Winnie-the-Pooh - Chapter 7

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Then he went to call upon his friend Piglet to see what he thought about it, and at Piglet's house he found rabbit, so they all talked about it together. What I don't like about it is this, said Rabbit. Here are we, you, Poo, and you, Piglet, and me, and suddenly, and Eor, said Poo, and Eor, and then suddenly, and Owl, said Poo, and Owl, and then all of a sudden, oh, and Eor, said Poo, I was forgetting him. Here we are, said Rabbit, very slowly and carefully, all of us, and then suddenly, we wake up one morning, and what do we find? We find a strange animal among us, an animal of whom we have never even heard before, an animal who carries her family about with her in her pocket. Suppose I carried my family about with me in my pocket, how many pockets should I want? 16, said Piglet. 17, isn't it, said Rabbit, and one more for a handkerchief, that's 18, 18 pockets in one suit, I haven't time. There was a long and thoughtful silence, and then Poo, who had been frowning very hard for some minutes, said, I make it 15. What, said Rabbit, 15, 15 what? Your family, what about them? Poo rubbed his nose and said that he thought Rabbit had been talking about his family. Did I, said Rabbit carelessly? Yes, you said, nevermind, Poo, said Piglet impatiently. The question is, what are we to do about Kanga? Oh, I see, said Poo. The best way, said Rabbit, would be this. The best way would be to steal Baby Roo and hide him. And then when Kanga says, where's Baby Roo? We say, aha. Aha, said Poo, practicing, aha, aha. Of course, he went on, we could say, aha, even if we hadn't stolen Baby Roo. Poo, said Rabbit kindly, you haven't any brain. I know, said Poo, humbly. We say, aha, so that Kanga knows that we know where Baby Roo is. Aha means, we'll tell you where Baby Roo is, if you promise to go away from the forest and never come back. Now, don't talk while I think. Poo went into a corner and tried saying, aha, in that sort of voice. Sometimes it seemed to him that it did mean what Rabbit said, and sometimes it seemed to him that it didn't. I suppose it's just practice, he thought. I wonder if Kanga will have to practice too, so as to understand it. There's just one thing, said Piglet, fidgeting a bit. I was talking to Christopher Robin, and he said that a Kanga was generally regarded as one of the fiercer animals. I am not frightened of fierce animals in the ordinary way, but it is well known that if one of the fiercer animals is deprived of its young, it becomes as fierce as two of the fiercer animals, in which case, aha, is perhaps a foolish thing to say. Piglet said Rabbit, taking out a pencil and licking the end of it. You haven't any pluck. It is hard to be brave, said Piglet, sniffing slightly, when you're only a very small animal. Rabbit, who had begun to write very busily, looked up and said, it is because you are a very small animal that you will be useful in the adventure before us. Piglet was so excited at the idea of being useful that he forgot to be frightened anymore. And when Rabbit went on to say that Kangas were only fierce during the winter months, being at other times of an affectionate disposition, he could hardly sit still. He was so eager to begin being useful at once. What about me, said Poo, sadly? I suppose I shan't be useful. Never mind Poo, said Piglet, comfortingly, another time perhaps. Without Poo, said Rabbit solemnly as he sharpened his pencil, the adventure would be impossible. Oh, said Piglet, and tried not to look disappointed. But Poo went into a corner of the room and said proudly to himself, impossible without me, that sort of bear. Now listen, all of you, said Rabbit when he had finished writing, and Poo and Piglet sat listening very eagerly with their mouths open. This was what Rabbit read out. Plan to capture Baby Roo. One, general remarks, Kanga runs faster than any of us, even me. Two, more general remarks. Kanga never takes her eye off Baby Roo, except when he's safely buttoned up in her pocket. Three, therefore, if we are to capture Baby Roo, we must get a long start, because Kanga runs faster than any of us, even me. See number one. Four, a thought. If Roo had jumped out of Kanga's pocket and Piglet had jumped in, Kanga wouldn't know the difference, because Piglet is a very small animal. Five, like Roo. Six, but Kanga would have to be looking the other way first, so as not to see Piglet jumping in. Seven, see two. Eight, another thought. But if Poo was talking to her very excitedly, she might look the other way for a moment. Nine, and then I could run away with Roo. Ten, quickly. Eleven, and Kanga wouldn't discover the difference until afterwards. Well, Rabbit read this out proudly, and for a little while after he had read it, nobody said anything. And then Piglet, who had been opening and shutting his mouth without making any noise, managed to say very huskily, and afterwards, How do you mean? When Kanga does discover the difference, then we all say, aha. All three of us? Yes. Oh. Why? What's the trouble, Piglet? Nothing. Nothing, said Piglet, as long as we all three say it. As long as we all three say it, said Piglet, I don't mind, he said. But I shouldn't care to say aha by myself. It wouldn't sound nearly so well. By the way, he said, you are quite sure about what you said about the winter months. The winter months? Yes, only being fierce in the winter months. Oh, yes, yes, that's all right. Well, Poo, you see what you have to do? No, said Poo Bear. Not yet, he said. What do I do? Well, you just have to talk very hard to Kanga, so she doesn't notice anything. Oh, what about? Anything you like? You mean like telling her a little bit of poetry or something? That's it, said Rabbit. Splendid. Now come along. So they all went out to look for Kanga. Kanga and Roo were spending a quiet afternoon in a sandy part of the forest. Baby Roo was practicing very small jumps in the sand and falling down mouse holes and climbing out of them. And Kanga was fidgeting about and saying, just one more jump, dear, and then we must go home. And at that moment, who should come stumping up the hill but Poo? Good afternoon, Kanga. Good afternoon, Poo. Look at me jumping, squeaked Roo, and fell into another mouse hole. Hello, Roo, my little fellow. We were just going home, said Kanga. Good afternoon, Rabbit. Good afternoon, Piglet. Rabbit and Piglet would now come up from the other side of the hill, said, Good afternoon, and hello, Roo. And Roo asked them to look at him jumping, so they stayed and looked. And Kanga looked too. Oh, Kanga, said Poo, after Rabbit had winked at him twice. I don't know if you're interested in poetry at all. Hardly at all, said Kanga. Oh, said Poo. Roo, dear, just one more jump, and then we must go home. There is a short silence while Roo fell down another mouse hole. Go on, said Rabbit, in a loud whisper behind his paw. Talking of poetry, said Poo, I made up a little piece as I was coming along. It went like this. Now let me see. Fancy, said Kanga. Now, Roo, dear, you'll like this piece of poetry, said Rabbit. You'll love it, said Piglet. You must listen very carefully, said Rabbit. So as not to miss any of it, said Piglet. Oh yes, said Kanga, but she still looked at Baby Roo. How did it go, Poo, said Rabbit? Poo gave a little cough and began. Lines written by a bear of very little brain. On Monday when the sun is hot, I wondered to myself a lot. Now is it true, or is it not? That what is which, and which is what? What? On Tuesday when it hails and snows, the feeling on me grows and grows. That hardly anybody knows if those are these or these are those. On Wednesday when the sky is blue and I have nothing else to do, I sometimes wonder if it's true that who is what and what is who. On Thursday when it starts to freeze and whore frost twinkles on the trees, how very readily one sees that these are whose, but whose are these. On Friday? Yes it is, isn't it? said Kanga, not waiting to hear what happened on Friday. Just one more jump, Roo dear, and then we really must be going. Rabbit gave Poo a hurrying up sort of nudge. Talking of poetry, said Poo quickly, have you ever noticed that tree right over there? Where, said Kanga? Now Roo, right over there, said Poo, pointing behind Kanga's back. No, said Kanga, now jump in, Roo dear, and we'll go home. You ought to look at that tree right over there, said Rabbit. Shall I lift you in, Roo? And he picked up Roo in his paws. I can see a bird in it from here, said Poo, or is it a fish? You ought to see that bird from here, said Rabbit, unless it's a fish. It isn't a fish, it's a bird, said Piglet. So it is, said Rabbit. Is it a starling or a blackbird, said Poo? That's the whole question, said Rabbit. Is it a blackbird or a starling? And then at last Kanga did turn her head to look, and the moment that her head was turned, Rabbit said in a loud voice, in you go, Roo. And then jumped Piglet into Kanga's pocket, and off scampered Rabbit with Roo in his paws, as fast as he could. Why, where's Rabbit, said Kanga, turning round again. Are you all right, Roo dear? Piglet made a squeaky Roo noise from the bottom of Kanga's pocket. Rabbit had to go away, said Poo. I think he thought of something he had to go and see about suddenly. And Piglet? I think Piglet thought of something at the same time, suddenly. Well, we must be getting home, said Kanga. Goodbye, Poo. And in three large jumps she was gone. Poo looked after her as she went. I wish I could jump like that, he thought. Some can and some can't. That's how it is. But there were moments when Piglet wished that Kanga couldn't. Often when he had had a long walk home through the forest, he'd wish that he were a bird. But now he thought jerkly to himself at the bottom of Kanga's pocket. If this is flying, I shall never really take to it. And as he went up in the air, he said, ow. And as he came down, he said, oh. And he was saying, ow, oh, ow, oh, ow. All the way to Kanga's house. Of course, as soon as Kanga unbuttoned her pocket, she saw what had happened. Just for a moment, she thought she was frightened. And then she knew she wasn't. For she felt quite sure that Christopher Robin would never let any harm happen to Rue. So she said to herself, if they're having a joke with me, I will have a joke with them. Now then, Rue, dear, she said, as she took Piglet out of her pocket, bedtime. Aha, said Piglet, as well as he could after his terrifying journey. But it wasn't a very good Aha. And Kanga didn't seem to understand what it meant. Bathurst said Kanga in a cheerful voice. Aha, said Piglet again, looking around anxiously for the others. But the others weren't there. Rabbit was playing with baby Rue in his own house and feeling more fond of him every minute. And Poo had decided to be a Kanga, was still at the sandy place, on the top of the forest, practicing jumps. I am not at all sure, said Kanga in a thoughtful voice, that it wouldn't be a good idea to have a cold bath this evening. Would you like that, Rue, dear? Piglet, who had never been really fond of baths, shuddered along indignant shudder, and said in as brave a voice as he could, Kanga, I see that the time has come to speak plainly. Funny little Rue, said Kanga, as she got the bath water ready. I am not Rue, said Piglet loudly. I am Piglet. Yes, dear, yes, said Kanga soothingly, and imitating Piglet's voice too, so clever of him, she went on, as she took a large bar of yellow soap out of the cupboard. What will he be doing next? Can't you see, shouted Piglet, haven't you got eyes? Look at me. I am looking, Rue, dear, said Kanga, rather severely. And you know what I told you yesterday about making faces. If you go on making faces like Piglet's, you'll grow up to look like Piglet, and then think how sorry you will be. Now then, into the bath, and don't let me have to speak to you about it again. Before he knew where he was, Piglet was in the bath, and Kanga was scrubbing him firmly with a large lathery flannel. Ow, cried Piglet, let me out, I'm Piglet. Don't open the mouth, dear, or the soap goes in, said Kanga. There, what did I tell you? You, you, you did it on purpose, but, or Piglet, as soon as he could speak again. And then accidentally had another mouthful of lathery flannel. That's right, dear, don't say anything, said Kanga, and in another minute Piglet was out of the bath, and being rubbed dry with a towel. Now, said Kanga, there's your medicine, and then bed. What medicine, said Piglet? To make you grow big and strong, dear, you don't want to grow up small and weak like Piglet, do you? Well then. At that moment there was a knock at the door. Come in, said Kanga, and in came Christopher Robin. Christopher Robin, Christopher Robin, cried Piglet, tell Kanga who I am. She keeps saying I'm Rue, I'm not Rue, am I? Christopher Robin looked at him very carefully, and shook his head. You can't be Rue, he said, because I've just seen Rue playing in Rabbit's house. Well, said Kanga, fancy that. Fancy my making a mistake like that. There you are, said Piglet. I told you so, I'm Piglet. Christopher Robin shook his head again. Oh, you're not Piglet, he said. I know Piglet well, and he's quite a different color. Piglet began to say that this was because he had just had a bath, and then he thought that perhaps he wouldn't say that. And as he opened his mouth to say something else, Kanga slipped the medicine spoon in, and then patted him on the back, and told him that it was really quite a nice taste when you got used to it. I knew it wasn't Piglet, said Kanga. I wonder who it can be. Perhaps it's some relation of poos, said Christopher Robin. What about a nephew or an uncle or something? Kanga agreed that this was probably what it was, and said that they would have to call it by some name. I shall call it Pootle, said Christopher Robin, Henry Pootle for short. And just when it was decided, Henry Pootle wriggled out of Kanga's arms and jumped to the ground. To his great joy, Christopher Robin had left the door open. Never had Henry Pootle, Piglet, run so fast as he ran then, and he didn't stop running until he had got quite close to his house. But when he was a hundred yards away, he stopped running, and rolled the rest of the way home so as to get his own nice comfortable color again. So Kanga and Rue stayed in the forest. And every Tuesday, Rue spent the day with his great friend Rabbit, and every Tuesday, Kanga spent the day with her great friend Pooh, teaching him to jump. And every Tuesday, Piglet spent the day with his great friend Christopher Robin. So they were all happy again.