Winnie-The-Pooh by A.A. Milne

Alan A. Milne (1882—1956), an English writer, is famous for the books which he wrote for children. His two books Winnie-the-Pooh and House at the Pooh's Corner grew out of tales that the author told Christopher Robin, his little son.

The classic stories of Pooh, a Bear of Little Brain, and his toy friends — the tiny Piglet, the gloomy Donkey, the wise Owl and others —have become popular among children all over the world. They enjoy reading about Christopher Robin and his imaginary world of adventures in which his toy animals live like real animals and talk like real people.

Part I

Eeyore, the old Donkey, stood by the side of the stream, and looked at himself in the water.

“Pathetic,” he said. “That’s what it is. Pathetic."

He turned and walked slowly down the stream for twenty yards, splashed across it, and walked slowly back on the other side. Then he looked at himself in the water again.

“As I thought,” he said. “No better from this side. But nobody minds. Nobody cares. Pathetic, that's what it is."

There was a noise in the bushes behind him, and out came Pooh. “Good morning, Eeyore," said Pooh.

“Good morning, Pooh Bear," said Eeyore gloomily. "If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,”' said he.

“Why, what’s the matter?”

“Nothing, Pooh Bear, nothing. We can't all, and some of us don't. That’s all there is to it.”"

Pooh sat down on a large stone, and tried to think this out. It sounded to him like a riddle, and he was never much good at riddles, being a Bear of Very Little Brain. So he sang a song instead.

When he had finished the song, Eeyore didn't say that he didn’t like it.

“That’s right,” he said. “Sing. Enjoy yourself."

“I am,” said Pooh.

“Some can," said Eeyore.

“Why, what's the matter?”

“is anything the matter?"

“You seem so sad, Eeyore.”

"Sad? Why should I be sad? It’s my birthday. The happiest day of the year."

“Your birthday?” said Pooh in great surprise.

“Of course it is. Can’t you see? Look at all the presents I have had. Look at the birthday cake. Candies and pink sugar.”

Pooh looked — first to the right and then to the left.

“Presents?” said Pooh. “Birthday cake?” said Pooh. “Where?"

“Can’t you see them?”

“No,” said Pooh.

“Neither can I," said Eeyore. “Joke,” he explained. “Ha, ha!” Pooh scratched his head, being a little puzzled by all this. “But is it really your birthday?” he asked.

“It is.”

“Oh! Well, many happy returns of the day, Eeyore."

“And many happy returns to you, Pooh Bear.”

“But it isn’t my birthday.”

"No, it’s mine.”

“But you said 'Many happy returns’ —”

"Well, why not? You don't always want to be miserable on my birthday, do you?"

"Oh, I see,” said Pooh.

"It’s bad enough," said Eeyore, and he almost cried, "to be miserable myself, with no presents and no cake and no candles. Nobody has taken any notice of me? But if everybody else is going to be miserable too —”

This was too much for Pooh. "Stay there!” he called to Eeyore, as he turned and hurried back home as quick as he could; because he felt that he must get poor Eeyore a present of some sort at once, and he could always think of a proper one.

Outside his house he found Piglet. Piglet was jumping up and down and trying to reach the knocker?

“Hello, Piglet,” he said.

“Hello, Pooh," said Piglet.

“What are you trying to do?"

“I was trying to reach the knocker," said Piglet. “I just came round —”

"Let me do it for you,” said Pooh kindly. So he reached up and knocked at the door. "I have just seen Eeyore,” he began, “and poor Eeyore is in a very sad condition? because it's his birthday, and nobody has taken any notice of it, and he’s very gloomy — you know what Eeyore is — and there he was, and—What a tong time whoever lives here is going to answer this door.” And he knocked again.

“But, Pooh," said Piglet, “it’s your own house!"

“Oh!” said Pooh. “So it is,” he said. “Well, let's go in.”

So in they went. The first thing Pooh did was to go to the cupboard to see if he had quite a small jar of honey left; and he had, so he took it down.

“I’m giving this to Eeyore,” he explained, “as a present. What are you going to give?"

“Couldn’t I give it too?” said Piglet. “From both of us?”

“No,” said Pooh. “That would not be a good plan.”

“All right, then, I'll give him a balloon. I’ve got one left from my party. I’ll go and get it now, shall I?"

“That, Piglet, is a very good idea. It is just what Eeyore wants to cheer him up? You cannot uncheer anybody with a balloon.”

So off Piglet trotted to get the balloon; and Pooh went back towards the stream to Eeyore with his jar of honey.

It was a warm day, and he had a long way to go. He hadn’t gone more than half-way when a sort of funny feeling came over him. It began at the tip of his nose and went all through him and out at the soles of his feet. “Now then, Pooh, time for a little something,” he said to himself.

“Dear, dear,” said Pooh, “I didn’t know it was as late as that." So he sat down and took the top off his jar of honey. “Lucky I brought this with me,” he thought. “Many a bear out on a walk on a warm day like this would never have thought of bringing a little something with him.” And he began to eat.

“Now let me see,” he thought, as he took his last lick of the little inside of the jar. “Where was I going? Ah, yes, Eeyore.” He got up slowly.

And then, suddenly, he remembered. He had eaten Eeyore’s birthday present!

"Oh!” said Pooh. "What shall I do? I must give him something."

For a little while he couldn’t think of anything. Then he thought: “Well, it’s a very nice pot, even if there’s no honey in it, and if I wash it clean, and get somebody to write ‘A Happy Birthday’ on it, Eeyore could keep things in it, which might be useful.” So, as he was just passing the wood, he went inside to call on Owl, who lived there.

"Good morning, Owl,” he said.

“Good morning, Pooh,” said Owl.

"Many happy returns of Eeyore’s birthday said Pooh.

“Oh, is that what it is?”

"What are you giving him, Owl?”

“What are you giving him, Pooh?”

"I'm giving him a Useful Pot to Keep Things In, and I wanted to ask you —”

“Is this it?” said Owl, taking it out of Pooh's paw.

“Yes, and I wanted to ask you —”

“Somebody has kept honey in it,” said Owl.

"You can keep anything in it," said Pooh. "It's very useful like that. And I wanted to ask you —”

“You ought to write ‘A Happy Birthday’ on it.”

"That was what I wanted to ask you,” said Pooh. “Because my spelling is wobbly. It’s good spelling but it wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places. Would you write ‘A Happy Birthday’ on it for me?”

“It’s a nice pot,” said Owl, looking at it all round. "Couldn’t I give it too? From both of us?”

“No,” said Pooh. “That would not be a good plan. Now I'll just wash it first, and then you can write on it.”

Well, he washed the pot out, and dried it, while Owl licked the end of his pencil, and wondered how to spell “birthday".

Then Owl wrote... and this is what Owl wrote:

HIPY PAPY BTHUTHDTH THUTHDA BTHUTHDY.

Pooh looked with admiration,

“I have just written ‘A Happy Birthday’,” said Owl carelessly.

“Oh, I see,” said Pooh.

Part II

While all this was happening, Piglet had gone back to his own house to get Eeyore's balloon. He held it very tightly against himself, and he ran as fast as he could so as to get to Eeyore before Pooh did. He thought that he would like to be the first one to give Eeyore a present, just as if he had thought of it himself. He was running along, and thinking how pleased Eeyore would be, but he didn’t look where he was going... and suddenly he put his foot in a rabbit hole, and fell down flat on his face.

BANGUI??? ***!!!

Piglet lay there, and wondered what had happened. At first he thought that the whole world had blown up; and then he thought that perhaps only he had, and he was now alone in the moon or somewhere, and would never see Christopher Robin or Pooh or Eeyore again. And then he thought, “Well, even if I’m in the moon, I needn't be face down all the time,” so he got up and looked about him.

He was still in the forest!

“Well, that’s funny,” he thought. “I wonder what that bang was. And where’s my balloon? And what's that small piece of damp rag doing?”

It was the balloon!

“Oh, dear!” said Piglet. "Oh, dear, oh, dear! Well, it’s too late now. I can’t go back, and I haven't another balloon, and perhaps Eeyore doesn’t like balloons so very much.”

So he trotted on, rather sadly now, and down he came to the side of the stream where Eeyore was, and called out to him.

“Good morning, Eeyore," shouted Piglet.

“Good morning, little Piglet,” said Eeyore." If it is a good morning,” he said. “Which I doubt,” said he. "Not that it matters," he said.

“Many happy returns of the day,” said Piglet, as he came closer.

Eeyore stopped looking at himself in the stream, and turned to look at Piglet in surprise.

“Just say that again," he said.

“Many hap —"

“Wait a moment.”

Balancing on three legs, the Donkey began to bring his fourth leg slowly up to his ear. “It is so as I can hear better... Now then, what were you saying?” He pushed his ear forward with his hoof.

“Many happy returns of the day,” said Piglet again.

“You mean me?"

“Of course, Eeyore.”

“My birthday?”

“Yes.”

“I'm having a real birthday?”

“Yes, Eeyore, I’ve brought you a present.”

Eeyore took down his right hoof from his right ear, turned round, and with great difficulty put up his left hoof.

“I must have that in the other ear,” he said. “Now then.”

“A present," said Piglet very loudly.

“You mean me again?”

“Yes.”

“My birthday still?”

“Of course, Eeyore."

“I’m still having a real birthday?”

“Yes, Eeyore, and I brought you a balloon."

“Balloon?” said Eeyore. “You did say balloon? One of those big colored things you blow up?”

“Yes, but I'm afraid — I'm sorry, Eeyore — but when I was running along to bring it to you, I fell down.”

“Dear, dear, how unlucky! You ran too fast. You didn’t hurt yourself, little Piglet?”

“No, but I — I — oh, Eeyore, I burst the balloon!”

There was a very long silence.

“My balloon?” said Eeyore at last.

Piglet nodded.

“My birthday balloon?"

“Yes, Eeyore,” said Piglet snuffling a little. “Here it is. With — many happy returns of the day." And he gave Eeyore the small piece of damp rag.

“Is this it?” said Eeyore a little surprised.

Piglet nodded.

“My present?"

Piglet nodded again.

“The balloon?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Piglet,” said Eeyore. “You don’t mind my asking," he went on, “but what color was this balloon when it — when it was a balloon?"

“Red.”

“I just wondered... Red," he said to himself. “My favorite color.. How big was it?"

“About as big as me."

“I just wondered... About as big as Piglet,” he said to himself sadly. “My favorite size. Well, well."

Piglet felt very miserable, and didn’t know what to say. He was still opening his mouth to begin something, and then deciding that it wasn’t any good saying that, when he heard a shout from the other side of the stream, and there was Pooh.

“Many happy returns of the day,” called out Pooh. He had forgotten that he had said it already.

“Thank you, Pooh, I'm having them,” said Eeyore gloomily.

“I’ve brought you a little present,” said Pooh.

“I’ve had it,” said Eeyore.

Pooh had now splashed across the stream to Eeyore, and Piglet was sitting a little way off, his head in his paws, snuffling to himself.

“It’s a useful pot,” said Pooh. “Here it is. And it has 'A very happy birthday with love from Pooh written on it. That’s what all this writing is. And it’s to put things in. There!”

When Eeyore saw the pot, he became quite happy.

“Why!” he said. “I believe my balloon will just go into that pot!"

“Oh, no, Eeyore,” said Pooh. “Balloons are much too big to go into pots. What you do with a balloon is, you hold the balloon —”

"Not mine,” said Eeyore proudly. “Look, Piglet!” And as Piglet looked round, Eeyore picked the balloon up with his teeth, and placed it carefully in the pot; picked it out and put it on the ground; and then picked it up again and put it carefully back.

"So it does!" said Pooh. “It goes in!”

"So it docs!” said Piglet. “And it comes out!"

"Doesn’t it?” said Eeyore. “It goes in and out like anything.”

"I'm very glad,” said Pooh happily, “that I thought of giving you a useful pot to put things in.”

"I'm very glad," said Piglet happily, “that I thought of giving you something to put in a useful pot.”

But Eeyore wasn’t listening. He was taking the balloon out, and putting it back again, as happy as could be... .