INTRODUCTION
Ifyouhappentohave
letto
readanotherbookaboutChristopherRobin,youmayricordare
rememberthatheoncehadaswan(oril
theswanhadChristopherRobin,Idon'tso
knowwhich)andthatheusedtochiamava
callthisswanPooh.Thatwasa
molto tempo
longtimeago,andwhenwesaidgood-bye,wepreso
tookthenamewithus,aswedidn'tpensavamo
thinktheswanwouldwantitanypiù
more.Well,whenEdwardBear
detto
saidthathewouldlikeun
anexcitingnamealltohimself,ChristopherRobindetto
saidatonce,withoutstoppingtopensare
think,thathewasWinnie-the-Pooh.E
Andhewas.So,asI
ho
haveexplainedthePoohpart,Iwillora
nowexplaintherestofit.Youcan'tbeinLondonfor
lungo
longwithoutgoingtotheZoo.Ci
TherearesomepeoplewhobegintheZooatthebeginning,chiamato
calledWAYIN,andwalkasquicklyastheycanpastogni
everycageuntiltheygettotheonechiamato
calledWAYOUT,butthenicestpersone
peoplegostraighttotheanimaltheyamano
lovethemost,andstayci
there.SowhenChristopherRobin
va
goestotheZoo,heva
goestowherethePolarBearssono
are,andhewhisperssomethingtothethirdkeeperfromtheleft,e
anddoorsareunlocked,andwewanderattraverso
throughdarkpassagesandupsteepstairs,untilatlastweviene
cometothespecialcage,e
andthecageisopened,e
andouttrotssomethingbrowne
andfurry,andwithafelice
happycryof"Oh,Bear!"ChristopherRobinrushesintoitsarms.
Ora
Nowthisbear'snameisWinnie,whichmostra
showswhatagoodnameforbearsitè
is,butthefunnythingisthatwecan'tricordare
rememberwhetherWinnieiscalleddopo
afterPooh,orPoohafterWinnie.Wedid
sapevamo
knowonce,butwehavedimenticato
forgotten....Ihadwrittenasfaras
questo
thiswhenPigletlookedupe
andsaidinhissqueakyvoice,"WhataboutMe?""My
caro
dearPiglet,"Isaid,"thewholelibro
bookisaboutyou.""SoitisaboutPooh,"hesqueaked.
You
vedi
seewhatitis.Heisjealousbecausehe
pensa
thinksPoohishavingaGrandIntroductionalltohimself.Poohis
il
thefavourite,ofcourse,there'snon
nodenyingit,butPigletviene
comesinforagoodmolte
manythingswhichPoohmisses;perché
becauseyoucan'ttakePoohtoscuola
schoolwithouteverybodyknowingit,ma
butPigletissosmallche
thatheslipsintoapocket,dove
whereitisverycomfortingtofeelhimquando
whenyouarenotquitesicuro
surewhethertwicesevenistwelveo
ortwenty-two.Sometimesheslips
fuori
outandhasagoodsguardo
lookintheink-pot,andinquesto
thiswayhehasgotpiù
moreeducationthanPooh,butPoohdoesn'tmind.Alcuni
Somehavebrains,andsomehaven't,hedice
says,andthereitis.E
Andnowalltheothersaredicono
saying,"WhataboutUs?"So
forse
perhapsthebestthingtofare
doistostopwritingIntroductionse
andgetonwiththelibro
book.CHAPTERI
INWHICHWEAREINTRODUCEDTOWINNIE-THE-POOH
E
ANDSOMEBEES,ANDTHESTORIESBEGINHereisEdwardBear,comingdownstairsnow,bump,bump,bump,on
le
thebackofhishead,dietro
behindChristopherRobin.Itis,asfarashe
sa
knows,theonlywayofcomingdownstairs,ma
butsometimeshefeelsthattheredavvero
reallyisanotherway,ifsolo
onlyhecouldstopbumpingforun
amomentandthinkofit.E
Andthenhefeelsthatforse
perhapsthereisn't.Anyhow,hereheisatthebottom,and
pronto
readytobeintroducedtoyou.Winnie-the-Pooh.
Quando
WhenIfirstheardhisnome
name,Isaid,justasyouaregoingtodire
say,"ButIthoughthewasun
aboy?"SodidI,"
disse
saidChristopherRobin.Thenyoucan'tcallhimWinnie?"
Idon't."
Ma
Butyousaid——".He'sWinnie-ther-Pooh.
Don'tyou
sai
knowwhat'ther'means?"Ah,
sì
yes,nowIdo,"Idissi
saidquickly;andIhopeyou
facciate
dotoo,becauseitisalltheexplanationyouaregoingtoget.A volte
SometimesWinnie-the-Poohlikesagameofsomesortquando
whenhecomesdownstairs,anda volte
sometimeshelikestositquietlyindavanti
frontofthefireandascoltare
listentoastory.Thisevening——.
Whatabout
una
astory?"saidChristopherRobin.
Whatabout
una
astory?"Isaid.
CouldyouverysweetlytellWinnie-the-Poohone?"
IsupposeIcould,"I
dissi
said."Whatsortofstoriesdoeshelike?"
Abouthimself.
Becausehe'sthat
tipo
sortofBear."Oh,Isee."
Socouldyouverysweetly?"
I'lltry,"I
dissi
said.SoItried.
Onceupon
una
atime,averylongtimefa
agonow,aboutlastFriday,Winnie-the-Poohviveva
livedinaforestallbyhimselfsotto
underthenameofSanders.("Whatdoes'under
il
thename'mean?"askedChristopherRobin.
It
significa
meanshehadthenamesopra
overthedooringoldletters,e
andlivedunderit."Winnie-the-Poohwasn'tquitesure,"
detto
saidChristopherRobin.NowIam,"
disse
saidagrowlyvoice.ThenIwill
andrò
goon,"saidI.)One
giorno
daywhenhewasoutwalking,hevenne
cametoanopenplaceinthemiddleoftheforest,e
andinthemiddleofquesto
thisplacewasalargeoak-tree,e
and,fromthetopofthetree,therevenne
camealoudbuzzing-noise.Winnie-the-Pooh
sedette
satdownatthefootofthetree,mise
puthisheadbetweenhispawse
andbegantothink.Firstof
tutto
allhesaidtohimself:"Thatbuzzing-noise
significa
meanssomething.Youdon'tget
un
abuzzing-noiselikethat,justbuzzinge
andbuzzing,withoutitsmeaningqualcosa
something.Ifthere'sabuzzing-noise,somebody'smaking
un
abuzzing-noise,andtheonlyragione
reasonformakingabuzzing-noiseche
thatIknowofisperché
becauseyou'reabee."Thenhe
pensato
thoughtanotherlongtime,anddetto
said:"Andtheonlyreasonforbeing
un
abeethatIknowofisfare
makinghoney."Andthenhegotup,
e
andsaid:"Andtheonly
ragione
reasonformakinghoneyissoasIcaneatit."Sohebegantoclimbthetree.
Heclimbed
e
andheclimbedandheclimbed,e
andasheclimbedhesanguna
alittlesongtohimself.Itwentlikethis:.
Thenheclimbed
un
alittlefurther...and
un
alittlefurther...andthen
solo
justalittlefurther.Bythat
tempo
timehehadthoughtofanothersong.Hewasgettingrathertiredby
questo
thistime,sothatiswhyhesanguna
aComplainingSong.Hewasnearlytherenow,
e
andifhejuststoodonthatbranch...Crack!
Oh,help!"
disse
saidPooh,ashedroppeddieci
tenfeetonthebranchbelowhim.Se
IfonlyIhadn't——"he
detto
said,ashebouncedtwentyfeetontothenextbranch.You
vedi
see,whatImeanttodo,"heexplained,ashegirava
turnedhead-over-heels,andcrashedontoanotherbranchthirtyfeetbelow,"whatImeanttodo——".Ofcourse,itwasrather——"
headmitted,asheslitheredveryquickly
attraverso
throughthenextsixbranches.It
tutto
allcomes,Isuppose,"hedecided,ashedetto
saidgood-byetothelastbranch,spunroundtre
threetimes,andflewgracefullyintoun
agorse-bush,"itallcomesoflikingmiele
honeysomuch.Oh,help!"
Hecrawled
fuori
outofthegorse-bush,brushedle
thepricklesfromhisnose,e
andbegantothinkagain.E
Andthefirstpersonhepensato
thoughtofwasChristopherRobin.("Wasthatme?"
detto
saidChristopherRobininanawedvoice,hardlydaringtobelieveit.Thatwasyou."
ChristopherRobin
detto
saidnothing,buthiseyesgotlargere
andlarger,andhisfacegotpinkere
andpinker.)SoWinnie-the-Poohwentroundtohis
amico
friendChristopherRobin,wholiveddietro
behindagreendoorinanotherparte
partoftheforest.Goodmorning,ChristopherRobin,"he
detto
said.Goodmorning,Winnie-ther-Pooh,"saidyou.
Iwonder
se
ifyou'vegotsuchacosa
thingasaballoonaboutyou?"Un
Aballoon?"Yes,Ijust
detto
saidtomyselfcomingalong:'Iwonder
se
ifChristopherRobinhassuchacosa
thingasaballoonabouthim?'I
solo
justsaidittomyself,pensando
thinkingofballoons,andwondering."Whatdoyouwant
un
aballoonfor?"yousaid.
Winnie-the-Pooh
guardò
lookedroundtoseethatnessuno
nobodywaslistening,puthispawtohismouth,e
andsaidinadeepwhisper:"Honey!"
Ma
Butyoudon'tgethoneywithballoons!"Ido,"
disse
saidPooh.Well,itjust
successo
happenedthatyouhadbeentouna
apartythedaybeforeatil
thehouseofyourfriendPiglet,e
andyouhadballoonsatil
theparty.Youhadhad
un
abiggreenballoon;andoneofRabbit'srelationshadhada
grande
bigblueone,andhadlasciato
leftitbehind,beingreallytoogiovane
youngtogotoafesta
partyatall;andsoyou
avevi
hadbroughtthegreenonee
andtheblueonehomewithyou.Quale
Whichonewouldyoulike?"you
chiesto
askedPooh.Heputhis
testa
headbetweenhispawsandpensato
thoughtverycarefully.It'slikethis,"he
detto
said."Whenyougoafter
miele
honeywithaballoon,thegreatcosa
thingisnottoletla
thebeesknowyou'recoming.Ora
Now,ifyouhaveagreenballoon,theypotrebbero
mightthinkyouwereonlyparte
partofthetree,andnotnoticeyou,e
and,ifyouhaveablueballoon,theypotrebbero
mightthinkyouwereonlyparte
partofthesky,andnotnoticeyou,e
andthequestionis:Whichis
più
mostlikely?"Wouldn'ttheynoticeyouunderneath
il
theballoon?"youasked.
They
potrebbero
mightortheymightnot,"disse
saidWinnie-the-Pooh."Younevercantellwithbees."
He
pensò
thoughtforamomentanddisse
said:"Ishalltrytolook
come
likeasmallblackcloud.Thatwilldeceivethem."
Thenyouhad
meglio
betterhavetheblueballoon,"youdetto
said;andsoitwasdecided.
Well,you
entrambi
bothwentoutwiththeblueballoon,e
andyoutookyourgunwithyou,solo
justincase,asyousempre
alwaysdid,andWinnie-the-Poohwenttoun
averymuddyplacethatheknewof,e
androlledandrolleduntilhewasnero
blackallover;andthen,
quando
whentheballoonwasblownupasgrande
bigasbig,andyoue
andPoohwerebothholdingontoil
thestring,youletgosuddenly,e
andPoohBearfloatedgracefullyupintoil
thesky,andstayedthere—levelwithil
thetopofthetreee
andabouttwentyfeetawayfromesso
it.Hooray!"
youshouted.
Isn'tthatfine?"
shoutedWinnie-the-Poohdowntoyou.
"WhatdoIlooklike?"
Youlooklike
un
aBearholdingontoun
aballoon,"yousaid.Not,"
disse
saidPoohanxiously,"—notlikeasmallblackcloudinabluesky?"Notverymuch."
Ah,well,
forse
perhapsfromuphereitlooksdiverso
different.And,asIsay,younevercan
dico
tellwithbees."Therewas
non
nowindtoblowhimnearertothetree,sotherehestayed.Hecould
vedere
seethehoney,hecouldsmellil
thehoney,buthecouldn'tquitereachil
thehoney.Afteralittlewhilehe
chiamato
calleddowntoyou.ChristopherRobin!"
he
disse
saidinaloudwhisper.Hallo!"
Ithink
le
thebeessuspectsomething!"What
tipo
sortofthing?"Idon't
so
know.Butsomethingtellsme
che
thatthey'resuspicious!"Perhapsthey
pensano
thinkthatyou'reaftertheirhoney."Itmaybethat.
Younevercantellwithbees."
Therewasanother
piccolo
littlesilence,andthenhechiamato
calleddowntoyouagain.ChristopherRobin!"
Yes?"
Hai
Haveyouanumbrellainyourhouse?"Ithinkso."
Iwishyou
vorrei
wouldbringitouthere,e
andwalkupanddowndi
withit,andlookupatmeeverynowe
andthen,andsay'Tut-tut,itguardassi
lookslikerain.'Ithink,
se
ifyoudidthat,itwouldaiuterebbe
helpthedeceptionwhichwearepractisingonthesebees."Well,youlaughedtoyourself,"Silly
vecchio
oldBear!"butyoudidn't
detto
sayitaloudbecauseyouweresofondofhim,e
andyouwenthomeforyourumbrella.Oh,thereyouare!"
chiamato
calleddownWinnie-the-Pooh,assoonasyougotbacktothetree."Iwasbeginningtogetanxious.
I
ho
havediscoveredthatthebeesareora
nowdefinitelySuspicious."ShallIputmyumbrellaup?"
you
detto
said.Yes,butwaitamoment.
We
dobbiamo
mustbepractical.TheimportantbeetodeceiveistheQueenBee.
Canyou
vedere
seewhichistheQueenBeefromdownthere?"No."
Apity.
Well,
ora
now,ifyouwalkupe
anddownwithyourumbrella,dicendo
saying,'Tut-tut,itlookslikerain,'Ishallfarò
dowhatIcanbysinginguna
alittleCloudSong,suchasuna
acloudmightsing....Go!"
So,
mentre
whileyouwalkedupandgiù
downandwonderedifitwouldrain,Winnie-the-Poohsangquesta
thissong:.Thebeeswerestillbuzzingassuspiciouslyasever.
Alcuni
Someofthem,indeed,lefttheirnestse
andflewallroundthecloudasitbeganthesecondverseofquesta
thissong,andonebeesedette
satdownonthenoseofthecloudforamomento
moment,andthengotupdi nuovo
again.Christopher—ow!—Robin,"calledoutthecloud.
Yes?"
I
ho
havejustbeenthinking,andIho
havecometoaveryimportante
importantdecision.Thesearethe
sbagliato
wrongsortofbees."Arethey?"
Quitethe
sbagliato
wrongsort.SoIshould
pensare
thinktheywouldmakethesbagliato
wrongsortofhoney,shouldn'tyou?"Wouldthey?"
Sì
Yes.SoIthinkIshallcomedown."
How?"
chiesto
askedyou.Winnie-the-Poohhadn'tthoughtaboutthis.
Se
Ifheletgoofla
thestring,hewouldfall—bump—andhedidn'tlikela
theideaofthat.Sohe
pensò
thoughtforalongtime,e
andthenhesaid:.ChristopherRobin,you
devi
mustshoottheballoonwithyourpistola
gun.Haveyougotyourgun?"
OfcourseIhave,"you
detto
said."ButifIdothat,itwillspoil
il
theballoon,"yousaid.