INTRODUCTION
IfyouhappentohavereadanotherbookaboutChristopherRobin,youmayrememberthatheoncehadaswan(ortheswanhadChristopherRobin,Idon'tknowwhich)andthatheusedtocallthisswanPooh.
Thatwasalongtimeago,andwhenwesaidgood-bye,wetookthenamewithus,aswedidn'tthinktheswanwouldwantitanymore.
Well,whenEdwardBearsaidthathewouldlikean
emozionante
excitingnamealltohimself,ChristopherRobinsaidatonce,withoutstoppingtothink,thathewasWinnie-the-Pooh.Andhewas.
So,asIhaveexplainedthePoohpart,Iwillnowexplaintherestofit.
Youcan'tbeinLondonforlongwithoutgoingtotheZoo.
TherearesomepeoplewhobegintheZooatthebeginning,calledWAYIN,andwalkasquicklyastheycanpasteverycageuntiltheygettotheonecalledWAYOUT,butthenicestpeoplegostraighttotheanimaltheylovethemost,andstaythere.
SowhenChristopherRobingoestotheZoo,hegoestowherethePolarBearsare,andhewhisperssomethingtothethirdkeeperfromtheleft,anddoorsareunlocked,andwewanderthroughdarkpassagesandupsteep
scale
stairs,untilatlastwecometothespecialcage,andthecageisopened,andouttrotssomethingmarrone
brownandfurry,andwithahappycryof"Oh,Bear!"ChristopherRobinrushesintoitsarms.
Nowthisbear'snameisWinnie,whichshowswhatagoodnameforbearsitis,butthefunnythingisthatwecan'trememberwhetherWinnieiscalledafterPooh,orPoohafterWinnie.
Wedidknowonce,butwehaveforgotten....
IhadwrittenasfarasthiswhenPigletlookedupandsaidinhissqueakyvoice,"WhataboutMe?"
"MydearPiglet,"Isaid,"thewholebookisaboutyou."
"SoitisaboutPooh,"hesqueaked.
Youseewhatitis.
Heis
geloso
jealousbecausehethinksPoohishavingaGrandIntroductionalltohimself.Poohisthefavourite,ofcourse,there'snodenyingit,butPigletcomesinforagoodmanythingswhichPoohmisses;
becauseyoucan'ttakePoohtoschoolwithouteverybodyknowingit,butPigletissosmallthathe
scivola
slipsintoapocket,whereitisverycomfortingtofeelhimwhenyouarenotquitesurewhethertwicesevenistwelveortwenty-two.Sometimeshe
scivola
slipsoutandhasagoodlookintheink-pot,andinthiswayhehasgotmoreistruzione
educationthanPooh,butPoohdoesn'tmind.Somehavebrains,andsomehaven't,hesays,andthereitis.
Andnowalltheothersaresaying,"WhataboutUs?"
SoperhapsthebestthingtodoistostopwritingIntroductionsandgetonwiththebook.
CHAPTERI
INWHICHWEAREINTRODUCEDTOWINNIE-THE-POOHANDSOMEBEES,ANDTHESTORIESBEGIN
HereisEdwardBear,comingdownstairsnow,bump,bump,bump,onthebackofhishead,behindChristopherRobin.
Itis,asfarasheknows,theonlywayofcomingdownstairs,butsometimeshefeelsthattherereallyisanotherway,ifonlyhecouldstopbumpingforamomentandthinkofit.
Andthenhefeelsthatperhapsthereisn't.
Anyhow,hereheisatthe
fondo
bottom,andreadytobepresentato
introducedtoyou.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,"Isaidquickly;
andIhopeyoudotoo,becauseitisalltheexplanationyouaregoingtoget.
SometimesWinnie-the-Poohlikesagameofsomesortwhenhecomesdownstairs,andsometimeshelikestositquietlyinfrontofthefireandlistentoastory.
Thisevening——.
Whataboutastory?"
saidChristopherRobin.
Whataboutastory?"
Isaid.
CouldyouverysweetlytellWinnie-the-Poohone?"
IsupposeIcould,"Isaid.
"Whatsortofstoriesdoeshelike?"
Abouthimself.
Becausehe'sthatsortofBear."
Oh,Isee."
Socouldyouverysweetly?"
I'lltry,"Isaid.
SoItried.
Onceuponatime,averylongtimeagonow,aboutlast
Venerdì
Friday,Winnie-the-Poohlivedinaforesta
forestallbyhimselfunderthenameofSanders.("Whatdoes'underthename'mean?"
askedChristopherRobin.
Itmeanshehadthenameoverthedooringoldletters,andlivedunderit."
Winnie-the-Poohwasn'tquitesure,"saidChristopherRobin.
NowIam,"saidagrowlyvoice.
ThenIwillgoon,"saidI.)
Onedaywhenhewasoutwalking,hecametoanopenplaceinthemiddleofthe
foresta
forest,andinthemiddleofthisplacewasalargeoak-tree,and,fromthetopofthetree,therecameaforte
loudbuzzing-noise.Winnie-the-Poohsatdownatthefootofthetree,puthisheadbetweenhispawsandbegantothink.
Firstofallhesaidtohimself:
"Thatbuzzing-noisemeanssomething.
Youdon'tgetabuzzing-noiselikethat,justbuzzingandbuzzing,withoutitsmeaningsomething.
Ifthere'sabuzzing-noise,somebody'smakingabuzzing-noise,andtheonlyreasonformakingabuzzing-noisethatIknowofisbecauseyou'reabee."
Thenhethoughtanotherlongtime,andsaid:
"AndtheonlyreasonforbeingabeethatIknowofismakinghoney."
Andthenhegotup,andsaid:
"AndtheonlyreasonformakinghoneyissoasIcaneatit."
Sohebegantoclimbthetree.
Heclimbedandheclimbedandheclimbed,andasheclimbedhesangalittlesongtohimself.
Itwentlikethis:.
Thenheclimbedalittlefurther...
andalittlefurther...
andthenjustalittlefurther.
Bythattimehehadthoughtofanothersong.
Hewasgettingrathertiredbythistime,sothatiswhyhesangaComplainingSong.
Hewas
quasi
nearlytherenow,andifhejuststoodonthatbranch...Crack!
Oh,help!"
saidPooh,ashedroppedtenfeetonthebranch
sotto
belowhim.IfonlyIhadn't——"
hesaid,ashebouncedtwentyfeetontothenextbranch.
Yousee,whatImeanttodo,"heexplained,asheturnedhead-over-heels,andcrashedontoanotherbranchthirtyfeet
sotto
below,"whatImeanttodo——".Ofcourse,itwasrather——"
he
ammise
admitted,asheslitheredveryquicklythroughthenextsixbranches.Itallcomes,Isuppose,"hedecided,ashesaidgood-byetothelastbranch,spunroundthreetimes,andflewgracefullyintoagorse-bush,"itallcomesoflikinghoneysomuch.
Oh,help!"
Hecrawledoutofthegorse-bush,brushedthepricklesfromhisnose,andbegantothinkagain.
AndthefirstpersonhethoughtofwasChristopherRobin.
("Wasthatme?"
saidChristopherRobininanawedvoice,hardlydaringtobelieveit.
Thatwasyou."
ChristopherRobinsaidnothing,buthiseyesgotlargerandlarger,andhisfacegotpinkerandpinker.)
SoWinnie-the-PoohwentroundtohisfriendChristopherRobin,wholivedbehindagreendoorinanotherpartofthe
foresta
forest.Goodmorning,ChristopherRobin,"hesaid.
Goodmorning,Winnie-ther-Pooh,"saidyou.
Iwonderifyou'vegotsuchathingasaballoonaboutyou?"
Aballoon?"
Yes,Ijustsaidtomyselfcomingalong:
'IwonderifChristopherRobinhassuchathingasaballoonabouthim?'
Ijustsaidittomyself,thinkingofballoons,andwondering."
Whatdoyouwantaballoonfor?"
yousaid.
Winnie-the-Poohlookedroundtoseethatnobodywaslistening,puthispawtohismouth,andsaidinadeepwhisper:
"Honey!"
Butyoudon'tgethoneywithballoons!"
Ido,"saidPooh.
Well,itjusthappenedthatyouhadbeentoapartythedaybeforeatthehouseofyourfriendPiglet,andyouhadballoonsattheparty.
Youhadhadabiggreenballoon;
andoneofRabbit'srelationshadhadabigblueone,andhadleftitbehind,beingreallytooyoungtogotoapartyatall;
andsoyouhadbroughtthegreenoneandtheblueonehomewithyou.
Whichonewouldyoulike?"
youaskedPooh.
Heputhisheadbetweenhispawsandthoughtvery
attentamente
carefully.It'slikethis,"hesaid.
"Whenyougoafterhoneywithaballoon,thegreatthingisnottoletthebeesknowyou'recoming.
Now,ifyouhaveagreenballoon,theymightthinkyouwereonlypartofthetree,andnotnoticeyou,and,ifyouhaveablueballoon,theymightthinkyouwereonlypartofthesky,andnotnoticeyou,andthequestionis:
Whichismostlikely?"
Wouldn'ttheynoticeyouunderneaththeballoon?"
youasked.
Theymightortheymightnot,"saidWinnie-the-Pooh.
"Younevercantellwithbees."
Hethoughtforamomentandsaid:
"Ishalltrytolooklikeasmallblackcloud.
Thatwilldeceivethem."
Thenyouhadbetterhavetheblueballoon,"yousaid;
andsoitwasdecided.
Well,youbothwentoutwiththeblueballoon,andyoutookyourgunwithyou,justincase,asyoualwaysdid,andWinnie-the-Poohwenttoaverymuddyplacethatheknewof,androlledandrolleduntilhewasblackallover;
andthen,whentheballoonwasblownupasbigasbig,andyouandPoohwerebothholdingontothestring,youletgosuddenly,andPoohBearfloatedgracefullyupintothesky,andstayedthere—levelwiththetopofthetreeandabouttwentyfeetawayfromit.
Hooray!"
you
urlato
shouted.Isn'tthatfine?"
shoutedWinnie-the-Poohdowntoyou.
"WhatdoIlooklike?"
YoulooklikeaBearholdingontoaballoon,"yousaid.
Not,"saidPoohanxiously,"—notlikeasmallblackcloudinabluesky?"
Notverymuch."
Ah,well,perhapsfromuphereitlooksdifferent.
And,asIsay,younevercantellwithbees."
Therewasnowindtoblowhimnearertothetree,sotherehestayed.
Hecouldseethehoney,hecouldsmellthehoney,buthecouldn'tquitereachthehoney.
Afteralittlewhilehecalleddowntoyou.
ChristopherRobin!"
hesaidina
forte
loudwhisper.Hallo!"
Ithinkthebees
sospettino
suspectsomething!"Whatsortofthing?"
Idon'tknow.
Butsomethingtellsmethatthey'resuspicious!"
Perhapstheythinkthatyou'reaftertheirhoney."
Itmaybethat.
Younevercantellwithbees."
Therewasanotherlittle
silenzio
silence,andthenhecalleddowntoyouagain.ChristopherRobin!"
Yes?"
Haveyouanumbrellainyourhouse?"
Ithinkso."
Iwishyouwouldbringitouthere,andwalkupanddownwithit,andlookupatmeeverynowandthen,andsay'Tut-tut,itlookslikerain.'
Ithink,ifyoudidthat,itwouldhelpthedeceptionwhichwearepractisingonthesebees."
Well,youlaughedtoyourself,"SillyoldBear!"
butyoudidn'tsayitaloudbecauseyouweresofondofhim,andyouwenthomeforyourumbrella.
Oh,thereyouare!"
calleddownWinnie-the-Pooh,assoonasyougotbacktothetree.
"Iwasbeginningtogetanxious.
IhavediscoveredthatthebeesarenowdefinitelySuspicious."
ShallIputmyumbrellaup?"
yousaid.
Yes,butwaitamoment.
Wemustbepractical.
TheimportantbeetodeceiveistheQueenBee.
CanyouseewhichistheQueenBeefromdownthere?"
No."
Apity.
Well,now,ifyouwalkupanddownwithyourumbrella,saying,'Tut-tut,itlookslikerain,'IshalldowhatIcanbysingingalittleCloudSong,suchasacloudmightsing....
Go!"
So,whileyouwalkedupanddownandwonderedifitwouldrain,Winnie-the-Poohsangthissong:.
Thebeeswerestillbuzzingassuspiciouslyasever.
Someofthem,
infatti
indeed,lefttheirnestsandflewallroundthecloudasitbeganthesecondverseofthissong,andonebeesatdownonthenoseofthecloudforamoment,andthengotupagain.Christopher—ow!—Robin,"calledoutthecloud.
Yes?"
Ihavejustbeenthinking,andIhavecometoaveryimportantdecision.
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.