INTRODUCTION
IfyouhappentohavereadanotherbookaboutChristopherRobin,youmayrememberthatheoncehadaswan(ortheswanhadChristopherRobin,Idon'tknowwhich)andthatheusedtocallthisswanPooh.
Thatwasalongtimeago,andwhenwesaidgood-bye,wetookthenamewithus,aswedidn'tthinktheswanwouldwantitanymore.
Well,whenEdward
Bjørn
Bearsaidthathewouldlikeanexcitingnamealltohimself,ChristopherRobinsaidatonce,withoutstoppingtothink,thathewasWinnie-the-Pooh.Andhewas.
So,asIhaveexplainedthePoohpart,Iwillnow
forklare
explaintherestofit.Youcan'tbeinLondonforlongwithoutgoingtotheZoo.
Therearesomepeoplewho
begynder
begintheZooatthebegynder
beginning,calledWAYIN,andwalkashurtigt
quicklyastheycanpasteverycageuntiltheygettotheonecalledWAYOUT,butthenicestpeoplegodirekte
straighttotheanimaltheylovethemost,andstaythere.SowhenChristopherRobingoestotheZoo,hegoestowherethePolarBearsare,andhewhisperssomethingtothe
tredje
thirdkeeperfromtheleft,anddoorsareunlocked,andwewanderthroughmørke
darkpassagesandupsteepstairs,untilatlastwecometothespecialcage,andthecageisopened,andouttrotssomethingbrownandfurry,andwithahappyråb
cryof"Oh,Bear!"ChristopherRobinrushesintoitsarms.
Nowthisbear'snameisWinnie,whichshowswhatagoodnameforbearsitis,butthefunnythingisthatwecan'tremember
om
whetherWinnieiscalledafterPooh,orPoohafterWinnie.Wedidknowonce,butwehaveforgotten....
IhadwrittenasfarasthiswhenPigletlookedupandsaidinhissqueaky
stemme
voice,"WhataboutMe?""MydearPiglet,"Isaid,"thewholebookisaboutyou."
"SoitisaboutPooh,"hesqueaked.
Youseewhatitis.
HeisjealousbecausehethinksPoohishavingaGrandIntroductionalltohimself.
Poohisthefavourite,ofcourse,there'snodenyingit,butPigletcomesinforagoodmanythingswhichPoohmisses;
becauseyoucan'ttakePoohtoschoolwithouteverybodyknowingit,butPigletissosmallthatheslipsintoapocket,whereitisverycomfortingtofeelhimwhenyouarenotquitesure
om
whethertwicesevenistwelveortwenty-two.Sometimesheslipsoutandhasagoodlookintheink-pot,andinthiswayhehasgotmoreeducationthanPooh,butPoohdoesn'tmind.
Somehavebrains,andsomehaven't,hesays,andthereitis.
Andnowalltheothersaresaying,"WhataboutUs?"
SoperhapsthebestthingtodoistostopwritingIntroductionsandgetonwiththebook.
CHAPTERI
INWHICHWEAREINTRODUCEDTOWINNIE-THE-POOHANDSOMEBEES,ANDTHESTORIES
Begynder
BEGINHereisEdwardBear,comingdownstairsnow,bump,bump,bump,onthebackofhishead,behindChristopherRobin.
Itis,asfarasheknows,theonlywayofcomingdownstairs,butsometimeshefeelsthattherereallyisanotherway,ifonlyhecouldstopbumpingforamomentandthinkofit.
Andthenhefeelsthatperhapsthereisn't.
Anyhow,hereheisatthebottom,andreadytobeintroducedtoyou.
Winnie-the-Pooh.
WhenIfirstheardhisname,Isaid,justasyouaregoingtosay,"ButIthoughthewasaboy?"
SodidI,"saidChristopherRobin.
Thenyoucan'tcallhimWinnie?"
Idon't."
Butyousaid——".
He'sWinnie-ther-Pooh.
Don'tyouknowwhat'ther'means?"
Ah,yes,nowIdo,"Isaid
hurtigt
quickly;andIhopeyoudotoo,becauseitisalltheexplanationyouaregoingtoget.
SometimesWinnie-the-Poohlikesagameofsomesortwhenhecomesdownstairs,andsometimeshelikestositquietlyinfrontofthefireandlistentoastory.
This
aften
evening——.Whataboutastory?"
saidChristopherRobin.
Whataboutastory?"
Isaid.
CouldyouverysweetlytellWinnie-the-Poohone?"
IsupposeIcould,"Isaid.
"Whatsortofstoriesdoeshelike?"
Abouthimself.
Becausehe'sthatsortofBear."
Oh,Isee."
Socouldyouverysweetly?"
I'lltry,"Isaid.
SoItried.
Onceuponatime,averylongtimeagonow,aboutlastFriday,Winnie-the-PoohlivedinaforestallbyhimselfunderthenameofSanders.
("Whatdoes'underthename'mean?"
askedChristopherRobin.
Itmeanshehadthenameoverthedooringoldletters,andlivedunderit."
Winnie-the-Poohwasn'tquitesure,"saidChristopherRobin.
NowIam,"saidagrowly
stemme
voice.ThenIwillgoon,"saidI.)
Onedaywhenhewasoutwalking,hecametoanopenplaceinthe
midten
middleoftheforest,andinthemidten
middleofthisplacewasastort
largeoak-tree,and,fromthetopofthetræet
tree,therecamealoudbuzzing-noise.Winnie-the-Poohsatdownatthe
foden
footofthetree,puthisheadbetweenhispawsandbegyndte
begantothink.Firstofallhesaidtohimself:
"Thatbuzzing-noisemeanssomething.
Youdon'tgetabuzzing-noiselikethat,justbuzzingandbuzzing,withoutitsmeaningsomething.
Ifthere'sabuzzing-noise,somebody'smakingabuzzing-noise,andtheonlyreasonformakingabuzzing-noisethatIknowofisbecauseyou'reabee."
Thenhethoughtanotherlongtime,andsaid:
"AndtheonlyreasonforbeingabeethatIknowofismakinghoney."
Andthenhegotup,andsaid:
"AndtheonlyreasonformakinghoneyissoasIcaneatit."
Sohe
begyndte
begantoclimbthetree.Heclimbedandheclimbedandheclimbed,andasheclimbedhesangalittle
sang
songtohimself.Itwentlikethis:.
Thenheclimbedalittle
længere
further...andalittle
længere
further...andthenjustalittle
længere
further.Bythattimehehadthoughtofanother
sang
song.Hewasgettingrather
træt
tiredbythistime,sothatiswhyhesangaComplainingSang
Song.Hewasnearlytherenow,andifhejuststoodonthatbranch...
Crack!
Oh,help!"
saidPooh,ashe
faldt
droppedtenfeetonthebranchbelowhim.IfonlyIhadn't——"
hesaid,ashebouncedtwenty
fod
feetontothenextbranch.Yousee,whatImeanttodo,"he
forklarede
explained,asheturnedhead-over-heels,andcrashedontoanotherbranchthirtyfod
feetbelow,"whatImeanttodo——".Ofcourse,itwasrather——"
headmitted,asheslitheredvery
hurtigt
quicklythroughthenextsixbranches.Itallcomes,Isuppose,"he
besluttede
decided,ashesaidgood-byetothelastbranch,spunrundt
roundthreetimes,andflewgracefullyintoagorse-bush,"itallcomesoflikinghoneysomuch.Oh,help!"
Hecrawledoutofthegorse-bush,brushedthepricklesfromhis
næse
nose,andbegantothinkagain.AndthefirstpersonhethoughtofwasChristopherRobin.
("Wasthatme?"
saidChristopherRobininanawed
stemme
voice,hardlydaringtobelieveit.Thatwasyou."
ChristopherRobinsaidnothing,buthiseyesgotlargerandlarger,andhisfacegotpinkerandpinker.)
SoWinnie-the-PoohwentroundtohisfriendChristopherRobin,wholivedbehinda
grøn
greendoorinanotherpartoftheforest.Goodmorning,ChristopherRobin,"hesaid.
Goodmorning,Winnie-ther-Pooh,"saidyou.
I
gad vide
wonderifyou'vegotsuchathingasaballoonaboutyou?"Aballoon?"
Yes,Ijustsaidtomyselfcomingalong:
'I
undrer
wonderifChristopherRobinhassuchathingasaballoonabouthim?'Ijustsaidittomyself,thinkingofballoons,andwondering."
Whatdoyouwantaballoonfor?"
yousaid.
Winnie-the-Poohlookedroundtoseethatnobodywaslistening,puthispawtohis
munden
mouth,andsaidinadyb
deepwhisper:"Honey!"
Butyoudon'tgethoneywithballoons!"
Ido,"saidPooh.
Well,itjusthappenedthatyouhadbeentoapartythedaybeforeatthehouseofyourfriendPiglet,andyouhadballoonsattheparty.
Youhadhadabig
grøn
greenballoon;andoneofRabbit'srelationshadhadabig
blå
blueone,andhadleftitbehind,beingreallytooyoungtogotoapartyatall;andsoyouhadbroughtthe
grønne
greenoneandtheblueonehomewithyou.Whichonewouldyoulike?"
youaskedPooh.
Heputhisheadbetweenhispawsandthoughtverycarefully.
It'slikethis,"hesaid.
"Whenyougoafterhoneywithaballoon,thegreatthingisnottoletthebeesknowyou'recoming.
Now,ifyouhavea
grøn
greenballoon,theymightthinkyouwereonlypartofthetræet
tree,andnotnoticeyou,and,ifyouhaveablå
blueballoon,theymightthinkyouwereonlypartofthehimlen
sky,andnotnoticeyou,andthequestionis:Whichismostlikely?"
Wouldn'tthey
bemærke
noticeyouunderneaththeballoon?"youasked.
Theymightortheymightnot,"saidWinnie-the-Pooh.
"Younevercantellwithbees."
Hethoughtforamomentandsaid:
"Ishalltrytolooklikeasmallblackcloud.
Thatwilldeceivethem."
Thenyouhadbetterhavethe
blå
blueballoon,"yousaid;andsoitwas
besluttet
decided.Well,youbothwentoutwiththe
blå
blueballoon,andyoutookyourgunwithyou,justincase,asyoualwaysdid,andWinnie-the-Poohwenttoaverymuddyplacethatheknewof,andrullede
rolledandrolleduntilhewasblackallover;andthen,whentheballoonwasblownupasbigasbig,andyouandPoohwerebothholdingontothestring,youletgo
pludselig
suddenly,andPoohBearfloatedgracefullyupintothehimlen
sky,andstayedthere—levelwiththetopofthetræet
treeandabouttwentyfeetawayfromit.Hooray!"
youshouted.
Isn'tthatfine?"
shoutedWinnie-the-Poohdowntoyou.
"WhatdoIlooklike?"
Youlooklikea
Bjørn
Bearholdingontoaballoon,"yousaid.Not,"saidPoohanxiously,"—notlikeasmallblackcloudina
blå
bluesky?"Notverymuch."
Ah,well,perhapsfromuphereitlooksdifferent.
And,asIsay,younevercantellwithbees."
Therewasno
vind
windtoblowhimnearertothetræet
tree,sotherehestayed.Hecouldseethehoney,hecould
lugte
smellthehoney,buthecouldn'tquitenå
reachthehoney.Afteralittlewhilehecalleddowntoyou.
ChristopherRobin!"
hesaidinaloudwhisper.
Hallo!"
Ithinkthebeessuspectsomething!"
Whatsortofthing?"
Idon'tknow.
Butsomethingtellsmethatthey'resuspicious!"
Perhapstheythinkthatyou'reaftertheirhoney."
Itmaybethat.
Younevercantellwithbees."
Therewasanotherlittlesilence,andthenhecalleddowntoyouagain.
ChristopherRobin!"
Yes?"
Haveyouanumbrellainyourhouse?"
Ithinkso."
Iwishyouwouldbringitouthere,andwalkupanddownwithit,andlookupatmeeverynowandthen,andsay'Tut-tut,itlookslikerain.'
Ithink,ifyoudidthat,itwouldhelpthedeceptionwhichwearepractisingonthesebees."
Well,you
grinede
laughedtoyourself,"SillyoldBear!"butyoudidn'tsayitaloudbecauseyouweresofondofhim,andyouwenthomeforyourumbrella.
Oh,thereyouare!"
calleddownWinnie-the-Pooh,assoonasyougotbacktothe
træet
tree."Iwasbeginningtogetanxious.
Ihavediscoveredthatthebeesarenow
helt sikkert
definitelySuspicious."ShallIputmyumbrellaup?"
yousaid.
Yes,butwaitamoment.
Wemustbepractical.
TheimportantbeetodeceiveistheQueenBee.
CanyouseewhichistheQueenBeefromdownthere?"
No."
Apity.
Well,now,ifyouwalkupanddownwithyourumbrella,saying,'Tut-tut,itlookslikerain,'IshalldowhatIcanbysingingalittleCloudSong,suchasacloudmightsing....
Go!"
So,whileyouwalkedupanddownand
undrede
wonderedifitwouldrain,Winnie-the-Poohsangthissang
song:.Thebeeswerestillbuzzingassuspiciouslyasever.
Someofthem,indeed,lefttheirnestsand
fløj
flewallroundthecloudasitbegyndte
beganthesecondverseofthissang
song,andonebeesatdownonthenæse
noseofthecloudforamoment,andthengotupagain.Christopher—ow!—Robin,"calledoutthecloud.
Yes?"
Ihavejustbeenthinking,andIhavecometoaveryimportant
beslutning
decision.Thesearethewrongsortofbees."
Arethey?"
Quitethewrongsort.
SoIshouldthinktheywouldmakethewrongsortofhoney,shouldn'tyou?"
Wouldthey?"
Yes.
SoIthinkIshallcomedown."
How?"
askedyou.
Winnie-the-Poohhadn'tthoughtaboutthis.
Ifheletgoofthestring,hewouldfall—bump—andhedidn'tliketheideaofthat.
Sohethoughtforalongtime,andthenhesaid:.
ChristopherRobin,youmustshoottheballoonwithyourgun.
Haveyougotyourgun?"
OfcourseIhave,"yousaid.
"ButifIdothat,itwillspoiltheballoon,"yousaid.