

Itwasnot longbeforehe came to theGravelPit, andhe lookeddown, andtherewerePoohandPiglet,withtheirbackstohim,dreaminghappily.

"Ho-ho!"saidChristopherRobinloudlyandsuddenly.

PigletjumpedsixinchesintheairwithSurpriseandAnxiety,butPoohwentondreaming.

"It's theHeffalump!" thoughtPigletnervously. "Now, then!"Hehummed inhis throata little,sothatnoneof thewordsshouldstick,andthen, in themostdelightfullyeasyway,hesaid:"Tra-la-la,tra-la-la,"asifhehadjustthoughtofit.But he didn't look round, because if you look round and see aVeryFierceHeffalumplookingdownatyou,sometimesyouforgetwhatyouweregoingtosay. "Rum-tum-tum-tiddle-um," saidChristopherRobin in a voice likePooh's.BecausePoohhadonceinventedasongwhichwent:Tra-la-la,tra-la-la,

Tra-la-la,tra-la-la,

Rum-tum-tum-tiddle-um

SowheneverChristopherRobinsings it,healwayssings it inaPooh-voice,whichseemstosuititbetter.

"He'ssaidthewrongthing,"thoughtPigletanxiously."Heoughttohavesaid,'Ho-ho!'again.PerhapsIhadbettersayitforhim."And,asfiercelyashecould,Pigletsaid:"Ho-ho!"

"Howdidyougetthere,Piglet?"saidChristopherRobininhisordinaryvoice.

"ThisisTerrible,"thoughtPiglet."FirsthetalksinPooh'svoice,andthenhetalksinChristopherRobin'svoice,andhe'sdoingitsoastoUnsettleme."AndbeingnowCompletelyUnsettled,hesaidveryquicklyandsqueakily:"ThisisatrapforPoohs,andI'mwaitingtofallinit,ho-ho,what'sallthis,andthenIsayho-hoagain."

"What?"saidChristopherRobin.

"Atrapforho-ho's,"saidPiglethuskily."I'vejustmadeit,andI'mwaitingfortheho-hotocome-come."

How long Piglet would have gone on like this I don't know, but at thatmomentPoohwokeupsuddenlyanddecidedthatitwassixteen.Sohegotup;andashe turnedhisheadsoas tosoothehimself in thatawkwardplace in themiddle of the back where something was tickling him, he saw ChristopherRobin.

"Hallo!"heshoutedjoyfully.

"Hallo,Pooh."

Piglet looked up, and looked away again. And he felt so Foolish andUncomfortable thathehadalmostdecided to runaway toSeaandbeaSailor,whensuddenlyhesawsomething.

"Pooh!"hecried."There'ssomethingclimbingupyourback."

"Ithoughttherewas,"saidPooh.

"It'sSmall!"criedPiglet.

"Oh,that'swhoitis,isit?"saidPooh.

"ChristopherRobin,I'vefoundSmall!"criedPiglet.

"Welldone,Piglet,"saidChristopherRobin.

AndattheseencouragingwordsPigletfeltquitehappyagain,anddecidednottobeaSailorafterall.SowhenChristopherRobinhadhelpedthemoutoftheGravelPit,theyallwentofftogetherhand-in-hand.

AndtwodayslaterRabbithappenedtomeetEeyoreintheForest.

"Hallo,Eeyore,"hesaid,"whatareyoulookingfor?"

"Small,ofcourse,"saidEeyore."Haven'tyouanybrain?"

"Oh,butdidn'tItellyou?"saidRabbit."Smallwasfoundtwodaysago."

Therewasamoment'ssilence.

"Ha-ha,"saidEeyorebitterly."Merrimentandwhatnot.Don'tapologize.It'sjustwhatwouldhappen."

ChapterFour

INWHICH

ItIsShownThatTiggersDon'tClimbTrees

ONE DAY when Pooh was thinking, he thought he would go and see Eeyore,because he hadn't seen him since yesterday. And as he walked through theheather, singing to himself, he suddenly remembered that he hadn't seenOwlsince thedaybeforeyesterday, sohe thought thathewould just look inat theHundredAcreWoodonthewayandseeifOwlwasathome.

Well,hewenton singing,untilhecame to thepartof the streamwhere thestepping-stoneswere,andwhenheinthemiddleofthethirdstonehebegantowonderhowKangaandRooandTiggerweregettingon,becausetheyalllivedtogetherinadifferentpartoftheForest.Andhethought,"Ihaven'tseenRooforalongtime,andifIdon'tseehimtodayitwillbeastilllongertime."Sohesatdown on the stone in themiddle of the stream, and sang another verse of hissong,whilehewonderedwhattodo.

Theotherverseofthesongwaslikethis:

Icouldspendahappymorning

SeeingRoo,

Icouldspendahappymorning

BeingPooh.

Foritdoesn'tseemtomatter,

IfIdon'tgetanyfatter

(AndIdon'tgetanyfatter)

WhatIdo.

The sunwhich had been delightfullywarm, and the stone,which had beensittinginitforalongtime,wassowarm,too,thatPoohhadalmostdecidedtogoonbeingPoohinthemiddleofthestreamfortherestofthemorning,whenherememberedRabbit.

"Rabbit," said Pooh to himself. "I like talking to Rabbit. He talks aboutsensible things.He doesn't use long, difficultwords, likeOwl.He uses short,easywords,like'Whataboutlunch?'and'Helpyourself,Pooh.'Isupposereally,IoughttogoandseeRabbit."

Whichmadehimthinkofanotherverse:

Oh,Ilikehiswayoftalking,

Yes,Ido.

It'sthenicestwayoftalking

Justfortwo.

AndaHelp-yourselfwithRabbit

Thoughitmaybecomeahabit,

Isapleasantsortofhabit

ForaPooh.

Sowhen he had sung this, he got up off his stone,walked back across thestream,andsetoffforRabbit'shouse.

Buthehadn'tgotfarbeforehebegantosaytohimself:

"Yes,butsupposeRabbitisout?"

"Or suppose I get stuck in his front door again, coming out, as I did oncewhenhisfrontdoorwasn'tbigenough?"

"Because I know I'm not getting fatter, but his front door may be gettingthinner."

"Sowouldn'titbebetterif--"

Andallthetimehewassayingthingslikethishewasgoingmoreandmorewesterly, without thinking...until suddenly he found himself at his own frontdooragain.

Anditwaseleveno'clock.

WhichwasTime-for-a-little-something....

Halfanhourlaterhewasdoingwhathehadalwaysreallymeanttodo,hewasstumpingofftoPiglet'shouse.Andashewalked,hewipedhismouthwiththebackofhispaw,andsangratherafluffysongthroughthefur.Itwentlikethis:Icouldspendahappymorning

SeeingPiglet.

AndIcouldn'tspendahappymorning

NotseeingPiglet.

Anditdoesn'tseemtomatter

IfIdon'tseeOwlandEeyore

(oranyoftheothers),

AndI'mnotgoingtoseeOwlorEeyore

(oranyoftheothers)

OrChristopherRobin.

Writtendown,likethis,itdoesn'tseemaverygoodsong,butcomingthroughpalefawnfluffatabouthalf-pastelevenonaverysunnymorning,itseemedtoPoohtobeoneofthebestsongshehadeversung.Sohewentonsingingit.

Pigletwasbusydiggingasmallholeinthegroundoutsidehishouse.

"Hallo,Piglet,"saidPooh.

"Hallo,Pooh,"saidPiglet,givingajumpofsurprise."Iknewitwasyou."

"SodidI,"saidPooh."Whatareyoudoing?"

"I'm planting a haycorn, Pooh, so that it can grow up into an oak-tree, andhavelotsofhaycornsjustoutsidethefrontdoorinsteadofhavingtowalkmilesandmiles,doyousee,Pooh?"

"Supposingitdoesn't?"saidPooh.

"Itwill,becauseChristopherRobinsaysitwill,sothat'swhyI'mplantingit."

"Well,"saidPooh,"ifIplantahoneycomboutsidemyhouse,thenitwillgrowupintoabeehive."

Pigletwasn'tquitesureaboutthis.

"Orapieceofahoneycomb,"saidPooh,"soasnottowastetoomuch.Onlythen Imight only get a piece of a beehive, and itmight be thewrong piece,wherethebeeswerebuzzingandnothunnying.Bother."

Pigletagreedthatthatwouldberatherbothering.

"Besides,Pooh,it'saverydifficultthing,plantingunlessyouknowhowtodoit,"hesaid;andheputtheacornintheholehehadmade,andcovereditupwithearth,andjumpedonit.

"Idoknow,"saidPooh,"becauseChristopherRobingavemeamastershalumseed, and I planted it, and I'm going to havemastershalums all over the frontdoor."

"I thought theywere called nasturtiums," saidPiglet timidly, as hewent onjumping.

"No,"saidPooh."Notthese.Thesearecalledmastershalums."

WhenPiglethadfinishedjumping,hewipedhispawsonhisfront,andsaid,"Whatshallwedonow?"andPoohsaid,"Let'sgoandseeKangaandRooandTigger," and Piglet said, "Y-yes. L-Iet's"--because hewas still a little anxiousaboutTigger,whowasaVeryBouncyAnimal,withawayofsayingHow-do-you-do, which always left your ears full of sand, even after Kanga had said,"Gently,Tiggerdear,"andhadhelpedyouupagain.SotheysetoffforKanga'shouse.

Now it happened that Kanga had felt rather motherly that morning, andWantingtoCountThings--likeRoo'svests,andhowmanypiecesofsoaptherewere left,and the twocleanspots inTigger's feeder; soshehadsent themoutwithapacketofwatercresssandwichesforRooandapacketofextract-of-maltsandwichesforTigger,tohaveanicelongmorningintheForestnotgettingintomischief.Andofftheyhadgone.

Andastheywent,TiggertoldRoo(whowantedtoknow)allaboutthethingsthatTiggerscoulddo.

"Cantheyfly?"askedRoo.

"Yes," said Tigger, "they're very good flyers, Tiggers are. Stornry goodflyers."

"Oo!"saidRoo."CantheyflyaswellasOwl?"

"Yes,"saidTigger."Onlytheydon'twantto."

"Whydon'ttheywantto?"

"Well,theyjustdon'tlikeit,somehow."

Roocouldn'tunderstandthis,becausehethoughtitwouldbelovelytobeabletofly,butTiggersaiditwasdifficulttoexplaintoanybodywhowasn'taTigger

himself.

"Well,"saidRoo,"cantheyjumpasfarasKangas?"

"Yes,"saidTigger."Whentheywantto."

"Ilovejumping,"saidRoo."Let'sseewhocanjumpfarthest,youorme."

"Ican,"saidTigger."Butwemustn'tstopnow,orweshallbelate."

"Lateforwhat?"

"Forwhateverwewanttobeintimefor,"saidTigger,hurryingon.

InalittlewhiletheycametotheSixPineTrees.

"I can swim," saidRoo. "I fell into the river, and I swimmed.CanTiggersswim?"

"Ofcoursetheycan.Tiggerscandoeverything."

"CantheyclimbtreesbetterthanPooh?"askedRoo,stoppingunderthetallestPineTree,andlookingupatit.

"Climbingtreesiswhattheydobest,"saidTigger."MuchbetterthanPoohs."

"Couldtheyclimbthisone?"

"They'realwaysclimbingtreeslikethat,"saidTigger."Upanddownallday."

"Oo,Tigger,aretheyreally?"

"I'llshowyou,"saidTiggerbravely,"andyoucansitonmybackandwatchme."Forofall thethingswhichhehadsaidTiggerscoulddo, theonlyonehefeltreallycertainaboutsuddenlywasclimbingtrees.

"Oo,Tigger,oo,Tigger,oo,Tigger!"squeakedRooexcitedly.

SohesatonTigger'sbackanduptheywent.

AndforthefirsttenfeetTiggersaidhappilytohimself,"Upwego!"

Andforthenexttenfeethesaid:

"IalwayssaidTiggerscouldclimbtrees."

Andforthenexttenfeethesaid:

"Notthatit'seasy,mindyou."

Andforthenexttenfeethesaid:

"Ofcourse,there'sthecoming-downtoo.Backwards."

Andthenhesaid:

"Whichwillbedifficult..."

"Unlessonefell..."

"Whenitwouldbe..."

"EASY."

Andattheword"easy"thebranchhewasstandingonbrokesuddenly,andhejustmanagedtoclutchattheoneabovehimashefelthimselfgoing...andthenslowlyhegothischinoverit...andthenonebackpaw...andthentheother...untilatlasthewassittingonit,breathingveryquickly,andwishingthathehadgoneinforswimminginstead.

Rooclimbedoff,andsatdownnexttohim.

"Oo,Tigger,"hesaidexcitedly,"areweatthetop?"

"No,"saidTigger.

"Arewegoingtothetop?"

"No,"saidTigger.

"Oh," said Roo rather sadly. And then he went on hopefully: "That was alovely bit just now, when you pretended we were going to fall-bump-to-the-bottom,andwedidn't.Willyoudothatbitagain?"

"NO,"saidTigger.

Roo was silent for a little while, and then he said, "Shall we eat oursandwiches, Tigger?"AndTigger said, "Yes,where are they?"AndRoo said,"Atthebottomofthetree."AndTiggersaid,"Idon'tthinkwe'dbettereatthemjustyet."Sotheydidn't.

ByandbyPoohandPigletcamealong.PoohwastellingPiglet inasingingvoicethatitdidn'tseemtomatter,ifhedidn'tgetanyfatter,andhedidn'tthinkhewas getting any fatter,what he did; andPigletwaswondering how long itwouldbebeforehishaycorncameup.

"Look, Pooh!" said Piglet suddenly. "There's something in one of the PineTrees."

"Sothereis!"saidPooh,lookingupwonderingly."There'sanAnimal."

PiglettookPooh'sarm,incasePoohwasfrightened.

"IsitOneoftheFiercerAnimals?"hesaid,lookingtheotherway.

Poohnodded.

"It'saJagular,"hesaid.

"WhatdoJagularsdo?"askedPiglet,hopingthattheywouldn't.

"Theyhideinthebranchesoftrees,anddroponyouasyougounderneath,"saidPooh."ChristopherRobintoldme."

"Perhapswebetterhadn'tgounderneath,Pooh. Incasehedroppedandhurthimself."

"Theydon'thurtthemselves,"saidPooh."They'resuchverygooddroppers."

Piglet still felt that to be underneath a Very Good Dropper would be aMistake, and he was just going to hurry back for something which he hadforgottenwhentheJagularcalledouttothem.

"Help!Help!"itcalled.

"That's what Jagulars always do," said Pooh, much interested. "They call

'Help!Help!'andthenwhenyoulookup,theydroponyou."

"I'm looking down," cried Piglet loudly, so as the Jagular shouldn't do thewrongthingbyaccident.

SomethingveryexcitednexttotheJagularheardhim,andsqueaked:

"PoohandPiglet!PoohandPiglet!"

AllofasuddenPigletfeltthatitwasamuchnicerdaythanhehadthoughtitwas.Allwarmandsunny--

"Pooh!"hecried."Ibelieveit'sTiggerandRoo!"

"Soitis,"saidPooh."IthoughtitwasaJagularandanotherJagular."

"Hallo,Roo!"calledPiglet."Whatareyoudoing?"

"Wecan'tgetdown,wecan'tgetdown!"criedRoo."Isn'titfun?Pooh,isn'titfun,TiggerandIarelivinginatree,likeOwl,andwe'regoingtostayhereforeverandever. IcanseePiglet'shouse.Piglet, Icanseeyourhousefromhere.Aren'twehigh?IsOwl'shouseashighupasthis?"

"Howdidyougetthere,Roo?"askedPiglet.

"OnTigger'sback!AndTiggerscan'tclimbdownwards,becausetheirtailsgetintheway,onlyupwards,andTiggerforgotaboutthatwhenwestarted,andhe'sonlyjustremembered.Sowe'vegottostayhereforeverandever--unlesswegohigher.Whatdidyousay,Tigger?Oh,Tiggersaysifwegohigherweshan'tbeabletoseePiglet'shousesowell,sowe'regoingtostophere."

"Piglet,"saidPoohsolemnly,whenhehadheardallthis,"whatshallwedo?"AndhebegantoeatTigger'ssandwiches.

"Aretheystuck?"askedPigletanxiously.

Poohnodded.

"Couldn'tyouclimbuptothem?"

"Imight,Piglet,andImightbringRoodownonmyback,butIcouldn'tbringTiggerdown.Sowemustthinkofsomethingelse."AndinathoughtfulwayhebegantoeatRoo'ssandwiches,too.

Whether hewould have thought of anything before he had finished the lastsandwich,Idon'tknow,buthehadjustgottothelastbutonewhentherewasa

cracklinginthebracken,andChristopherRobinandEeyorecamestrollingalongtogether.

"I shouldn't be surprised if it hailed a good deal tomorrow," Eeyore wassaying."Blizzardsandwhatnot.Beingfinetodaydoesn'tMeanAnything.Ithasno sig--what's that word?Well, it has none of that. It's just a small piece ofweather."

"There's Pooh!" saidChristopherRobin,who didn'tmuchmindwhat it didtomorrow,aslongashewasoutinit."Hallo,Pooh!"

"It'sChristopherRobin!"saidPiglet."He'llknowwhattodo."

Theyhurrieduptohim.

"Oh,ChristopherRobin,"beganPooh.

"AndEeyore,"saidEeyore.

"TiggerandRooarerightuptheSixPineTrees,andtheycan'tgetdown,and--"

"AndIwasjustsaying,"putinPiglet,"thatifonlyChristopherRobin--"

"AndEeyore--"

"Ifonlyyouwerehere,thenwecouldthinkofsomethingtodo."

Christopher Robin looked up at Tigger and Roo, and tried to think ofsomething.

"I thought," saidPiglet earnestly, "that ifEeyore stood at the bottomof thetree,andifPoohstoodonEeyore'sback,andifIstoodonPooh'sshoulders--"

"And if Eeyore's back snapped suddenly, then we could all laugh. Ha ha!Amusinginaquietway,"saidEeyore,"butnotreallyhelpful."

"Well,"saidPigletmeekly,"Ithought--"

"Woulditbreakyourback,Eeyore?"askedPooh,verymuchsurprised.

"That's what would be so interesting, Pooh. Not being quite sure tillafterwards."

Poohsaid"Oh!"andtheyallbegantothinkagain.

"I'vegotanidea!"criedChristopherRobinsuddenly.

"Listentothis,Piglet,"saidEeyore,"andthenyou'llknowwhatwe'retrying

todo."

"I'lltakeoffmytunicandwe'lleachholdacorner,andthenRooandTiggercanjumpintoit,anditwillbeallsoftandbouncyforthem,andtheywon'thurtthemselves."

"GettingTiggerdown," saidEeyore, "andNothurtinganybody. Keep thosetwoideasinyourhead,Piglet,andyou'llbeallright."

But Piglet wasn't listening, he was so agog at the thought of seeingChristopherRobin'sbluebracesagain.Hehadonlyseenthemoncebefore,whenhewasmuchyounger,and,beingalittleover-excitedbythem,hadhadtogotobedhalf anhourearlier thanusual; andhehadalwayswondered since if theywerereallyasblueandasbracingashehadthoughtthem.SowhenChristopherRobin tookhis tunicoff,and theywere,hefeltquitefriendly toEeyoreagain,and held the corner of the tunic next to him and smiled happily at him.AndEeyorewhisperedback:"I'mnotsaying therewon'tbeanAccidentnow,mindyou. They're funny things, Accidents. You never have them till you're havingthem."

WhenRoo understoodwhat he had to do, hewaswildly excited, and criedout: "Tigger, Tigger, we're going to jump! Look atme jumping, Tigger! Likeflying, my jumping will be. Can Tiggers do it?" And he squeaked out: "I'mcoming, Christopher Robin!" and he jumped--straight into the middle of thetunic. And he was going so fast that he bounced up again almost as high aswherehewasbefore--andwentonbouncingandsaying,"Oo!"forquitealongtime--andthenatlasthestoppedandsaid,"Oo,lovely!"Andtheyputhimontheground.

"Comeon,Tigger,"hecalledout."It'seasy."

ButTiggerwasholdingontothebranchandsayingtohimself:"It'sallverywell for Jumping Animals like Kangas, but it's quite different for SwimmingAnimals likeTiggers."Andhe thoughtofhimself floatingonhisbackdownariver,orstrikingoutfromoneislandtoanother,andhefeltthatthatwasreallythelifeforaTigger.

"Comealong,"calledChristopherRobin."You'llbeallright."

"Justwaitamoment,"saidTiggernervously."Smallpieceofbarkinmyeye."Andhemovedslowlyalonghisbranch.

"Comeon,it'seasy!"squeakedRoo.AndsuddenlyTiggerfoundhoweasyitwas.

"Ow!"heshoutedasthetreeflewpasthim.

"Lookout!"criedChristopherRobintotheothers.

Therewasacrash,andatearingnoise,andaconfusedheapofeverybodyontheground.

ChristopherRobinandPoohandPigletpicked themselvesup first,and then

theypickedTiggerup,andunderneatheverybodyelsewasEeyore.

"Oh, Eeyore!" cried Christopher Robin. "Are you hurt?" And he felt himratheranxiously,anddustedhimandhelpedhimtostandupagain.

Eeyoresaidnothingforalongtime.Andthenhesaid:"IsTiggerthere?"

Tiggerwasthere,feelingBouncyagainalready.

"Yes,"saidChristopherRobin."Tigger'shere."

"Well,justthankhimforme,"saidEeyore.

ChapterFive

INWHICH

RabbitHasaBusyDay,andWeLearnWhatChristopherRobinDoesintheMornings

IT WAS GOING to be one of Rabbit's busy days. As soon as he woke up he feltimportant, as if everything depended upon him. It was just the day forOrganizing Something, or for Writing a Notice Signed Rabbit, or for SeeingWhatEverybodyElseThoughtAboutIt. Itwasaperfectmorningforhurryinground toPooh,andsaying,"Verywell, then, I'll tellPiglet,"and thengoing toPiglet,andsaying,"Poohthinks--butperhapsI'dbetterseeOwlfirst."ItwasaCaptainish sort of day,when everybody said, "Yes, Rabbit" and "No, Rabbit"andwaiteduntilhehadtoldthem.

He came out of his house and sniffed the warm spring morning as hewonderedwhathewoulddo.Kanga'shousewasnearest,andatKanga'shousewasRoo,whosaid"Yes,Rabbit"and"No,Rabbit"almostbetterthananybodyelseintheForest;buttherewasanotheranimaltherenowadays,thestrangeandBouncyTigger;andhewasthesortofTiggerwhowasalwaysinfrontwhenyouwereshowinghimthewayanywhere,andwasgenerallyoutofsightwhenatlastyoucametotheplaceandsaidproudly"Hereweare!"

"No, not Kanga's," said Rabbit thoughtfully to himself, as he curled hiswhiskersinthesun;and,tomakequitesurethathewasn'tgoingthere,heturnedto the left and trotted off in the other direction, which was the way toChristopherRobin'shouse.

"Afterall,"saidRabbit tohimself,"ChristopherRobindependsonMe.He'sfondofPoohandPigletandEeyore,andsoamI,buttheyhaven'tanyBrain.Nottonotice.AndherespectsOwl,becauseyoucan'thelprespectinganybodywhocan spell TUESDAY, even if he doesn't spell it right; but spelling isn'teverything. There are days when spelling Tuesday simply doesn't count. AndKanga is toobusy looking afterRoo, andRoo is tooyoung andTigger is toobouncytobeanyhelp,sothere'sreallynobodybutMe,whenyoucometolookatit.I'llgoandseeifthere'sanythinghewantsdoing,andthenI'lldoitforhim.It'sjustthedayfordoingthings."

Hetrottedalonghappily,andby-and-byhecrossedthestreamandcametotheplacewhere his friends-and-relations lived. There seemed to be evenmore ofthemabout thanusual thismorning,andhavingnodded toahedgehogor two,withwhomhewas toobusy toshakehands,andhavingsaid,"Goodmorning,good morning," importantly to some of the others, and "Ah, there you are,"kindly,tothesmallerones,hewavedapawatthemoverhisshoulder,andwasgone;leavingsuchanairofexcitementandI-don't-know-whatbehindhim,thatseveralmembersoftheBeetlefamily,includingHenryRush,madetheirwayatoncetotheHundredAcreWoodandbeganclimbingtrees,inthehopeofgettingtothetopbeforeithappened,whateveritwas,sothattheymightseeitproperly.

Rabbit hurried on by the edge of the Hundred Acre Wood, feeling moreimportanteveryminute,andsoonhecametothetreewhereChristopherRobinlived. He knocked at the door, and he called out once or twice, and then he

walkedbackalittlewayandputhispawuptokeepthesunout,andcalledtothetopof the tree,and thenhe turnedall roundandshouted"Hallo!"and"Isay!""It's Rabbit!"--but nothing happened. Then he stopped and listened, andeverythingstoppedandlistenedwithhim,andtheForestwasveryloneandstillandpeaceful in thesunshine,until suddenlyahundredmilesabovehima larkbegantosing.

"Bother!"saidRabbit."He'sgoneout."

Hewentbackto thegreenfrontdoor, just tomakesure,andhewas turningaway,feelingthathismorninghadgotallspoilt,whenhesawapieceofpaperontheground.Andtherewasapininit,asifithadfallenoffthedoor.

"Ha!"saidRabbit,feelingquitehappyagain."Anothernotice!"

Thisiswhatitsaid:

GONOUTBACKSON

BISYBACKSON.

C.R.

"Ha!" said Rabbit again. "I must tell the others." And he hurried offimportantly.

ThenearesthousewasOwl's,andtoOwl'sHouseintheHundredAcreWoodhemadehisway.HecametoOwl'sdoor,andheknockedandherang,andherangandheknocked,andat lastOwl'sheadcameoutandsaid"Goaway, I'm

thinking--oh,it'syou?"whichwashowhealwaysbegan.

"Owl," saidRabbit shortly, "youand Ihavebrains.Theothershave fluff. IfthereisanythinkingtobedoneinthisForest--andwhenIsaythinkingImeanthinking--youandImustdoit."

"Yes,"saidOwl."Iwas."

"Readthat."

OwltookChristopherRobin'snoticefromRabbitandlookedatitnervously.He could spell his own nameWOL, and he could spell Tuesday so that youknew it wasn't Wednesday, and he could read quite comfortably when youweren'tlookingoverhisshoulderandsaying"Well?"allthetime,andhecould--

"Well?"saidRabbit.

"Yes," said Owl, looking Wise and Thoughtful. "I see what you mean.Undoubtedly."

"Well?"

"Exactly,"saidOwl."Precisely."Andheadded,afteralittlethought,"Ifyouhadnotcometome,Ishouldhavecometoyou."

"Why?"askedRabbit.

"Forthatveryreason,"saidOwl,hopingthatsomethinghelpfulwouldhappensoon.

"Yesterdaymorning,"saidRabbitsolemnly,"IwenttoseeChristopherRobin.Hewasout.Pinnedonhisdoorwasanotice."

"Thesamenotice?"

"Adifferentone.Butthemeaningwasthesame.It'sveryodd."

"Amazing," said Owl, looking at the notice again, and getting, just for amoment, a curious sortof feeling that somethinghadhappened toChristopherRobin'sback."Whatdidyoudo?"

"Nothing."

"Thebestthing,"saidOwlwisely.

"Well?"saidRabbitagain,asOwlknewhewasgoingto.

"Exactly,"saidOwl.

Foralittlewhilehecouldn'tthinkofanythingmore;andthen,allofasudden,hehadanidea.

"Tellme,Rabbit,"he said, "theexactwordsof the first notice.This isveryimportant.Everythingdependsonthis.Theexactwordsofthefirstnotice."

"Itwasjustthesameasthatonereally."

Owl looked at him, and wondered whether to push him off the tree; but,feelingthathecouldalwaysdoitafterwards,hetriedoncemoretofindoutwhattheyweretalkingabout.

"Theexactwords,please,"hesaid,asifRabbithadn'tspoken.

"It justsaid, 'Gonout.Backson.'Sameas this,only thissays 'BisyBackson'too."

Owlgaveagreatsighofrelief.

"Ah!"saidOwl."Nowweknowwhereweare."

"Yes,butwhere'sChristopherRobin?"saidRabbit."That'sthepoint."

Owllookedatthenoticeagain.Tooneofhiseducationthereadingofitwaseasy."Goneout,Backson.Bisy,Backson"--justthesortofthingyou'dexpecttoseeonanotice.

"It isquiteclearwhathashappened,mydearRabbit,"hesaid."Christopher

Robin has gone out somewhere with Backson. He and Backson are busytogether.HaveyouseenaBacksonanywhereaboutintheForestlately?"

"I don't know," saidRabbit. "That'swhat I came to ask you.What are theylike?"

"Well,"saidOwl,"theSpottedorHerbaceousBacksonisjusta--"

"Atleast,"hesaid,"it'sreallymoreofa--"

"Ofcourse,"hesaid,"itdependsonthe--"

"Well,"saidOwl,"thefactis,"hesaid,"Idon'tknowwhatthey'relike,"saidOwlfrankly.

"Thankyou,"saidRabbit.AndhehurriedofftoseePooh.Beforehehadgoneveryfarheheardanoise.Sohestoppedandlistened.Thiswasthenoise.

NOISE,BYPOOH

Oh,thebutterfliesareflying,

Nowthewinterdaysaredying,

Andtheprimrosesaretrying

Tobeseen.

Andtheturtle-dovesarecooing,

Andthewoodsareupanddoing,

Forthevioletsareblue-ing

Inthegreen.

Oh,thehoney-beesaregumming

Ontheirlittlewings,andhumming

Thatthesummer,whichiscoming,

Willbefun.

Andthecowsarealmostcooing,

Andtheturtle-dovesaremooing,

WhichiswhyaPoohispoohing

Inthesun.

Forthespringisreallyspringing;

Youcanseeaskylarksinging,

Andtheblue-bells,whichareringing,

Canbeheard.

Andthecuckooisn'tcooing,

Buthe'scuckingandhe'sooing,

AndaPoohissimplypoohing

Likeabird.

"Hallo,Pooh,"saidRabbit.

"Hallo,Rabbit,"saidPoohdreamily.

"Didyoumakethatsongup?"

"Well, I sortofmade itup," saidPooh."It isn'tBrain,"hewentonhumbly,"becauseYouKnowWhy,Rabbit;butitcomestomesometimes."

"Ah!" saidRabbit,who never let things come to him, but alwayswent andfetched them. "Well, the point is, have you seen a Spotted or HerbaceousBacksonintheForest,atall?"

"No,"saidPooh."Nota--no,"saidPooh."IsawTiggerjustnow."

"That'snogood."

"No,"saidPooh."Ithoughtitwasn't."

"HaveyouseenPiglet?"

"Yes,"saidPooh."Isupposethatisn'tanygoodeither?"heaskedmeekly.

"Well,itdependsifhesawanything."

"Hesawme,"saidPooh.

RabbitsatdownonthegroundnexttoPoohand,feelingmuchlessimportantlikethat,stoodupagain.

"Whatitallcomestoisthis,"hesaid."WhatdoesChristopherRobindointhemorningnowadays?"

"Whatsortofthing?"

"Well,canyoutellmeanythingyou'veseenhimdointhemorning?Theselastfewdays."

"Yes,"saidPooh."Wehadbreakfasttogetheryesterday.BythePineTrees.I'dmadeupalittlebasket,justalittle,fair-sizedbasket,anordinarybiggishsortofbasket,fullof--"

"Yes, yes," said Rabbit, "but I mean later than that. Have you seen him

betweenelevenandtwelve?"

"Well," said Pooh, "at eleven o'clock--at eleven o'clock--well, at eleveno'clock,yousee, Igenerallygethomeabout then.BecauseIhaveOneorTwoThingstoDo."

"Quarterpasteleven,then?"

"Well--"saidPooh.

"Halfpast."

"Yes,"saidPooh."Athalfpast--orperhapslater--Imightseehim."

Andnow that he did think of it, he began to remember that hehadn't seenChristopherRobinaboutsomuchlately.Notinthemornings.Afternoons,yes;evenings,yes;beforebreakfast,yes;justafterbreakfast,yes.Andthen,perhaps,"Seeyouagain,Pooh,"andoffhe'dgo.

"That'sjustit,"saidRabbit."Where?"

"Perhapshe'slookingforsomething."

"What?"askedRabbit.

"That'sjustwhatIwasgoingtosay,"saidPooh.Andthenheadded,"Perhapshe'slookingfora--fora----"

"ASpottedorHerbaceousBackson?"

"Yes,"saidPooh."Oneofthose.Incaseitisn't."

Rabbitlookedathimseverely.

"Idon'tthinkyou'rehelping,"hesaid.

"No,"saidPooh."Idotry,"headdedhumbly.

Rabbitthankedhimfortrying,andsaidthathewouldnowgoandseeEeyore,andPoohcouldwalkwithhimifheliked.ButPooh,whofeltanotherverseofhis song coming on him, said hewouldwait for Piglet, good-bye, Rabbit; soRabbitwentoff.

But,asithappened,itwasRabbitwhosawPigletfirst.Piglethadgotupearlythatmorningtopickhimselfabunchofviolets;andwhenhehadpickedthemandputtheminapotinthemiddleofhishouse,itsuddenlycameoverhimthatnobodyhadeverpickedEeyoreabunchofviolets,andthemorehethoughtofthis,themorehethoughthowsaditwastobeanAnimalwhohadneverhadabunch of violets picked for him. So he hurried out again, saying to himself,"Eeyore,Violets,"andthen"Violets,Eeyore,"incaseheforgot,becauseitwasthatsortofday,andhepickeda largebunchand trottedalong,smelling them,andfeelingveryhappy,untilhecametotheplacewhereEeyorewas.

"Oh,Eeyore,"beganPigletalittlenervously,becauseEeyorewasbusy.

Eeyoreputoutapawandwavedhimaway.

"Tomorrow,"saidEeyore."Orthenextday."

Pigletcamea littlecloser toseewhat itwas.Eeyorehad threestickson theground,andwas lookingat them.Twoof thestickswere touchingatoneend,butnotattheother,andthethirdstickwaslaidacrossthem.PigletthoughtthatperhapsiswasaTrapofsomekind.

"Oh,Eeyore,"hebeganagain,"just--"

"IsthatlittlePiglet?"saidEeyore,stilllookinghardathissticks.

"Yes,Eeyore,andI--"

"Doyouknowwhatthisis?"

"No,"saidPiglet.

"It'sanA."

"Oh,"saidPiglet.

"NotO,A,"saidEeyoreseverely."Can'tyouhear,ordoyouthinkyouhavemoreeducationthanChristopherRobin?"

"Yes,"saidPiglet."No,"saidPigletveryquickly.Andhecamecloserstill.

"ChristopherRobinsaiditwasanA,andanAitis--untilsomebodytreadsonme,"Eeyoreaddedsternly.

Pigletjumpedbackwardshurriedly,andsmeltathisviolets.

"DoyouknowwhatAmeans,littlePiglet?"

"No,Eeyore,Idon't."

"ItmeansLearning, itmeansEducation, itmeansall thethingsthatyouandPoohhaven'tgot.That'swhatAmeans."

"Oh,"saidPigletagain."Imean,doesit?"heexplainedquickly.

"I'm telling you. People come and go in this Forest, and they say, 'It's onlyEeyore, so it doesn't count.'Theywalk to and fro saying 'Haha!'Butdo theyknow anything about A? They don't. It's just three sticks to them. But to theEducated--mark this, little Piglet--to the Educated, not meaning Poohs andPiglets,it'sagreatandgloriousA.Not,"headded,"justsomethingthatanybodycancomeandbreatheon."

Pigletsteppedbacknervously,andlookedroundforhelp.

"Here'sRabbit,"hesaidgladly."Hallo,Rabbit."

Rabbitcameupimportantly,noddedtoPiglet,andsaid,"Ah,Eeyore,"inthevoiceofonewhowouldbesaying"Good-bye"inabouttwomoreminutes.

"There's just one thing I wanted to ask you, Eeyore. What happens toChristopherRobininthemorningsnowadays?"

"What'sthisthatI'mlookingat?"saidEeyore,stilllookingatit.

"Threesticks,"saidRabbitpromptly.

"You see?" said Eeyore to Piglet. He turned to Rabbit. "I will now answeryourquestion,"hesaidsolemnly.

"Thankyou,"saidRabbit.

"What doesChristopherRobin do in themornings?He learns.He becomesEducated.He instigorates--I think that is thewordhementioned,but Imaybereferringtosomethingelse--heinstigoratesKnowledge.InmysmallwayIalso,ifIhavethewordright,am--amdoingwhathedoes.That,forinstance,is--"

"AnA,"saidRabbit,"butnotaverygoodone.Well,Imustgetbackandtelltheothers."

EeyorelookedathissticksandthenhelookedatPiglet.

"WhatdidRabbitsayitwas?"heasked.

"AnA,"saidPiglet.

"Didyoutellhim?"

"No,Eeyore,Ididn't.Iexpecthejustknew."

"Heknew?YoumeanthisAthingisathingRabbitknew?"

"Yes,Eeyore.He'sclever,Rabbitis."

"Clever!" said Eeyore scornfully, putting a foot heavily on his three sticks."Education!"saidEeyorebitterly,jumpingonhissixsticks."WhatisLearning?"askedEeyoreashekickedhistwelvesticksintotheair."AthingRabbitknows!Ha!"

"Ithink--"beganPigletnervously.

"Don't,"saidEeyore.

"IthinkVioletsarerathernice,"saidPiglet.AndhelaidhisbunchinfrontofEeyoreandscamperedoff.

NextmorningthenoticeonChristopherRobin'sdoorsaid:

GONEOUTBACKSOON

C.R.

WhichiswhyalltheanimalsintheForest--except,ofcourse,theSpottedandHerbaceousBackson--nowknowwhatChristopherRobindoesinthemornings.

ChapterSix

INWHICH

PoohInventsaNewGameandEeyoreJoinsIn

BYTHETIMEitcametotheedgeoftheForest,thestreamhadgrownup,sothatitwasalmostariver,and,beinggrown-up,itdidnotrunandjumpandsparklealongasit used to dowhen itwas younger, butmovedmore slowly. For it knewnowwhere itwasgoing,and it said to itself,"There isnohurry.Weshallget theresomeday."Butall the littlestreamshigherup in theForestwent thiswayandthat,quickly,eagerly,havingsomuchtofindoutbeforeitwastoolate.

Therewasabroadtrack,almostasbroadasaroad,leadingfromtheOutlandtotheForest,butbeforeitcouldcometotheForest,ithadtocrossthisriver.So,where it crossed, therewas awooden bridge, almost as broad as a road,withwoodenrailsoneachsideofit.ChristopherRobincouldjustgethischintothetoprail,ifhewantedto,butitwasmorefuntostandonthebottomrail,sothathecouldleanrightover,andwatchtheriverslippingslowlyawaybeneathhim.Poohcouldgethischinonthebottomrailifhewantedto,butitwasmorefuntolie down and get his head under it, andwatch the river slipping slowly awaybeneathhim.And thiswas theonlyway inwhichPigletandRoocouldwatchthe river at all, because theywere too small to reach the bottom rail. So theywouldliedownandwatchit...anditslippedawayveryslowly,beinginnohurrytogetthere.

Oneday,whenPoohwaswalkingtowardsthisbridge,hewastryingtomakeup a piece of poetry about fir-cones, because there theywere, lying about on

eachsideofhim,andhefeltsingy.Sohepickedafir-coneup,andlookedatit,andsaidtohimself,"Thisisaverygoodfir-cone,andsomethingoughttorhymeto it." But he couldn't think of anything. And then this came into his headsuddenly:Hereisamyst'ry

Aboutalittlefir-tree.

Owlsaysit'shistree,

AndKangasaysit'shertree.

"Which doesn't make sense," said Pooh, "because Kanga doesn't live in atree."

He had just come to the bridge; and not looking where he was going, hetrippedoversomething,andthefir-conejerkedoutofhispawintotheriver.

"Bother,"saidPooh,asitfloatedslowlyunderthebridge,andhewentbacktogetanotherfir-conewhichhadarhymetoit.Butthenhethoughtthathewouldjust look at the river instead, because itwas a peaceful sort of day, so he laydownand lookedat it,and it slippedslowlyawaybeneathhim...andsuddenly,therewashisfir-coneslippingawaytoo.

"That'sfunny,"saidPooh."Idroppeditontheotherside,"saidPooh,"anditcameoutonthisside!Iwonderifitwoulddoitagain?"Andhewentbackforsomemorefir-cones.

Itdid.Itkeptondoingit.Thenhedroppedtwoinatonce,andleantoverthebridgetoseewhichofthemwouldcomeoutfirst;andoneofthemdid;butastheywereboththesamesize,hedidn'tknowifitwastheonewhichhewantedtowin,ortheotherone.Sothenexttimehedroppedonebigoneandonelittleone,andthebigonecameoutfirst,whichwaswhathehadsaiditwoulddo,andthelittleonecameoutlast,whichwaswhathehadsaiditwoulddo,sohehadwon twice...and when he went home for tea, he had won thirty-six and losttwenty-eight,whichmeantthathewas--thathehad--well,youtaketwenty-eightfromthirty-six,andthat'swhathewas.Insteadoftheotherwayround.

And that was the beginning of the game called Poohsticks, which Poohinvented,andwhichheandhis friendsused toplayon theedgeof theForest.But they played with sticks instead of fir-cones, because they were easier tomark.

NowonedayPoohandPigletandRabbitandRoowereallplayingPoohstickstogether.TheyhaddroppedtheirsticksinwhenRabbitsaid"Go!"andthenthey

hadhurriedacrosstotheothersideofthebridge,andnowtheywereallleaningovertheedge,waitingtoseewhosestickwouldcomeoutfirst.Butitwasalongtime coming, because the river was very lazy that day, and hardly seemed tomindifitdidn'tevergetthereatall.

"I can seemine!" cried Roo. "No, I can't, it's something else. Can you seeyours,Piglet?IthoughtIcouldseemine,butIcouldn't.Thereitis!No,itisn't.Canyouseeyours,Pooh?"

"No,"saidPooh.

"Iexpectmystick'sstuck,"saidRoo."Rabbit,mystick'sstuck.Isyourstickstuck,Piglet?"

"Theyalwaystakelongerthanyouthink,"saidRabbit.

"Howlongdoyouthinkthey'lltake?"askedRoo.

"Icanseeyours,Piglet,"saidPoohsuddenly.

"Mine'sasortofgreyishone,"saidPiglet,notdaringto leantoofarover incasehefellin.

"Yes,that'swhatIcansee.It'scomingoverontomyside."

Rabbitleantoverfurtherthanever,lookingforhis,andRoowriggledupanddown, calling out "Come on, stick! Stick, stick, stick!" and Piglet got veryexcitedbecausehiswastheonlyonewhichhadbeenseen,andthatmeantthat

hewaswinning.

"It'scoming!"saidPooh.

"Areyousureit'smine?"squeakedPigletexcitedly.

"Yes,becauseit'sgrey.Abiggreyone.Hereitcomes!Avery--big--grey--Oh,no,itisn't,it'sEeyore."

AndoutfloatedEeyore.

"Eeyore!"criedeverybody.

Lookingverycalm,verydignified,withhislegsintheair,cameEeyorefrombeneaththebridge.

"It'sEeyore!"criedRoo,terriblyexcited.

"Isthatso?"saidEeyore,gettingcaughtupbyalittleeddy,andturningslowlyroundthreetimes."Iwondered."

"Ididn'tknowyouwereplaying,"saidRoo.

"I'mnot,"saidEeyore.

"Eeyore,whatareyoudoingthere?"saidRabbit.

"I'll give you three guesses, Rabbit. Digging holes in the ground? Wrong.Leaping from branch to branch of a young oak-tree? Wrong. Waiting forsomebodytohelpmeoutoftheriver?Right.GiveRabbittime,andhe'llalwaysgettheanswer."

"But,Eeyore,"saidPoohindistress,"whatcanwe--Imean,howshallwe--doyouthinkifwe--"

"Yes,"saidEeyore."Oneofthosewouldbejustthething.Thankyou,Pooh."

"He'sgoingroundandround,"saidRoo,muchimpressed.

"Andwhynot?"saidEeyorecoldly.

"Icanswimtoo,"saidRooproudly.

"Notroundandround,"saidEeyore."It'smuchmoredifficult.Ididn'twanttocomeswimmingatalltoday,"hewenton,revolvingslowly."Butif,whenin,Idecide to practise a slight circular movement from right to left--or perhaps Ishouldsay,"headded,ashegotintoanothereddy,"fromlefttoright,justasithappenstooccurtome,itisnobody'sbusinessbutmyown."

Therewasamoment'ssilencewhileeverybodythought.

"I'vegotasortofidea,"saidPoohatlast,"butIdon'tsupposeit'saverygoodone."

"Idon'tsupposeitiseither,"saidEeyore.

"Goon,Pooh,"saidRabbit."Let'shaveit."

"Well,ifweallthrewstonesandthingsintotheriverononesideofEeyore,thestoneswouldmakewaves,andthewaveswouldwashhimtotheotherside."

"That'saverygoodidea,"saidRabbit,andPoohlookedhappyagain.

"Very,"saidEeyore."WhenIwanttobewashed,Pooh,I'llletyouknow."

"Supposingwehithimbymistake?"saidPigletanxiously.

"Or supposing youmissed him bymistake," said Eeyore. "Think of all thepossibilities,Piglet,beforeyousettledowntoenjoyyourselves."

ButPoohhadgotthebiggeststonehecouldcarry,andwasleaningoverthebridge,holdingitinhispaws.

"I'mnotthrowingit,I'mdroppingit,Eeyore,"heexplained."AndthenIcan'tmiss--I mean I can't hit you. Could you stop turning round for a moment,becauseitmuddlesmerather?"

"No,"saidEeyore."Iliketurninground."

Rabbitbegantofeelthatitwastimehetookcommand.

"Now,Pooh,"hesaid,"whenIsay'Now!'youcandropit.Eeyore,whenIsay'Now!'Poohwilldrophisstone."

"Thankyouverymuch,Rabbit,butIexpectIshallknow."

"Are you ready,Pooh?Piglet, givePooh a littlemore room.Get back a bitthere,Roo.Areyouready?"

"No,"saidEeyore.

"Now!"saidRabbit.

Poohdroppedhisstone.Therewasaloudsplash,andEeyoredisappeared....

Itwas ananxiousmoment for thewatcherson thebridge.They lookedandlooked...andeventhesightofPiglet'sstickcomingoutalittleinfrontofRabbit'sdidn't cheer them up asmuch as youwould have expected.And then, just asPoohwasbeginning to think thathemusthavechosen thewrongstoneor thewrongriverorthewrongdayforhisIdea,somethinggreyshowedforamomentbytheriverbank...anditgotslowlybiggerandbigger...andatlastitwasEeyorecomingout.

Witha shout they rushedoff thebridge, andpushedandpulledathim; andsoonhewasstandingamongthemagainondryland.

"Oh,Eeyore,youarewet!"saidPiglet,feelinghim.

Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet whathappenedwhenyouhadbeeninsideariverforquitealongtime.

"Welldone,Pooh,"saidRabbitkindly."Thatwasagoodideaofours."

"Whatwas?"askedEeyore.

"Hooshingyoutothebanklikethat."

"Hooshingme?" said Eeyore in surprise. "Hooshingme?You didn't think Iwashooshed,didyou?Idived.Poohdroppedalargestoneonme,andsoasnottobestruckheavilyonthechest,Idivedandswamtothebank."

"Youdidn'treally,"whisperedPiglettoPooh,soastocomforthim.

"Ididn'tthinkIdid,"saidPoohanxiously.

"It'sjustEeyore,"saidPiglet."IthoughtyourIdeawasaverygoodIdea."

Poohbegantofeelalittlemorecomfortable,becausewhenyouareaBearofVeryLittleBrain, and youThink ofThings, you find sometimes that aThingwhichseemedveryThingish insideyou isquitedifferentwhen itgetsout intothe open and has other people looking at it.And, anyhow, Eeyorewas in theriver,andnowhewasn't,sohehadn'tdoneanyharm.

"Howdid you fall in, Eeyore?" askedRabbit, as he dried himwith Piglet'shandkerchief.

"Ididn't,"saidEeyore.

Buthow--"

"IwasBOUNCED,"saidEeyore.

"Oo,"saidRooexcitedly,"didsomebodypushyou?"

"Somebody BOUNCED me. I was just thinking by the side of the river--thinking, if any of you know what that means, when I received a loud

BOUNCE."

"Oh,Eeyore!"saideverybody.

"Areyousureyoudidn'tslip?"askedRabbitwisely.

"Of course I slipped. If you're standingon the slipperybankof a river, andsomebodyBOUNCESyou loudlyfrombehind,youslip.Whatdidyou thinkIdid?"

"Butwhodidit?"askedRoo.

Eeyoredidn'tanswer.

"IexpectitwasTigger,"saidPigletnervously.

"But,Eeyore,"saidPooh,"wasitaJoke,oranAccident?Imean--"

"Ididn'tstoptoask,Pooh.EvenattheverybottomoftheriverIdidn'tstoptosaytomyself,'IsthisaHeartyJoke,orisittheMerestAccident?'Ijustfloatedtothesurface,andsaidtomyself,'It'swet.'IfyouknowwhatImean."

"AndwherewasTigger?"askedRabbit.

BeforeEeyorecouldanswer,therewasaloudnoisebehindthem,andthroughthehedgecameTiggerhimself.

"Hallo,everybody,"saidTiggercheerfully.

"Hallo,Tigger,"saidRoo.

Rabbitbecameveryimportantsuddenly.

"Tigger,"hesaidsolemnly,"whathappenedjustnow?"

"Justwhen?"saidTiggeralittleuncomfortably.

"WhenyoubouncedEeyoreintotheriver."

"Ididn'tbouncehim."

"Youbouncedme,"saidEeyoregruffly.

"Ididn'treally.Ihadacough,andIhappenedtobebehindEeyore,andIsaid'Grrrr--oppp--ptschschschz.'"

"Why?"saidRabbit,helpingPigletup,anddustinghim."It'sallright,Piglet."

"Ittookmebysurprise,"saidPigletnervously.

"That'swhatIcallbouncing,"saidEeyore."Takingpeoplebysurprise.Veryunpleasanthabit.Idon'tmindTiggerbeingintheForest,"hewenton,"becauseit'salargeForest,andthere'splentyofroomtobounceinit.ButIdon'tseewhyheshouldcomeintomy littlecornerof it, andbounce there. It isn't as if therewasanythingverywonderfulaboutmy littlecorner.Ofcourse forpeoplewholikecold,wet,uglybits it is something rather special, but otherwise it's just acorner,andifanybodyfeelsbouncy--"

"Ididn'tbounce,Icoughed,"saidTiggercrossly.

"Bouncyorcoffy,it'sallthesameatthebottomoftheriver."

"Well,"saidRabbit,"allIcansayis--well,here'sChristopherRobin,sohecansayit."

ChristopherRobincamedownfromtheForesttothebridge,feelingallsunnyandcareless,andjustasiftwicenineteendidn'tmatterabit,asitdidn'tonsuchahappyafternoon,andhethoughtthatifhestoodonthebottomrailofthebridge,andleantover,andwatchedtheriverslippingslowlyawaybeneathhim,thenhewouldsuddenlyknoweverythingthattherewastobeknown,andhewouldbeabletotellPooh,whowasn'tquitesureaboutsomeofit.Butwhenhegottothebridge and saw all the animals there, then he knew that itwasn't that kind ofafternoon,buttheotherkind,whenyouwantedtodosomething.

"It'slikethis,ChristopherRobin,"beganRabbit."Tigger--"

"No,Ididn't,"saidTigger.

"Well,anyhow,thereIwas,"saidEeyore.

"ButIdon'tthinkhemeantto,"saidPooh.

"Hejustisbouncy,"saidPiglet,"andhecan'thelpit."

"Trybouncingme,Tigger," saidRooeagerly. "Eeyore,Tigger'sgoing to tryme.Piglet,doyouthink--"

"Yes,yes,"saidRabbit,"wedon'tallwanttospeakatonce.Thepointis,whatdoesChristopherRobinthinkaboutit?"

"AllIdidwasIcoughed,"saidTigger.

"Hebounced,"saidEeyore.

"Well,Isortofboffed,"saidTigger.

"Hush!"saidRabbit,holdinguphispaw."WhatdoesChristopherRobinthinkaboutitall?That'sthepoint."

"Well,"saidChristopherRobin,notquitesurewhatitwasallabout,"Ithink--"

"Yes?"saideverybody.

"IthinkwealloughttoplayPoohsticks."

So they did.AndEeyore,who had never played it before,wonmore timesthan anybody else; and Roo fell in twice, the first time by accident and thesecond time on purpose, because he suddenly saw Kanga coming from theForest,andheknewhe'dhavetogotobedanyhow.SothenRabbitsaidhe'dgowiththem;andTiggerandEeyorewentofftogether,becauseEeyorewantedtotellTiggerHowtoWinatPoohsticks,whichyoudobylettingyourstickdropina twitchysortofway, ifyouunderstandwhat Imean,Tigger;andChristopherRobinandPoohandPigletwereleftonthebridgebythemselves.

Foralongtimetheylookedattheriverbeneaththem,sayingnothing,andtheriver said nothing too, for it felt very quiet and peaceful on this summerafternoon.

"Tiggerisallrightreally,"saidPigletlazily.

"Ofcourseheis,"saidChristopherRobin.

"Everybodyisreally,"saidPooh."That'swhatIthink,"saidPooh."ButIdon'tsupposeI'mright,"hesaid."Ofcourseyouare,"saidChristopherRobin.

ChapterSeven

INWHICH

TiggerIsUnbounced

ONE DAY Rabbit and Piglet were sitting outside Pooh's front door listening toRabbit,andPoohwassittingwiththem.Itwasadrowsysummerafternoon,andthe Forest was full of gentle sounds, which all seemed to be saying to Pooh,"Don't listentoRabbit, listentome."Sohegotintoacomfortablepositionfornot listeningtoRabbit,andfromtimetotimeheopenedhiseyestosay"Ah!"and then closed them again to say "True," and from time to timeRabbit said,"You seewhat Imean, Piglet," very earnestly, and Piglet nodded earnestly toshowthathedid.

"In fact," said Rabbit, coming to the end of it at last, "Tigger's getting soBouncy nowadays that it's time we taught him a lesson. Don't you think so,Piglet?"

PigletsaidthatTiggerwasveryBouncy,andthatiftheycouldthinkofawayofunbouncinghim,itwouldbeaVeryGoodIdea.

"JustwhatIfeel,"saidRabbit."Whatdoyousay,Pooh?"

Poohopenedhiseyeswithajerkandsaid,"Extremely."

"Extremelywhat?"askedRabbit.

"Whatyouweresaying,"saidPooh."Undoubtably."

PigletgavePoohastiffeningsortofnudge,andPooh,whofeltmoreandmorethathewassomewhereelse,gotupslowlyandbegantolookforhimself.

"Buthowshallwedoit?"askedPiglet."Whatsortofalesson,Rabbit?"

"That'sthepoint,"saidRabbit.

Theword"lesson"camebacktoPoohasonehehadheardbeforesomewhere.

"There's a thing called Twy-stymes," he said. "Christopher Robin tried toteachittomeonce,butitdidn't."

"Whatdidn't?"saidRabbit.

"Didn'twhat?"saidPiglet.

Poohshookhishead.

"Idon'tknow,"hesaid."Itjustdidn't.Whatarewetalkingabout?"

"Pooh,"saidPigletreproachfully,"haven'tyoubeenlisteningtowhatRabbitwassaying?"

"Ilistened,butIhadasmallpieceoffluffinmyear.Couldyousayitagain,please,Rabbit?"

Rabbitnevermindedsayingthingsagain,soheaskedwhereheshouldbeginfrom;andwhenPoohhadsaid fromthemomentwhen the fluffgot inhisear,andRabbithadaskedwhenthatwas,andPoohhadsaidhedidn'tknowbecausehehadn'theardproperly,Pigletsettleditallbysayingthatwhattheyweretryingto do was, they were just trying to think of a way to get the bounces out ofTigger, because however much you liked him, you couldn't deny it, he didbounce.

"Oh,Isee,"saidPooh.

"There'stoomuchofhim,"saidRabbit,"that'swhatitcomesto."

Poohtriedtothink,andallhecouldthinkofwassomethingwhichdidn'thelpatall.Sohehummeditveryquietlytohimself.

IfRabbit

Wasbigger

Andfatter

Andstronger,

Orbigger

ThanTigger,

IfTiggerwassmaller,

ThenTigger'sbadhabit

OfbouncingatRabbit

Wouldmatter

Nolonger,

IfRabbit

Wastaller.

"WhatwasPoohsaying?"askedRabbit."Anygood?"

"No,"saidPoohsadly."Nogood."

"Well,I'vegotanidea,"saidRabbit,"andhereitis.WetakeTiggerforalongexplore, somewhere where he's never been, and we lose him there, and nextmorning we find him again, and--mark my words--he'll be a different Tiggeraltogether."

"Why?"saidPooh.

"Because he'll be a Humble Tigger. Because he'll be a Sad Tigger, aMelancholyTigger,aSmallandSorryTigger,andOh-Rabbit-I-am-glad-to-see-youTigger.That'swhy."

"WillhebegladtoseemeandPiglet,too?"

"Ofcourse."

"That'sgood,"saidPooh.

"IshouldhatehimtogoonbeingSad,"saidPigletdoubtfully.

"Tiggers never go on being Sad," explained Rabbit. "They get over it withAstonishingRapidity.IaskedOwl,justtomakesure,andhesaidthatthat'swhattheyalwaysgetoveritwith.ButifwecanmakeTiggerfeelSmallandSadjustforfiveminutes,weshallhavedoneagooddeed."

"WouldChristopherRobinthinkso?"askedPiglet.

"Yes,"saidRabbit."He'dsay'You'vedoneagooddeed,Piglet.Iwouldhavedoneitmyself,onlyIhappenedtobedoingsomethingelse.Thankyou,Piglet.'AndPooh,ofcourse."

Pigletfeltverygladaboutthis,andhesawatoncethatwhattheyweregoingtodo toTiggerwasagood thing todo,andasPoohandRabbitweredoing itwithhim,itwasathingwhichevenaVerySmallAnimalcouldwakeupinthemorning and be comfortable about doing. So the only question was, whereshouldtheyloseTigger?

"We'll takehimto theNorthPole,"saidRabbit,"because itwasavery longexplorefindingit,soitwillbeaverylongexploreforTiggerunfindingitagain."

ItwasnowPooh'sturntofeelveryglad,becauseitwashewhohadfirstfoundtheNorthPole,andwhentheygotthere,Tiggerwouldseeanoticewhichsaid,"Discovered by Pooh, Pooh found it," and then Tigger would know, whichperhapshedidn'tknow,thesortofBearPoohwas.ThatsortofBear.

Soitwasarrangedthattheyshouldstartnextmorning,andthatRabbit,wholivednearKangaandRooandTigger,shouldnowgohomeandaskTiggerwhathewasdoingtomorrow,becauseifhewasn'tdoinganything,whataboutcomingforanexploreandgettingPoohandPiglettocometoo?AndifTiggersaid"Yes"thatwouldbeallright,andifhesaid"No"--

"Hewon't,"saidRabbit."Leaveittome."Andhewentoffbusily.

Thenextdaywasquiteadifferentday.Insteadofbeinghotandsunny,itwascold andmisty. Pooh didn'tmind for himself, butwhen he thought of all thehoneythebeeswouldn'tbemaking,acoldandmistydayalwaysmadehimfeelsorryfor them.Hesaidso toPigletwhenPigletcame to fetchhim,andPigletsaid thathewasn't thinkingof that somuch,butofhowcoldandmiserable itwouldbebeinglostalldayandnightonthetopoftheForest.ButwhenheandPoohhadgottoRabbit'shouse,Rabbitsaiditwasjustthedayforthem,because

Tigger always bounced on ahead of everybody, and as soon as he got out ofsight,theywouldhurryawayintheotherdirection,andhewouldneverseethemagain.

"Notnever?"saidPiglet.

"Well,notuntilwefindhimagain,Piglet.Tomorrow,orwheneveritis.Comeon.He'swaitingforus."

WhentheygottoKanga'shouse,theyfoundthatRoowaswaitingtoo,beingagreatfriendofTigger's,whichmadeitAwkward;butRabbitwhispered"Leavethistome"behindhispawtoPooh,andwentuptoKanga.

"Idon'tthinkRoohadbettercome,"hesaid."Nottoday."

"Whynot?"saidRoo,whowasn'tsupposedtobelistening.

"Nastycoldday,"saidRabbit,shakinghishead."Andyouwerecoughingthismorning."

"Howdoyouknow?"askedRooindignantly.

"Oh,Roo,younevertoldme,"saidKangareproachfully.

"ItwasaBiscuitCough,"saidRoo,"notoneyoutellabout."

"Ithinknottoday,dear.Anotherday."

"Tomorrow?"saidRoohopefully.

"We'llsee,"saidKanga.

"You'realwaysseeing,andnothingeverhappens,"saidRoosadly.

"Nobodycouldseeonaday like this,Roo,"saidRabbit. "Idon'texpectweshall get very far, and then this afternoonwe'll all--we'll all--we'll--ah,Tigger,thereyouare.Comeon.Good-bye,Roo!Thisafternoonwe'll--comeon,Pooh!Allready?That'sright.Comeon."

Sotheywent.AtfirstPoohandRabbitandPigletwalkedtogether,andTiggerranroundthemincircles,andthen,whenthepathgotnarrower,Rabbit,PigletandPoohwalkedoneafteranother,andTiggerranroundtheminoblongs,andby-and-by,whenthegorsegotverypricklyoneachsideofthepath,Tiggerranup and down in front of them, and sometimes he bounced into Rabbit andsometimeshedidn't.Andastheygothigher,themistgotthicker,sothatTiggerkept disappearing, and then when you thought he wasn't there, there he wasagain, saying "I say, come on," and before you could say anything, there hewasn't.

RabbitturnedroundandnudgedPiglet.

"Thenexttime,"hesaid."TellPooh."

"Thenexttime,"saidPiglettoPooh.

"Thenextwhat?"saidPoohtoPiglet.

Tigger appeared suddenly, bounced into Rabbit, and disappeared again."Now!"saidRabbit.Hejumpedintoahollowbythesideofthepath,andPoohandPigletjumpedafterhim.Theycrouchedinthebracken,listening.TheForestwasverysilentwhenyoustoppedandlistenedtoit.Theycouldseenothingandhearnothing.

"H'sh!"saidRabbit.

"Iam,"saidPooh.

Therewasapatteringnoise...thensilenceagain."Hallo!"saidTigger,andhesounded so close suddenly that Piglet would have jumped if Pooh hadn'taccidentallybeensittingonmostofhim.

"Whereareyou?"calledTigger.

RabbitnudgedPooh,andPoohlookedaboutforPiglettonudge,butcouldn'tfindhim,andPigletwentonbreathingwetbrackenasquietlyashecould,and

feltverybraveandexcited.

"That'sfunny,"saidTigger.

Therewas amoment's silence, and then theyheardhimpatteringoff again.Foralittlelongertheywaited,untiltheForesthadbecomesostillthatitalmostfrightenedthem,andthenRabbitgotupandstretchedhimself.

"Well?"hewhisperedproudly."Thereweare!JustasIsaid."

"I'vebeenthinking,"saidPooh,"andIthink----"

"No," saidRabbit. "Don't.Run.Comeon."And they all hurriedoff,Rabbitleadingtheway.

"Now,"saidRabbit,aftertheyhadgonealittleway,"wecantalk.Whatwereyougoingtosay,Pooh?"

"Nothingmuch.Whyarewegoingalonghere?"

"Becauseit'sthewayhome."

"Oh!"saidPooh.

"I think it's more to the right," said Piglet nervously. "What do you think,Pooh?"

Poohlookedathistwopaws.Heknewthatoneofthemwastheright,andheknewthatwhenyouhaddecidedwhichoneofthemwastheright,thentheotheronewastheleft,buthenevercouldrememberhowtobegin.

"Well,"hesaidslowly--

"Comeon,"saidRabbit."Iknowit'sthisway."

Theywenton.Tenminuteslatertheystoppedagain.

"It'sverysilly,"saidRabbit,"butjustforthemomentI--Ah,ofcourse.Comeon...."

"Hereweare,"saidRabbittenminuteslater."No,we'renot...."

"Now,"saidRabbit tenminutes later,"I thinkweought tobegetting--orarewealittlebitmoretotherightthanIthought?..."

"It'safunnything,"saidRabbittenminuteslater,"howeverythinglooksthesameinamist.Haveyounoticedit,Pooh?"

Poohsaidthathehad.

"LuckyweknowtheForestsowell,orwemightgetlost,"saidRabbithalfanhour later,andhegave thecareless laughwhichyougivewhenyouknow theForestsowellthatyoucan'tgetlost.

PigletsidleduptoPoohfrombehind.

"Pooh!"hewhispered.

"Yes,Piglet?"

"Nothing,"saidPiglet,takingPooh'spaw."Ijustwantedtobesureofyou."

WhenTigger had finishedwaiting for the others to catch him up, and theyhadn't,andwhenhehadgottiredofhavingnobodytosay,"Isay,comeon"to,hethoughthewouldgohome.Sohetrottedback;andthefirstthingKangasaidwhen she saw him was "There's a good Tigger. You're just in time for yourStrengtheningMedicine,"andshepoureditoutforhim.Roosaidproudly,"I'vehadmine,"andTiggerswallowedhisandsaid,"SohaveI,"andthenheandRoopushedeachotheraboutinafriendlyway,andTiggeraccidentallyknockedoverone or two chairs by accident, and Roo accidentally knocked over one onpurpose,andKangasaid,"Nowthen,runalong."

"Whereshallwerunalongto?"askedRoo.

"Youcangoandcollect some fir-cones forme," saidKanga,giving themabasket.

SotheywenttotheSixPineTrees,andthrewfir-conesateachotheruntiltheyhad forgottenwhat theycame for, and they left thebasketunder the trees andwent back to dinner. And it was just as they were finishing dinner thatChristopherRobinputhisheadinatthedoor.

"Where'sPooh?"heasked.

"Tigger dear, where's Pooh?" said Kanga. Tigger explained what hadhappenedatthesametimethatRoowasexplainingabouthisBiscuitCoughandKangawas telling them not both to talk at once, so it was some time beforeChristopherRobinguessedthatPoohandPigletandRabbitwereall lostinthemistonthetopoftheForest.

"It's a funny thing about Tiggers," whispered Tigger to Roo, "how Tiggersnevergetlost."

"Whydon'tthey,Tigger?"

"Theyjustdon't,"explainedTigger."That'showitis."

"Well,"saidChristopherRobin,"weshallhavetogoandfindthem,that'sall.Comeon,Tigger."

"Ishallhavetogoandfindthem,"explainedTiggertoRoo.

"MayIfindthemtoo?"askedRooeagerly.

"Ithinknottoday,dear,"saidKanga."Anotherday."

"Well,ifthey'relosttomorrow,mayIfindthem?"

"We'll see," saidKanga, andRoo,who knewwhat that meant, went into acorner, and practised jumping out at himself, partly because he wanted topractisethis,andpartlybecausehedidn'twantChristopherRobinandTiggertothinkthathemindedwhentheywentoffwithouthim.

"Thefactis,"saidRabbit,"we'vemissedourwaysomehow."

Theywerehavingarestinasmallsand-pitonthetopoftheForest.Poohwasgetting rather tired of that sand-pit, and suspected it of following them about,becausewhicheverdirectiontheystartedin,theyalwaysendedupatit,andeachtime, as it came through the mist at them, Rabbit said triumphantly, "Now Iknowwhereweare!"andPoohsaidsadly,"SodoI,"andPigletsaidnothing.Hehadtriedtothinkofsomethingtosay,buttheonlythinghecouldthinkofwas,"Help,help!"anditseemedsillytosaythat,whenhehadPoohandRabbitwithhim.

"Well,"saidRabbit,afteralongsilenceinwhichnobodythankedhimforthenicewalktheywerehaving,"we'dbettergeton,Isuppose.Whichwayshallwetry?"

"Howwoulditbe,"saidPoohslowly,"if,assoonaswe'reoutofsightofthisPit,wetrytofinditagain?"

"What'sthegoodofthat?"saidRabbit.

"Well,"saidPooh,"wekeeplookingforHomeandnotfindingit,soIthoughtthatifwelookedforthisPit,we'dbesurenottofindit,whichwouldbeaGoodThing,becausethenwemightfindsomethingthatweweren'tlookingfor,whichmightbejustwhatwewerelookingfor,really."

"Idon'tseemuchsenseinthat,"saidRabbit.

"No,"saidPoohhumbly,"thereisn't.ButtherewasgoingtobewhenIbeganit.It'sjustthatsomethinghappenedtoitontheway."

"IfIwalkedawayfromthisPit,andthenwalkedbacktoit,ofcourseIshould

findit."

"Well,Ithoughtperhapsyouwouldn't,"saidPooh."Ijustthought."

"Try,"saidPigletsuddenly."We'llwaithereforyou."

RabbitgavealaughtoshowhowsillyPigletwas,andwalkedintothemist.Afterhehadgoneahundredyards,heturnedandwalkedbackagain...andafterPoohandPiglethadwaitedtwentyminutesforhim,Poohgotup.

"Ijustthought,"saidPooh."Nowthen,Piglet,let'sgohome."

"But,Pooh,"criedPiglet,allexcited,"doyouknowtheway?"

"No," said Pooh. "But there are twelve pots of honey inmy cupboard, andthey've been calling to me for hours. I couldn't hear them properly before,becauseRabbitwouldtalk,butifnobodysaysanythingexceptthosetwelvepots,Ithink,Piglet,Ishallknowwherethey'recallingfrom.Comeon."

Theywalkedofftogether;andforalongtimePigletsaidnothing,soasnottointerrupt the pots; and then suddenly he made a squeaky noise...and an oo-noise...becausenowhebegantoknowwherehewas;buthestilldidn'tdaretosay so out loud, in case he wasn't. And just when he was getting so sure ofhimselfthatitdidn'tmatterwhetherthepotswentoncallingornot,therewasashoutfrominfrontofthem,andoutofthemistcameChristopherRobin.

"Oh,thereyouare,"saidChristopherRobincarelessly,tryingtopretendthathehadn'tbeenAnxious.

"Hereweare,"saidPooh.

"Where'sRabbit?"

"Idon'tknow,"saidPooh.

"Oh--well,IexpectTiggerwillfindhim.He'ssortoflookingforyouall."

"Well," said Pooh, "I've got to go home for something, and so has Piglet,becausewehaven'thadityet,and--"

"I'llcomeandwatchyou,"saidChristopherRobin.

SohewenthomewithPooh,andwatchedhimforquitealongtime...andallthe time he was watching, Tigger was tearing round the Forest making loudyappingnoisesforRabbit.AndatlastaverySmallandSorryRabbitheardhim.And the Small and Sorry Rabbit rushed through the mist at the noise, and itsuddenly turned into Tigger; a Friendly Tigger, a Grand Tigger, a Large andHelpfulTigger,aTiggerwhobounced,ifhebouncedatall,injustthebeautifulwayaTiggeroughttobounce.

"Oh,Tigger,Iamgladtoseeyou,"criedRabbit.

ChapterEight

INWHICH

PigletDoesaVeryGrandThing

HALF WAYbetweenPooh'shouseandPiglet'shousewasaThoughtfulSpotwheretheymetsometimeswhentheyhaddecidedtogoandseeeachother,andasitwaswarmandoutofthewindtheywouldsitdownthereforalittleandwonderwhattheywoulddonowthattheyhadseeneachother.Onedaywhentheyhaddecidednot todoanything,Poohmadeupaverse about it, so that everybodyshouldknowwhattheplacewasfor.

ThiswarmandsunnySpot

BelongstoPooh.

Andherehewonderswhat

He'sgoingtodo.

Oh,bother,Iforgot--

It'sPiglet'stoo.

Now one autumnmorningwhen thewind had blown all the leaves off thetreesinthenight,andwastryingtoblowthebranchesoff,PoohandPigletweresittingintheThoughtfulSpotandwondering.

"WhatIthink,"saidPooh,"isIthinkwe'llgotoPoohCornerandseeEeyore,because perhaps his house has been blown down, and perhaps he'd like us tobuilditagain."

"What I think," said Piglet, "is I thinkwe'll go and seeChristopher Robin,onlyhewon'tbethere,sowecan't."

"Let'sgoandseeeverybody,"saidPooh."Becausewhenyou'vebeenwalkinginthewindformiles,andyousuddenlygointosomebody'shouse,andhesays,

'Hallo,Pooh,you'rejustintimeforalittlesmackerelofsomething,'andyouare,thenit'swhatIcallaFriendlyDay."

Piglet thought that theyought tohaveaReason forgoing to seeeverybody,like Looking for Small or Organizing an Expotition, if Pooh could think ofsomething.

Poohcould.

"We'llgobecause it'sThursday,"hesaid,"andwe'llgo towisheverybodyaVeryHappyThursday.Comeon,Piglet."

Theygotup;andwhenPiglethadsatdownagain,becausehedidn'tknowthewindwassostrong,andhadbeenhelpedupbyPooh,theystartedoff.TheywenttoPooh'shousefirst,andluckilyPoohwasathomejustastheygotthere,soheasked them in, and they had some, and then they went on to Kanga's house,holdingontoeachother,andshouting"Isn'tit?"and"What?"and"Ican'thear."BythetimetheygottoKanga'shousetheyweresobuffetedthattheystayedtolunch.Justatfirstitseemedrathercoldoutsideafterwards,sotheypushedontoRabbit'sasquicklyastheycould.

"We'vecometowishyouaVeryHappyThursday,"saidPooh,whenhehadgoneinandoutonceortwicejusttomakesurethathecouldgetoutagain.

"Why,what'sgoing tohappenonThursday?"askedRabbit, andwhenPoohhadexplained,andRabbit,whose lifewasmadeupof ImportantThings, said,"Oh, I thought you'd really come about something," they sat down for alittle...andby-and-byPoohandPigletwentonagain.Thewindwasbehindthemnow,sotheydidn'thavetoshout.

"Rabbit'sclever,"saidPoohthoughtfully.

"Yes,"saidPiglet,"Rabbit'sclever."

"AndhehasBrain."

"Yes,"saidPiglet,"RabbithasBrain."

Therewasalongsilence.

"Isuppose,"saidPooh,"thatthat'swhyheneverunderstandsanything."

ChristopherRobinwasathomebythistime,becauseitwastheafternoon,andhewassogladtoseethemthattheystayedthereuntilverynearlytea-time,andthentheyhadaVeryNearlytea,whichisoneyouforgetaboutafterwards,andhurriedontoPoohCorner,soastoseeEeyorebeforeitwastoolatetohaveaProperTeawithOwl.

"Hallo,Eeyore,"theycalledoutcheerfully.

"Ah!"saidEeyore."Lostyourway?"

"We just came to see you," said Piglet. "And to see how your house was.Look,Pooh,it'sstillstanding!"

"Iknow,"saidEeyore."Veryodd.Somebodyought tohavecomedownandpusheditover."

"Wewonderedwhetherthewindwouldblowitdown,"saidPooh.

"Ah, that's why nobody's bothered, I suppose. I thought perhaps they'dforgotten."

"Well, we're very glad to see you, Eeyore, and nowwe're going on to seeOwl."

"That'sright.You'lllikeOwl.Heflewpastadayortwoagoandnoticedme.Hedidn'tactuallysayanything,mindyou,butheknewitwasme.Veryfriendlyofhim,Ithought.Encouraging."

PoohandPigletshuffledaboutalittleandsaid,"Well,good-bye,Eeyore,"aslingeringly as they could, but they had a long way to go, and wanted to begettingon.

"Good-bye,"saidEeyore."Mindyoudon'tgetblownaway,littlePiglet.You'dbe missed. People would say 'Where's little Piglet been blown to?'--reallywantingtoknow.Well,good-bye.Andthankyouforhappeningtopassme."

"Good-bye," said Pooh and Piglet for the last time, and they pushed on toOwl'shouse.

Thewindwasagainst themnow,andPiglet'sears streamedbehindhim likebannersashefoughthiswayalong,anditseemedhoursbeforehegotthemintotheshelteroftheHundredAcreWoodandtheystoodupstraightagain,tolisten,alittlenervously,totheroaringofthegaleamongthetree-tops.

"Supposingatreefelldown,Pooh,whenwewereunderneathit?"

"Supposingitdidn't,"saidPoohaftercarefulthought.

Piglet was comforted by this, and in a littlewhile theywere knocking andringingverycheerfullyatOwl'sdoor.

"Hallo,Owl,"saidPooh."Ihopewe'renottoolatefor--Imean,howareyou,Owl?PigletandIjustcametoseehowyouwere,becauseit'sThursday."

"Sit down, Pooh, sit down, Piglet," said Owl kindly. "Make yourselvescomfortable."

Theythankedhim,andmadethemselvesascomfortableastheycould.

"Because,yousee,Owl,"saidPooh,"we'vebeenhurrying,soastobeintimefor--soastoseeyoubeforewewentawayagain."

Owlnoddedsolemnly.

"CorrectmeifIamwrong,"hesaid,"butamIrightinsupposingthatitisaveryBlusterousdayoutside?"

"Very,"saidPiglet,whowasquietlythawinghisears,andwishingthathewassafelybackinhisownhouse.

"Ithoughtso,"saidOwl."ItwasonjustsuchablusterousdayasthisthatmyUncleRobert, aportrait ofwhomyou seeupon thewallonyour right,Piglet,whilereturninginthelateforenoonfroma--What'sthat?"

Therewasaloudcrackingnoise.

"Lookout!"criedPooh."Mindtheclock!Outof theway,Piglet!Piglet,I'mfallingonyou!"

"Help!"criedPiglet.

Pooh'ssideoftheroomwasslowlytiltingupwardsandhischairbeganslidingdown on Piglet's. The clock slithered gently along themantelpiece, collectingvaseson theway,until theyallcrashed togetheron towhathadoncebeen thefloor,butwasnowtryingtoseewhatitlookedlikeasawall.UncleRobert,whowasgoing tobe thenewhearthrug,andwasbringing the restofhiswallwithhimascarpet,metPiglet'schairjustasPigletwasexpectingtoleaveit,andforalittle while it became very difficult to remember which was really the north.Thentherewasanotherloudcrack...Owl'sroomcollecteditselffeverishly...andtherewassilence.

Inacorneroftheroom,thetableclothbegantowriggle.

Thenitwrappeditselfintoaballandrolledacrosstheroom.

Then it jumped up and downonce or twice, and put out two ears. It rolledacrosstheroomagain,andunwounditself.

"Pooh,"saidPigletnervously.

"Yes?"saidoneofthechairs.

"Wherearewe?"

"I'mnotquitesure,"saidthechair.

"Arewe--areweinOwl'sHouse?"

"Ithinkso,becausewewerejustgoingtohavetea,andwehadn'thadit."

"Oh!"saidPiglet."Well,didOwlalwayshavealetterboxinhisceiling?"

"Hashe?"

"Yes,look."

"Ican't,"saidPooh."I'mfacedownwardsundersomething,andthat,Piglet,isaverybadpositionforlookingatceilings."

"Well,hehas,Pooh."

"Perhapshe'schangedit,"saidPooh."Justforachange."

Therewasadisturbancebehindthetableintheothercorneroftheroom,andOwlwaswiththemagain.

"Ah,Piglet,"saidOwl,lookingverymuchannoyed,"where'sPooh?"

"I'mnotquitesure,"saidPooh.

Owlturnedathisvoice,andfrownedatasmuchofPoohashecouldsee.

"Pooh,"saidOwlseverely,"didyoudothat?"

"No,"saidPoohhumbly."Idon'tthinkso."

"Thenwhodid?"

"Ithinkitwasthewind,"saidPiglet."Ithinkyourhousehasblowndown."

"Oh,isthatit?IthoughtitwasPooh."

"No,"saidPooh.

"Ifitwasthewind,"saidOwl,consideringthematter,"thenitwasn'tPooh'sfault.Noblamecanbeattached tohim."With thesekindwordshe flewup tolookathisnewceiling.

"Piglet!"calledPoohinaloudwhisper.

Pigletleantdowntohim.

"Yes,Pooh?"

"Whatdidhesaywasattachedtome?"

"Hesaidhedidn'tblameyou."

"Oh!Ithoughthemeant--Oh,Isee."

"Owl!"saidPiglet,"comedownandhelpPooh."

Owl,whowasadmiringhisletterbox,flewdownagain.Togethertheypushedandpulledatthearmchair,andinalittlewhilePoohcameoutfromunderneath,andwasabletolookroundhimagain.

"Well!"saidOwl."Thisisanicestateofthings!"

"Whatarewegoingtodo,Pooh?Canyouthinkofanything?"askedPiglet.

"Well,Ihadjustthoughtofsomething,"saidPooh."ItwasjustalittlethingIthoughtof."Andhebegantosing:Ilayonmychest

AndIthoughtitbest

TopretendIwashavinganeveningrest;

Ilayonmytum

AndItriedtohum

Butnothingparticularseemedtocome.

Myfacewasflat

Onthefloor,andthat

Isallverywellforanacrobat;

Butitdoesn'tseemfair

ToaFriendlyBear

Tostiffenhimoutwithabasket-chair.

Andasortofsquch

Whichgrowsandgrows

Isnottooniceforhispooroldnose,

Andasortofsquch

Ismuchtoomuch

Forhisneckandhismouth

andhisearsandsuch.

"Thatwasall,"saidPooh.

Owlcoughed in anunadmiring sortofway, and said that, ifPoohwas sure

thatwasall,theycouldnowgivetheirmindstotheProblemofEscape.

"Because," said Owl, "we can't go out by what used to be the front door.Something'sfallenonit."

"Buthowelsecanyougoout?"askedPigletanxiously.

"ThatistheProblem,Piglet,towhichIamaskingPoohtogivehismind."

Poohsatonthefloorwhichhadoncebeenawall,andgazedupattheceilingwhichhadoncebeenanotherwall,withafrontdoorinitwhichhadoncebeenafrontdoor,andtriedtogivehismindtoit.

"CouldyouflyuptotheletterboxwithPigletonyourback?"heasked.

"No,"saidPigletquickly."Hecouldn't."

OwlexplainedabouttheNecessaryDorsalMuscles.HehadexplainedthistoPoohandChristopherRobinoncebefore,andhadbeenwaitingeversinceforachance todo itagain,because it isa thingwhichyoucaneasilyexplain twicebeforeanybodyknowswhatyouaretalkingabout.

"Because you see, Owl, if we could get Piglet into the letterbox, hemightsqueezethroughtheplacewheretheletterscome,andclimbdownthetreeandrunforhelp."

Piglet said hurriedly that he had been getting bigger lately, and couldn'tpossibly,muchashewouldliketo,andOwlsaidthathehadhadhis letterboxmade bigger lately in case he got bigger letters, so perhaps Pigletmight, andPiglet said, "But you said the necessary you-know-whatswouldn't," and Owlsaid,"No,theywon't,soit'snogoodthinkingabout it,"andPigletsaid,"Thenwe'dbetterthinkofsomethingelse,"andbegantoatonce.

ButPooh'smindhadgonebacktothedaywhenhehadsavedPigletfromtheflood,andeverybodyhadadmiredhimsomuch;andasthatdidn'toftenhappenhethoughthewouldlikeittohappenagain.Andsuddenly,justasithadcomebefore,anideacametohim.

"Owl,"saidPooh,"Ihavethoughtofsomething."

"AstuteandHelpfulBear,"saidOwl.

Poohlookedproudatbeingcalledastoutandhelpfulbear,andsaidmodestlythathejusthappenedtothinkofit.YoutiedapieceofstringtoPiglet,andyouflew up to the letterbox with the other end in your beak, and you pushed itthroughthewireandbroughtitdowntothefloor,andyouandPoohpulledhard

atthisend,andPigletwentslowlyupattheotherend.Andthereyouwere.

"AndtherePigletis,"saidOwl."Ifthestringdoesn'tbreak."

"Supposingitdoes?"askedPiglet,wantingtoknow.

"Thenwetryanotherpieceofstring."

This was not very comforting to Piglet, because however many pieces ofstringtheytriedpullingupwith,itwouldalwaysbethesamehimcomingdown;butstill,itdidseemtheonlythingtodo.Sowithonelastlookbackinhismindat all the happy hours he had spent in the Forest not being pulled up to theceilingbyapieceofstring,PigletnoddedbravelyatPoohandsaidthatitwasaVeryCleverpup-pup-pupCleverpup-pupPlan.

"It won't break," whispered Pooh comfortingly, "because you're a SmallAnimal,andI'llstandunderneath,andifyousaveusall,itwillbeaVeryGrandThingtotalkaboutafterwards,andperhapsI'llmakeupaSong,andpeoplewillsay'ItwassograndwhatPigletdidthataRespectfulPoohSongwasmadeaboutit.'"

Pigletfeltmuchbetterafterthis,andwheneverythingwasready,andhefoundhimself slowly going up to the ceiling, he was so proud that he would havecalledout"Lookatme!"ifhehadn'tbeenafraidthatPoohandOwlwouldletgooftheirendofthestringandlookathim.

"Upwego!"saidPoohcheerfully.

"Theascentisproceedingasexpected,"saidOwlhelpfully.Soonitwasover.Piglet opened the letterbox and climbed in. Then, having untied himself, he

begantosqueezeintotheslit,throughwhichinthe

old days when front doorswere front doors, many an unexpected letter thatWOLhadwrittentohimself,hadcomeslipping.

Hesqueezedandhesquoze,andthenwithonelastsqoozehewasout.Happyandexcitedheturnedroundtosqueakalastmessagetotheprisoners.

"It'sallright,"hecalledthroughtheletterbox."Yourtreeisblownrightover,Owl,andthere'sabranchacrossthedoor,butChristopherRobinandIcanmoveit,andwe'llbringaropeforPooh,andI'llgoandtellhimnow,andIcanclimbdownquiteeasily,Imeanit'sdangerousbutIcandoitallright,andChristopherRobinandIwillbebackinabouthalf-an-hour.Good-bye,Pooh!"AndwithoutwaitingtohearPooh'sanswering"Good-bye,andthankyou,Piglet,"hewasoff.

"Half-an-hour," said Owl, settling himself comfortably. "That will just givemetimetofinishthatstoryIwastellingyouaboutmyUncleRobert--aportrait

ofwhomyouseeunderneathyou.Nowletmesee,wherewasI?Oh,yes.ItwasonjustsuchablusterousdayasthisthatmyUncleRobert--"

Poohclosedhiseyes.

ChapterNine

INWHICH

EeyoreFindstheWoleryandOwlMovesIntoIt

POOHHADWANDEREDintotheHundredAcreWood,andwasstandinginfrontofwhathadoncebeenOwl'sHouse.Itdidn'tlookatalllikeahousenow;itlookedlikeatreewhichhadbeenblowndown;andassoonasahouse looks like that, it is timeyoutriedtofindanotherone.PoohhadhadaMysteriousMissageunderneathhisfront door thatmorning, saying, "I AM SCERCHING FORANEWHOUSEFOR OWL SO HAD YOU RABBIT," and while he was wondering what itmeant,Rabbithadcomeinandreaditforhim.

"I'm leaving one for all the others," said Rabbit, "and telling them what itmeans,andthey'llallsearchtoo.I'minahurry,good-bye."Andhehadrunoff.

Poohfollowedslowly.HehadsomethingbettertodothantofindanewhouseforOwl; he had tomake up a Pooh song about the old one. Because he hadpromisedPigletdaysanddaysago thathewould,andwheneverheandPiglethadmetsince,Pigletdidn'tactuallysayanything,butyouknewatoncewhyhedidn't; and if anybody mentioned Hums or Trees or String or Storms-in-the-Night,Piglet'snosewentallpinkatthetipandhetalkedaboutsomethingquitedifferentinahurriedsortofway.

"Butitisn'tEasy,"saidPoohtohimself,ashelookedatwhathadoncebeenOwl's House. "Because Poetry andHums aren't things which you get, they'rethingswhichgetyou.Andallyoucandoistogowheretheycanfindyou."

Hewaitedhopefully....

"Well,"saidPoohafteralongwait,"Ishallbegin'Hereliesatree'becauseitdoes,andthenI'llseewhathappens."

Thisiswhathappened.

HereliesatreewhichOwl(abird)

Wasfondofwhenitstoodonend,

AndOwlwastalkingtoafriend

CalledMe(incaseyouhadn'theard)

WhensomethingOooccurred.

Forlo!thewindwasblusterous

Andflattenedouthisfavouritetree;

Andthingslooksbadforhimandwe--

Lookedbad,Imean,forheandus--

I'veneverknownthemwuss.

ThenPiglet(PIGLET)thoughtathing:

"Courage!"hesaid."There'salwayshope.

Iwantathinnishpieceofrope.

Or,ifthereisn)tanybring

Athickishpieceofstring."

Sototheletterboxherose,

WhilePoohandOwlsaid"Oh!"and"Hum!"

Andwherethelettersalwayscome

(Called"LETTERSONLY")Pigletsqooze

Hisheadandthenhistoes.

OgallantPiglet(PIGLET)!Ho!

DidPiglettremble?Didheblinch?

No,No,hestruggledinchbyinch

ThroughLETTERSONLY,asIknow

BecauseIsawhimgo.

Heranandran,andthenhestood

Andshouted,"HelpforOwl,abird

AndPooh,abear!"untilheheard

Theotherscomingthroughthewood

Asquicklyastheycould.

"Help-helpandRescue!"Pigletcried

Andshowedtheotherswheretogo.

Singho!forPiglet(PIGLET)ho!

Andsoonthedoorwasopenedwide

Andwewerebothoutside!

Singho!forPiglet,ho!

Ho!

"Sothereitis,"saidPooh,whenhehadsungthistohimselfthreetimes."It'scomedifferentfromwhatIthoughtitwould,butit'scome.NowImustgoandsingittoPiglet."

I AM SCERCHING FOR A NEW HOUSE FOR OWL SO HAD YOURABBIT.

"What'sallthis?"saidEeyore.

Rabbitexplained.

"What'sthematterwithhisoldhouse?"askedEeyore.

Rabbitexplained.

"Nobody tells me," said Eeyore. "Nobody keeps me Informed. I make itseventeendayscomeFridaysinceanybodyspoketome."

"Itcertainlyisn'tseventeendays--"

"ComeFriday,"explainedEeyore.

"Andtoday'sSaturday,"saidRabbit."Sothatwouldmakeitelevendays.AndIwasheremyselfaweekago."

"Not conversing," said Eeyore. "Not first one and then the other. You said'Hallo'andFlashedPast.IsawyourtailinthedistanceasIwasmeditatingmyreply.Ihadthoughtofsaying'What?'--but,ofcourse,itwasthentoolate."

"Well,Iwasinahurry."

"No Give and Take," Eeyore went on. "No Exchange of Thought: 'Hallo--What"--Imean,itgetsyounowhere,particularlyiftheotherperson'stailisonlyjustinsightforthesecondhalfoftheconversation."

"It'syourfault,Eeyore.You'veneverbeentoseeanyofus.YoujuststayhereinthisonecorneroftheForestwaitingfortheotherstocometoyou.Whydon'tyougotothemsometimes?"

Eeyorewassilentforalittlewhile,thinking.

"Theremaybe something inwhat you say,Rabbit," he said at last. "Imustmoveaboutmore.Imustcomeandgo."

"That'sright,Eeyore.Dropinonanyofusatanytime,whenyoufeellikeit."

"Thank-you, Rabbit. And if anybody says in a Loud Voice 'Bother, it'sEeyore,'Icandropoutagain."

Rabbitstoodononelegforamoment.

"Well,"hesaid,"Imustbegoing."

"Good-bye,"saidEeyore.

"What?Oh,good-bye.AndifyoudocomeacrossahouseforOwl,youmustletusknow."

"Iwillgivemymindtoit,"saidEeyore.

Rabbitwent.

Pooh had found Piglet, and they were walking back to the Hundred AcreWoodtogether.

"Piglet,"saidPoohalittleshyly,aftertheyhadwalkedforsometimewithoutsayinganything.

"Yes,Pooh?"

"DoyourememberwhenIsaidthataRespectfulPoohSongmightbewrittenaboutYouKnowWhat?"

"Didyou,Pooh?"saidPiglet,gettingalittlepinkroundthenose."Oh,yes,Ibelieveyoudid."

"It'sbeenwritten,Piglet."

ThepinkwentslowlyupPiglet'snosetohisears,andsettledthere.

"Hasit,Pooh?"heaskedhuskily."About--about--ThatTimeWhen?--Doyoumeanreallywritten?"

"Yes,Piglet."

ThetipsofPiglet'searsglowedsuddenly,andhetriedtosaysomething;butevenafterhehadhuskedonceortwice,nothingcameout.SoPoohwenton.

"Therearesevenversesinit."

"Seven?" said Piglet as carelessly as he could. "You don't often get sevenversesinaHum,doyou,Pooh?"

"Never,"saidPooh."Idon'tsupposeit'severbeenheardofbefore."

"DotheOthersknowyet?"askedPiglet,stoppingforamomenttopickupastickandthrowitaway.

"No,"saidPooh."AndIwonderedwhichyouwouldlikebest.Formetohumitnow,ortowaittillwefindtheothers,andthenhumittoallofyou."

Pigletthoughtforalittle.

"IthinkwhatI'dlikebest,Pooh,isI'dlikeyoutohumittomenow--and--andthentohumittoallofus.BecausethenEverybodywouldhearit,butIcouldsay'Oh,yes,Pooh'stoldme,'andpretendnottobelistening."

SoPoohhummedit tohim,all thesevenversesandPigletsaidnothing,butjuststoodandglowed.

Never before had anyone sung ho for Piglet (PIGLET) ho all by himself.Whenitwasover,hewantedtoaskforoneoftheversesoveragain,butdidn'tquiteliketo.Itwastheversebeginning"OgallantPiglet,"anditseemedtohimaverythoughtfulwayofbeginningapieceofpoetry.

"DidIreallydoallthat?"hesaidatlast.

"Well," said Pooh, "in poetry--in a piece of poetry--well, youdid it, Piglet,becausethepoetrysaysyoudid.Andthat'showpeopleknow."

"Oh!"saidPiglet."BecauseI--IthoughtIdidblinchalittle.Justatfirst.Anditsays,'Didheblinchnono.'That'swhy."

"Youonlyblinchedinside,"saidPooh,"andthat'sthebravestwayforaVerySmallAnimalnottoblinchthatthereis."

Piglet sighed with happiness, and began to think about himself. He wasBRAVE....

When they got toOwl's old house, they found everybody else there exceptEeyore.ChristopherRobinwastellingthemwhattodo,andRabbitwastellingthemagaindirectlyafterwards,incasetheyhadn'theard,andthentheywerealldoing it. They had got a rope andwere pullingOwl's chairs and pictures andthingsoutofhisoldhousesoastobereadytoputthemintohisnewone.Kangawasdownbelowtying the thingson,andcallingout toOwl,"Youwon'twantthisdirtyolddish-clothanymore,willyou,andwhataboutthiscarpet,it'sallinholes," and Owl was calling back indignantly, "Of course I do! It's just aquestion of arranging the furniture properly, and it isn't a dish-cloth, it's myshawl."EverynowandthenRoofellinandcamebackontheropewiththenextarticle,whichflusteredKangaalittlebecausesheneverknewwheretolookforhim.SoshegotcrosswithOwlandsaidthathishousewasaDisgrace,alldampanddirty,anditwasquitetimeitdidtumbledown.Lookatthathorridbunchoftoadstoolsgrowingoutofthefloorthere!SoOwllookeddown,alittlesurprisedbecause he didn't know about this, and then gave a short sarcastic laugh, andexplained that thatwas his sponge, and that if people didn't know a perfectlyordinary bath-sponge when they saw it, things were coming to a pretty pass."Well!"saidKanga,andRoofell inquickly,crying,"Imust seeOwl'ssponge!Oh,thereitis!Oh,Owl!Owl,itisn'tasponge,it'saspudge!Doyouknowwhataspudgeis,Owl?It'swhenyourspongegetsall--"andKangasaid,"Roo,dear!"

very quickly, because that's not the way to talk to anybody who can spellTUESDAY.

But theywere all quite happywhen Pooh and Piglet came along, and theystoppedworkinginordertohavealittlerestandlistentoPooh'snewsong.Sothentheyall toldPoohhowgooditwasandPigletsaidcarelessly,"It isgood,isn'tit?Imeanasasong."

"Andwhataboutthenewhouse?"askedPooh."Haveyoufoundit,Owl?"

"He'sfoundanameforit,"saidChristopherRobin,lazilynibblingatapieceofgrass,"sonowallhewantsisthehouse."

"Iamcallingitthis,"saidOwlimportantly,andheshowedthemwhathehad

beenmaking.Itwasasquarepieceofboardwiththenameofthehousepaintedonit.

THEWOLERY

It was at this excitingmoment that something came through the trees, andbumpedintoOwl.Theboardfelltotheground,andPigletandRoobentoveriteagerly.

"Oh,it'syou,"saidOwlcrossly.

"Hallo,Eeyore!"saidRabbit."Thereyouare!Wherehaveyoubeen?"Eeyoretooknonoticeofthem.

"Goodmorning,ChristopherRobin,"hesaid,brushingawayRooandPiglet,andsittingdownonTHEWOLERY."Arewealone?"

"Yes,"saidChristopherRobin,smilingtohimself.

"Ihavebeentold--thenewshasworkedthroughtomycorneroftheForest--the damp bit down on the rightwhich nobodywants--that a certain Person islookingforahouse.Ihavefoundoneforhim."

"Ah,welldone,"saidRabbitkindly.

Eeyore looked round slowly at him, and then turned back to ChristopherRobin.

"We have been joined by something," he said in a loud whisper. "But nomatter.Wecanleaveitbehind.Ifyouwillcomewithme,ChristopherRobin,Iwillshowyouthehouse."

ChristopherRobinjumpedup.

"Comeon,Pooh,"hesaid.

"Comeon,Tigger!"criedRoo.

"Shallwego,Owl?"saidRabbit.

"Waitamoment,"saidOwl,pickinguphisnotice-board,whichhadjustcomeintosightagain.

Eeyorewavedthemback.

"ChristopherRobinandIaregoingforaShortWalk,"hesaid,"notaJostle.IfhelikestobringPoohandPigletwithhim,Ishallbegladoftheircompany,butonemustbeabletoBreathe."

"That's all right," saidRabbit, ratherglad tobe left in chargeof something."We'llgoongettingthethingsout.Nowthen,Tigger,where'sthatrope?What'sthematter,Owl?"

Owl, who had just discovered that his new address was THE SMUDGE,coughed at Eeyore sternly, but said nothing, and Eeyore, with most of THEWOLERYbehindhim,marchedoffwithhisfriends.

So,inalittlewhile,theycametothehousewhichEeyorehadfound,andforsomeminutesbefore theycame to it,PigletwasnudgingPooh,andPoohwasnudgingPiglet,andtheyweresaying,"Itis!"and"Itcan'tbe!"and"Itis,really!"toeachother.

Andwhentheygotthere,itreallywas.

"There!"saidEeyoreproudly,stoppingthemoutsidePiglet'shouse."Andthenameonit,andeverything!"

"Oh!"criedChristopherRobin,wonderingwhethertolaughorwhat.

"JustthehouseforOwl.Don'tyouthinkso,littlePiglet?"

AndthenPigletdidaNobleThing,andhediditinasortofdream,whilehe

wasthinkingofallthewonderfulwordsPoohhadhummedabouthim.

"Yes, it's just thehouseforOwl,"hesaidgrandly."AndIhopehe'llbeveryhappy in it."And thenhegulped twice, becausehehadbeenveryhappy in ithimself.

"What do you think, Christopher Robin?" asked Eeyore a little anxiously,feelingthatsomethingwasn'tquiteright.

ChristopherRobinhadaquestiontoaskfirst,andhewaswonderinghowtoaskit.

"Well,"hesaidatlast,"it'saverynicehouse,andifyourownhouseisblowndown,youmustgosomewhereelse,mustn'tyou,Piglet?Whatwouldyoudo,ifyourhousewasblowndown?"

BeforePigletcouldthink,Poohansweredforhim.

"He'dcomeandlivewithme,"saidPooh,"wouldn'tyou,Piglet?"

Pigletsqueezedhispaw.

"Thankyou,Pooh,"hesaid,"Ishouldloveto."

ChapterTen

INWHICH

ChristopherRobinandPoohCometoanEnchantedPlace,andWeLeaveThemThere

CHRISTOPHER ROBINwasgoing away.Nobodyknewwhyhewasgoing; nobodyknewwherehewasgoing;indeed,nobodyevenknewwhyheknewthatChristopherRobinwasgoingaway.ButsomehoworothereverybodyintheForestfeltthatitwas happening at last. Even Smallest-of-All, a friend-and-relation of Rabbit'swho thought he had once seen Christopher Robin's foot, but couldn't be surebecause perhaps itwas something else, evenS.-of-A. told himself thatThingsweregoingtobeDifferent;andLateandEarly,twootherfriends-and-relations,said, "Well,Early?"and"Well,Late?" toeachother in suchahopeless sortofwaythatitreallydidn'tseemanygoodwaitingfortheanswer.

Onedaywhenhe felt thathecouldn'twaitany longer,RabbitbrainedoutaNotice,andthisiswhatitsaid:

"NoticeameetingofeverybodywillmeetattheHouseatPoohCornertopassaRissolutionByOrderKeeptotheLeftSignedRabbit."

Hehadtowritethisouttwoorthreetimesbeforehecouldgettherissolutiontolooklikewhathethoughtitwasgoingtowhenhebegantospellit:but,whenatlastitwasfinished,hetookitroundtoeverybodyandreaditouttothem.Andtheyallsaidtheywouldcome.

"Well," saidEeyore that afternoon,whenhe saw themallwalkingup tohishouse,"thisisasurprise.AmIaskedtoo?"

"Don'tmindEeyore,"whisperedRabbit toPooh."I toldhimallaboutit thismorning."

Everybodysaid"How-do-you-do" toEeyore,andEeyoresaid thathedidn't,nottonotice,andthentheysatdown;andassoonastheywereallsittingdown,Rabbitstoodupagain.

"Weallknowwhywe'rehere,"hesaid,"butIhaveaskedmyfriendEeyore--"

"That'sMe,"saidEeyore."Grand."

"Ihaveaskedhim toProposeaRissolution."Andhesatdownagain."Nowthen,Eeyore,"hesaid.

"Don'tBustleme,"saidEeyore,gettingupslowly."Don'tnow-thenme."Hetook a piece of paper from behind his ear, and unfolded it. "Nobody knowsanything about this," he went on. "This is a Surprise." He coughed in animportant way, and began again: "Whatnots and Etceteras, before I begin, orperhaps I should say, before I end, I have a piece of Poetry to read to you.Hitherto--hitherto--alongwordmeaning--well,you'llseewhatitmeansdirectly--hitherto,asIwassaying,allthePoetryintheForesthasbeenwrittenbyPooh,aBearwithaPleasingMannerbutaPositivelyStartlingLackofBrain.ThePoemwhich I amnow about to read to youwaswritten byEeyore, orMyself, in aQuietMoment.IfsomebodywilltakeRoo'sbull's-eyeawayfromhim,andwakeupOwl,weshallallbeabletoenjoyit.Icallit--POEM."

Thiswasit.

ChristopherRobinisgoing.

AtleastIthinkheis.

Where?

Nobodyknows.

Butheisgoing--

Imeanhegoes

(Torhymewith"knows")

Dowecare?

(Torhymewith"where")

Wedo

Verymuch.

(Ihaven'tgotarhymeforthat"is"inthesecondlineyet.Bother.)

(NowIhaven'tgotarhymeforbother.Bother.)

ThosetwobotherswillhavetorhymewitheachotherButher.

ThefactisthisismoredifficultthanIthought,

Iought--

(Verygoodindeed)

Iought

Tobeginagain,

Butitiseasier

Tostop.

ChristopherRobin,good-bye,

I

(Good)

I

Andallyourfriends

Sends--

Imeanallyourfriend

Send--

(Veryawkwardthis,itkeepsgoingwrong)

Well,anyhow,wesendOurlove

END.

"If anybodywants toclap," saidEeyorewhenhehad read this, "now is thetimetodoit."

Theyallclapped.

"Thank you," saidEeyore. "Unexpected and gratifying, if a little lacking inSmack."

"It'smuchbetter thanmine," saidPooh admiringly, andhe really thought itwas.

"Well,"explainedEeyoremodestly,"itwasmeanttobe."

"Therissolution,"saidRabbit,"isthatweallsignit,andtakeittoChristopherRobin."

So it was signed PooH, PIGLET,WOL, EOR, RABBIT, KANGA, BLOT,SMUDGE,

andtheyallwentoff toChristopherRobin'shousewithit."Hallo,everybody,"saidChristopherRobin--"Hallo,Pooh."

Theyallsaid"Hallo,"andfeltawkwardandunhappysuddenly,becauseitwasasortofgood-byetheyweresaying,andtheydidn'twant to thinkabout it.Sotheystoodaround,andwaitedforsomebodyelsetospeak,andtheynudgedeachother,andsaid"Goon,"andgraduallyEeyorewasnudgedtothefront,andtheotherscrowdedbehindhim.

"Whatisit,Eeyore?"askedChristopherRobin.Eeyoreswishedhistailfromsidetoside,soastoencouragehimself,andbegan.

"ChristopherRobin," he said, "we've come to say--to give you--it's called--writtenby--butwe'veall--becausewe'veheard, Imeanweallknow--well,yousee, it's--we--you--well, that, toput it as shortly aspossible, iswhat it is."Heturnedroundangrilyontheothersandsaid,"EverybodycrowdsroundsointhisForest.There'snoSpace.IneversawamoreSpreadinglotofanimalsinmylife,andall in thewrongplaces.Can't you see thatChristopherRobinwants tobealone?I'mgoing."Andhehumpedoff.

Notquiteknowingwhy,theothersbeganedgingaway,andwhenChristopherRobin had finished reading POEM, andwas looking up to say, "Thank you,"onlyPoohwasleft.

"It's a comforting sortof thing tohave," saidChristopherRobin, foldingupthe paper, and putting it in his pocket. "Come on, Pooh," and he walked offquickly.

"Wherearewegoing?"saidPooh,hurryingafterhim,andwonderingwhetheritwastobeanExploreoraWhat-shall-I-do-about-you-know-what.

"Nowhere,"saidChristopherRobin.

Sotheybegangoingthere,andaftertheyhadwalkedalittlewayChristopherRobinsaid:

"Whatdoyoulikedoingbestintheworld,Pooh?"

"Well," said Pooh, "what I like best--" and then he had to stop and think.Because although Eating Honey was a very good thing to do, there was amoment justbeforeyoubegan toeat itwhichwasbetter thanwhenyouwere,but he didn't know what it was called. And then he thought that being withChristopherRobinwas a verygood thing to do, andhavingPiglet nearwas avery friendly thing to have; and so, when he had thought it all out, he said,"WhatIlikebestinthewholeworldisMeandPigletgoingtoseeYou,andYousaying'Whataboutalittlesomething?'andMesaying,'Well,Ishouldn'tmindalittlesomething,shouldyou,Piglet,'anditbeingahummysortofdayoutside,andbirdssinging."

"I like that too," said Christopher Robin, "but what I like doing best isNothing."

"How do you doNothing?" asked Pooh, after he hadwondered for a longtime.

"Well,it'swhenpeoplecalloutatyoujustasyou'regoingofftodoit,Whatareyougoingtodo,ChristopherRobin,andyousay,Oh,nothing,andthenyougoanddoit."

"Oh,Isee,"saidPooh.

"Thisisanothingsortofthingthatwe'redoingnow."

"Oh,Isee,"saidPoohagain.

"Itmeans justgoingalong, listening toall the thingsyoucan'thear,andnotbothering."

"Oh!"saidPooh.

Theywalkedon, thinkingofThisandThat, andby-and-by theycame toanenchanted place on the very top of the Forest called Galleons Lap, which issixty-something trees in a circle; and Christopher Robin knew that it wasenchanted because nobody had ever been able to count whether it was sixty-threeorsixty-four,notevenwhenhetiedapieceofstringroundeachtreeafterhehadcountedit.Beingenchanted,itsfloorwasnotliketheflooroftheForest,gorseandbrackenandheather,butclose-setgrass,quietandsmoothandgreen.ItwastheonlyplaceintheForestwhereyoucouldsitdowncarelessly,withoutgetting up again almost at once and looking for somewhere else. Sitting theretheycouldseethewholeworldspreadoutuntilitreachedthesky,andwhatevertherewasalltheworldoverwaswiththeminGalleonsLap.

Suddenly Christopher Robin began to tell Pooh about some of the things:People called Kings and Queens and something called Factors, and a placecalledEurope,andan island in themiddleof theseawerenoshipscame,andhow you make a Suction Pump (if you want to), and when Knights were

Knighted,andwhatcomesfromBrazil.AndPooh,hisbackagainstoneof thesixty-something trees, and his paws folded in front of him, said "Oh!" and "Ididn'tknow,"andthoughthowwonderfulitwouldbetohaveaRealBrainwhichcouldtellyouthings.Andby-and-byChristopherRobincametoanendof thethings,andwassilent,andhesattherelookingoutovertheworld,andwishingitwouldn'tstop.

ButPoohwasthinkingtoo,andhesaidsuddenlytoChristopherRobin:

"IsitaveryGrandthingtobeanAfternoon,whatyousaid?"

"Awhat?"saidChristopherRobinlazily,ashelistenedtosomethingelse.

"Onahorse,"explainedPooh.

"AKnight?"

"Oh,wasthatit?"saidPooh."Ithoughtitwasa--IsitasGrandasaKingandFactorsandalltheotherthingsyousaid?"

"Well,it'snotasgrandasaKing,"saidChristopherRobin,andthen,asPoohseemeddisappointed,headdedquickly,"butit'sgranderthanFactors."

"CouldaBearbeone?"

"Of course he could!" saidChristopherRobin. "I'llmake youone."AndhetookastickandtouchedPoohontheshoulder,andsaid,"Rise,SirPoohdeBear,mostfaithfulofallmyKnights."

SoPoohroseandsatdownandsaid"Thankyou,"whichistheproperthingtosaywhen you have beenmade aKnight, and hewent into a dream again, inwhichheandSirPompandSirBrazilandFactors livedtogetherwithahorse,and were faithful Knights (all except Factors, who looked after the horse) toGoodKingChristopherRobin...andeverynowandthenheshookhishead,andsaidtohimself"I'mnotgettingitright."ThenhebegantothinkofallthethingsChristopherRobinwouldwanttotellhimwhenhecamebackfromwhereverhewasgoingto,andhowmuddlingitwouldbeforaBearofVeryLittleBraintotry and get them right in his mind. "So, perhaps," he said sadly to himself,"ChristopherRobinwon'ttellmeanymore,"andhewonderedifbeingaFaithfulKnightmeantthatyoujustwentonbeingfaithfulwithoutbeingtoldthings.

Then,suddenlyagain,ChristopherRobin,whowasstilllookingattheworld,withhischininhishands,calledout"Pooh!"

"Yes?"saidPooh.

"WhenI'm--when--Pooh!"

"Yes,ChristopherRobin?"

"I'mnotgoingtodoNothinganymore."

"Neveragain?"

"Well,notsomuch.Theydon'tletyou."

Poohwaitedforhimtogoon,buthewassilentagain.

"Yes,ChristopherRobin?"saidPoohhelpfully.

"Pooh,whenI'm--youknow--whenI'mnotdoingNothing,willyoucomeupheresometimes?"

"JustMe?"

"Yes,Pooh."

"Willyoubeheretoo?"

"Yes,Pooh,Iwillbe,really.IpromiseIwillbe,Pooh."

"That'sgood,"saidPooh.

"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm ahundred."

Poohthoughtforalittle.

"HowoldshallIbethen?"

"Ninety-nine."

Poohnodded.

"Ipromise,"hesaid.

StillwithhiseyesontheworldChristopherRobinputoutahandandfeltforPooh'spaw.

"Pooh,"saidChristopherRobinearnestly,"ifI--ifI'mnotquite--"hestoppedandtriedagain--"Pooh,whateverhappens,youwillunderstand,won'tyou?"

"Understandwhat?"

"Oh,nothing."Helaughedandjumpedtohisfeet."Comeon!"

"Where?"saidPooh.

"Anywhere,"saidChristopherRobin.

So theywent off together. Butwherever they go, andwhatever happens tothemontheway,inthatenchantedplaceonthetopoftheForest,alittleboyandhisBearwillalwaysbeplaying.

A. A. MILNE (1882-1956) began his writing career as a humorist for Punchmagazine,andalsowroteplaysandpoetry.In1926,hepublishedhisfirststoriesaboutWinnie-the-Pooh, which were an instant success. Since then, Pooh hasbecomeaworld-famousbear,andMilne'sstorieshavebeentranslatedintofiftylanguages.

ERNESTH.SHEPARD (1879-1976)wonascholarship to theRoyalAcademySchools,andlater,likeMilne,workedforPunchmagazine,asacartoonistandillustrator.Shepard'swittyandlovingillustrationsofWinnie-the-PoohandhisfriendsintheHundredAcreWoodhavebecomean inseparablepartof thePoohstories,andtheyhavebecomeclassicsintheirownright.

TableofContentsCoverTitlePageCopyrightContradictionCONTENTSCHAPTERONE:INWHICHAHouseIsBuiltatPoohCornerforEeyoreCHAPTERTWO:INWHICHTiggerComestotheForestandHasBreakfastCHAPTER THREE: INWHICH A Search Is Organdized, and Piglet Nearly

MeetstheHeffalumpAgainCHAPTERFOUR:INWHICHItIsShownThatTiggersDon’tClimbTreesCHAPTER FIVE: INWHICH Rabbit Has a Busy Day, andWe LearnWhat

ChristopherRobinDoesintheMorningsCHAPTERSIX:INWHICHPoohInventsaNewGameandEeyoreJoinsInCHAPTERSEVEN:INWHICHTiggerIsUnbouncedCHAPTEREIGHT:INWHICHPigletDoesaVeryGrandThingCHAPTERNINE:INWHICHEeyoreFindstheWoleryandOwlMovesIntoItCHAPTER TEN: IN WHICH Christopher Robin and Pooh Come to an

EnchantedPlace,andWeLeaveThemThereAbouttheAuthors