INTRODUCTION
Ifyouhappentohave
lu
readanotherbookaboutChristopherRobin,youpeut
mayrememberthatheoncehadun
aswan(ortheswanhadChristopherRobin,Idon'tsais
knowwhich)andthatheusedtocallce
thisswanPooh.Thatwasa
longtemps
longtimeago,andwhenwedit
saidgood-bye,wetookthenom
namewithus,aswedidn'tpensions
thinktheswanwouldwantitanyplus
more.Well,whenEdwardBear
dit
saidthathewouldlikeun
anexcitingnamealltohimself,ChristopherRobindit
saidatonce,withoutstoppingtopenser
think,thathewasWinnie-the-Pooh.Et
Andhewas.So,asIhaveexplainedthePooh
partie
part,Iwillnowexplainthereste
restofit.Youcan'tbeinLondonfor
longtemps
longwithoutgoingtotheZoo.Therearesome
gens
peoplewhobegintheZooatthebeginning,appelé
calledWAYIN,andwalkasquicklyastheypeuvent
canpasteverycageuntiltheygettotheoneappelé
calledWAYOUT,butthenicestgens
peoplegostraighttotheanimaltheyaiment
lovethemost,andstaythere.So
quand
whenChristopherRobingoestotheZoo,heva
goestowherethePolarBearssont
are,andhewhisperssomethingtothethirdkeeperfromtheleft,et
anddoorsareunlocked,andwewandertravers
throughdarkpassagesandupsteepstairs,untilatlastwearrivions
cometothespecialcage,et
andthecageisopened,et
andouttrotssomethingbrownet
andfurry,andwithaheureux
happycryof"Oh,Bear!"ChristopherRobinrushesintoitsarms.
Maintenant
Nowthisbear'snameisWinnie,whichmontre
showswhatagoodnameforbearsitest
is,butthefunnythingisthatwecan'trememberwhetherWinnieiscalledafterPooh,ou
orPoohafterWinnie.Wedid
su
knowonce,butwehaveoublié
forgotten....Ihadwrittenas
loin
farasthiswhenPigletlookedupet
andsaidinhissqueakyvoice,"WhataboutMe?""My
cher
dearPiglet,"Isaid,"theentier
wholebookisaboutyou.""SoitisaboutPooh,"hesqueaked.
You
voyez
seewhatitis.Heisjealousbecausehe
pense
thinksPoohishavingaGrandIntroductiontout
alltohimself.Poohis
le
thefavourite,ofcourse,there'spas
nodenyingit,butPigletvient
comesinforagoodbeaucoup
manythingswhichPoohmisses;parce que
becauseyoucan'ttakePoohtoschoolsans
withouteverybodyknowingit,butPigletissopetit
smallthatheslipsintoune
apocket,whereitistrès
verycomfortingtofeelhimquand
whenyouarenotquitesûr
surewhethertwicesevenistwelveou
ortwenty-two.Sometimesheslipsout
et
andhasagoodlookinle
theink-pot,andinthisfaçon
wayhehasgotmoreeducationthanPooh,mais
butPoohdoesn'tmind.Some
ont
havebrains,andsomehaven't,hedit
says,andthereitis.Et
Andnowalltheothersaredisent
saying,"WhataboutUs?"Soperhapsthebest
chose
thingtodoistostopwritingIntroductionset
andgetonwiththelivre
book.CHAPTERI
INWHICHWEAREINTRODUCEDTOWINNIE-THE-POOH
Et
ANDSOMEBEES,ANDTHESTORIESBEGINVoici
HereisEdwardBear,comingdownstairsmaintenant
now,bump,bump,bump,onla
thebackofhishead,derrière
behindChristopherRobin.Itis,asfarashe
sache
knows,theonlywayofcomingdownstairs,mais
butsometimeshefeelsthattherevraiment
reallyisanotherway,ifonlyhepouvait
couldstopbumpingforamomentet
andthinkofit.Andthenhe
sent
feelsthatperhapsthereisn't.Anyhow,
ici
hereheisatthebottom,et
andreadytobeintroducedtoyou.Winnie-the-Pooh.
Quand
WhenIfirstheardhisnom
name,Isaid,justasyouareallez
goingtosay,"ButIpensais
thoughthewasaboy?"So
fait
didI,"saidChristopherRobin.Thenyoucan'tcallhimWinnie?"
Idon't."
Mais
Butyousaid——".He'sWinnie-ther-Pooh.
Don'tyou
sais
knowwhat'ther'means?"Ah,
oui
yes,nowIdo,"Idis
saidquickly;andIhopeyou
ferez
dotoo,becauseitisallle
theexplanationyouaregoingtoget.Parfois
SometimesWinnie-the-Poohlikesagameofsomesortquand
whenhecomesdownstairs,andparfois
sometimeshelikestositquietlyindevant
frontofthefireandlistentoune
astory.Thisevening——.
Whatabout
une
astory?"saidChristopherRobin.
Whatabout
une
astory?"Isaid.
Couldyou
très
verysweetlytellWinnie-the-Poohone?"IsupposeIcould,"I
dis
said."Whatsortofstoriesdoeshelike?"
Abouthimself.
Becausehe'sthatsortofBear."
Oh,Isee."
So
pourriez
couldyouverysweetly?"I'lltry,"I
dit
said.SoItried.
Onceupon
une
atime,averylongtimeagomaintenant
now,aboutlastFriday,Winnie-the-Poohvivait
livedinaforestallbyhimselfsous
underthenameofSanders.("Whatdoes'under
le
thename'mean?"askedChristopherRobin.
It
signifie
meanshehadthenameovertheporte
dooringoldletters,andvivait
livedunderit."Winnie-the-Poohwasn't
tout à fait
quitesure,"saidChristopherRobin.Maintenant
NowIam,"saidagrowlyvoice.ThenI
vais
willgoon,"saidI.)One
jour
daywhenhewasoutwalking,hevenu
cametoanopenplaceinla
themiddleoftheforest,et
andinthemiddleofcet
thisplacewasalargeoak-tree,et
and,fromthetopofla
thetree,therecamealoudbuzzing-noise.Winnie-the-Pooh
assis
satdownatthefootofthetree,mis
puthisheadbetweenhispawset
andbegantothink.Firstof
tout
allhesaidtohimself:"Thatbuzzing-noise
signifie
meanssomething.Youdon'tget
un
abuzzing-noiselikethat,justbuzzinget
andbuzzing,withoutitsmeaningsomething.Ifthere'sabuzzing-noise,somebody'smakingabuzzing-noise,
et
andtheonlyreasonformakingabuzzing-noiseque
thatIknowofisparce que
becauseyou'reabee."Thenhe
réfléchit
thoughtanotherlongtime,anddit
said:"Andtheonlyreasonforbeing
une
abeethatIknowofisfaire
makinghoney."Andthenhegotup,
et
andsaid:"Andtheonlyreasonfor
faire
makinghoneyissoasIpuisse
caneatit."Sohebegantoclimbthetree.
Heclimbed
et
andheclimbedandheclimbed,et
andasheclimbedhechantait
sangalittlesongtohimself.Itwent
comme
likethis:.Thenheclimbed
un
alittlefurther...and
un
alittlefurther...andthen
juste
justalittlefurther.Bythat
moment
timehehadthoughtofautre
anothersong.Hewasgettingrathertiredby
ce
thistime,sothatispourquoi
whyhesangaComplainingSong.Hewasnearlythere
maintenant
now,andifhejusttenait
stoodonthatbranch...Crack!
Oh,help!"
dit
saidPooh,ashedroppeddix
tenfeetonthebranchbelowlui
him.IfonlyIhadn't——"
he
dit
said,ashebouncedtwentyfeetontola
thenextbranch.Yousee,whatImeanttodo,"heexplained,asheturnedhead-over-heels,
et
andcrashedontoanotherbranchthirtyfeetbelow,"whatImeanttodo——".Of
sûr
course,itwasrather——"headmitted,asheslithered
très
veryquicklythroughthenextsix
sixbranches.Itallcomes,Isuppose,"hedecided,ashe
dit
saidgood-byetothelastbranch,spunroundtrois
threetimes,andflewgracefullyintoun
agorse-bush,"itallcomesofaimer
likinghoneysomuch.Oh,help!"
Hecrawled
hors
outofthegorse-bush,brushedthepricklesfromhisnose,et
andbegantothinkagain.Et
Andthefirstpersonhepensé
thoughtofwasChristopherRobin.("Wasthatme?"
dit
saidChristopherRobininanawedvoice,hardlydaringtocroire
believeit.Thatwasyou."
ChristopherRobin
dit
saidnothing,buthiseyesgotlargeret
andlarger,andhisfacegotpinkeret
andpinker.)SoWinnie-the-Poohwentroundtohis
ami
friendChristopherRobin,wholivedderrière
behindagreendoorinautre
anotherpartoftheforest.Goodmorning,ChristopherRobin,"hesaid.
Goodmorning,Winnie-ther-Pooh,"saidyou.
Iwonder
si
ifyou'vegotsuchachose
thingasaballoonaboutyou?"Un
Aballoon?"Yes,Ijust
dit
saidtomyselfcomingalong:'Iwonder
si
ifChristopherRobinhassuchachose
thingasaballoonabouthim?'I
juste
justsaidittomyself,pensant
thinkingofballoons,andwondering."Whatdoyou
veux
wantaballoonfor?"you
dit
said.Winnie-the-Poohlookedroundto
voir
seethatnobodywaslistening,mit
puthispawtohismouth,et
andsaidinadeepwhisper:"Honey!"
Mais
Butyoudon'tgethoneyavec
withballoons!"Ido,"saidPooh.
Well,it
juste
justhappenedthatyouhadbeentoune
apartythedaybeforeatla
thehouseofyourfriendPiglet,et
andyouhadballoonsatla
theparty.Youhadhad
un
abiggreenballoon;andoneofRabbit'srelationshadhada
grand
bigblueone,andhadlaissé
leftitbehind,beingreallytrop
tooyoungtogotoafête
partyatall;andsoyouhad
apporté
broughtthegreenoneandtheblueonemaison
homewithyou.Whichone
voulez
wouldyoulike?"youaskedPooh.
He
mis
puthisheadbetweenhispawset
andthoughtverycarefully.It's
comme
likethis,"hesaid."Whenyou
allez
goafterhoneywithaballoon,thegreatchose
thingisnottoletthebeessavoir
knowyou'recoming.Now,ifyouhave
un
agreenballoon,theymightpenser
thinkyouwereonlypartofla
thetree,andnotnoticeyou,et
and,ifyouhaveablueballoon,theypourraient
mightthinkyouwereonlypartie
partofthesky,andnotnoticeyou,et
andthequestionis:Whichis
plus
mostlikely?"Wouldn'ttheynoticeyouunderneath
le
theballoon?"youasked.
They
pourraient
mightortheymightnot,"saidWinnie-the-Pooh."You
jamais
nevercantellwithbees."He
réfléchit
thoughtforamomentanddit
said:"Ishalltryto
ressembler
looklikeasmallblackcloud.Thatwilldeceivethem."
Thenyouhad
mieux
betterhavetheblueballoon,"youdit
said;andsoitwasdecided.
Well,you
deux
bothwentoutwiththeblueballoon,et
andyoutookyourgunavec
withyou,justincase,asyoutoujours
alwaysdid,andWinnie-the-Poohwenttoun
averymuddyplacethatheconnaissait
knewof,androlledandrolledjusqu'à
untilhewasblackallover;et
andthen,whentheballoonwasblownupasgrand
bigasbig,andyouet
andPoohwerebothholdingontothestring,youletgosuddenly,et
andPoohBearfloatedgracefullyupintothesky,et
andstayedthere—levelwiththetopofthetreeet
andabouttwentyfeetawayfromit.Hooray!"
youshouted.
Isn'tthatfine?"
shoutedWinnie-the-Poohdowntoyou.
"WhatdoI
ressemble
looklike?"Youlooklike
un
aBearholdingontoun
aballoon,"yousaid.Not,"
dit
saidPoohanxiously,"—notlikeun
asmallblackcloudinun
abluesky?"Notverymuch."
Ah,well,
peut-être
perhapsfromuphereitressemble
looksdifferent.And,asI
dis
say,younevercantellavec
withbees."Therewasnowindtoblowhimnearertothetree,sotherehestayed.
He
pouvait
couldseethehoney,hepouvait
couldsmellthehoney,buthecouldn'ttout à fait
quitereachthehoney.After
un
alittlewhilehecalleddowntoyou.ChristopherRobin!"
he
dit
saidinaloudwhisper.Hallo!"
I
pense
thinkthebeessuspectsomething!"Whatsortofthing?"
Idon't
sais
know.Butsomethingtellsmethatthey'resuspicious!"
Peut-être
Perhapstheythinkthatyou'reaftertheirhoney."It
peut
maybethat.Younevercantell
avec
withbees."Therewasanother
petit
littlesilence,andthenheappelé
calleddowntoyouagain.ChristopherRobin!"
Yes?"
Haveyou
un
anumbrellainyourhouse?"I
pense
thinkso."Iwishyouwouldbringitout
ici
here,andwalkupanddownavec
withit,andlookupatmeeverynowet
andthen,andsay'Tut-tut,itregardiez
lookslikerain.'Ithink,
si
ifyoudidthat,itwouldaiderait
helpthedeceptionwhichwearepractisingonces
thesebees."Well,youlaughedtoyourself,"SillyoldBear!"
mais
butyoudidn'tsayitaloudparce que
becauseyouweresofondofhim,et
andyouwenthomeforyourumbrella.Oh,thereyouare!"
appelé
calleddownWinnie-the-Pooh,assoonasyougotbacktothetree."Iwasbeginningtogetanxious.
Ihavediscovered
que
thatthebeesarenowdefinitelySuspicious."ShallIputmyumbrellaup?"
you
dit
said.Yes,butwaitamoment.
We
devons
mustbepractical.Theimportantbeetodeceiveis
la
theQueenBee.Canyou
voir
seewhichistheQueenBeefrombas
downthere?"No."
Apity.
Well,
maintenant
now,ifyouwalkupandbas
downwithyourumbrella,saying,'Tut-tut,itlookslikerain,'Ishallferai
dowhatIcanbysingingun
alittleCloudSong,suchasun
acloudmightsing....Go!"
So,whileyou
marchiez
walkedupanddownandwonderedsi
ifitwouldrain,Winnie-the-Poohchanté
sangthissong:.Thebeeswere
toujours
stillbuzzingassuspiciouslyasever.Certains
Someofthem,indeed,lefttheirnestset
andflewallroundthecloudasitbeganle
thesecondverseofthissong,et
andonebeesatdownonle
thenoseofthecloudforamoment,et
andthengotupagain.Christopher—ow!—Robin,"calledout
le
thecloud.Yes?"
Ihave
viens
justbeenthinking,andIhavecometoune
averyimportantdecision.Theseare
les
thewrongsortofbees."Arethey?"
Quite
le
thewrongsort.SoI
devriez
shouldthinktheywouldmakele
thewrongsortofhoney,shouldn'tyou?"Wouldthey?"
Yes.
SoI
pense
thinkIshallcomedown."How?"
demandé
askedyou.Winnie-the-Poohhadn'tthoughtaboutthis.
Ifhe
laissait
letgoofthestring,hewouldfall—bump—andhedidn'tlikela
theideaofthat.Sohe
réfléchit
thoughtforalongtime,andthenhedit
said:.ChristopherRobin,youmust
tirer
shoottheballoonwithyourarme
gun.Haveyougotyourgun?"
Of
sûr
courseIhave,"yousaid."But
si
ifIdothat,itwillspoille
theballoon,"yousaid.