Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne

CHAPTER ONE

in which we are introduced to
Winnie-the-Pooh and some Bees,
and the stories begin

Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs now, bump,
bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind
Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only
way of coming downstairs, but sometimes he feels that
there really is another way, if only he could stop bumping
for a moment and think of it. And then he feels that
perhaps there isn’t. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom,
and ready to be introduced to you. Winnie-the-Pooh.

When I first heard his name, I said, just as you are
going to say, 'But I thought he was a boy?’

'So did 1/ said Christopher Robin.

'Then you can’t call him Winnie?’

'I don’t.’

'But you said -

'He’s Winnie-ther-Pooh. Don’t you know what " ther ”
means?’

'Ah, yes, now I do,’ I said quickly; and I hope you do
too, because it is all the explanation you are going to get.

Sometimes Winnie-the-Pooh likes a game of some
sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he likes
to sit quietly in front of the fire and listen to a story
This evening —

'What about a story?’ said Christopher Robin.

' What about a story?’ I said.

'Could you very sweetly tell Winnie-the-Pooh one?’

'I suppose I could,’ I said. 'What sort of stories does
he like?’

'About himself. Because he’s that sort of Bear.’

'Oh, I see.’

'So could you very sweetly?’

'I’ll try,’ I said. So I tried.

Once upon a time, a very long time ago now, about last
Friday, Winnie-the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himself
under the name of Sanders.

('What does " under the name” mean?’ ashed Christopher
Rohin.

1 It means he had the name over the door in gold letters
and lived under it. ’

' Winnie-the-Pooh wasn’t quite sure / said Christopher
Rohin.

1 Now I am/ said a growly voice.

' Then I will go on/ said I.)

One day when he was out walking, he came to an
open place in the middle of the forest, and in the middle
of this place was a large oak-tree, and, from the top of
the tree, there came a loud buzzing-noise.

Winnie-the-Pooh sat down at the foot of the tree, put
his head between his paws, and began to think.

First of all he said to himself: That buzzing-noise

means something. You don't get a buzzing-noise like
that, just buzzing and buzzing, without its meaning
something. If there's a buzzing-noise, somebody's

making a buzzing-noise, and the only reason for making
a buzzing-noise that I know of is because you're a bee.

Then he thought another long time, and said: 'And
the only reason for being a bee that I know of is making
honey.'

And then he got up, and said: 'And the only reason for
making honey is so as I can eat it.' So he began to climb
the tree.

He climbed and he climbed and he climbed, and as
he climbed he sang a little song to himself.

It went like this:

Isn’t it funny
How a bear likes honey?

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

I wonder why he does?

Then he climbed a little further... and a little further...
and then just a little further. By that time he had
thought of another song.

It's a very funny thought that, if Bears were Bees,
They d build their nests at the bottom of trees.

And that being so (if the Bees were Bears),

We shouldn’t have to climb up all these stairs.

He was getting rather tired by this time, so that is why
he sang a Complaining Song. He was nearly there now,
and if he just stood on that branch. . .

Crack !

‘Oh, help!' said Pooh, as he dropped ten feet to the
branch below him.

If only I hadn’t — he said, as he bounced twenty feet
on to the next branch.

'You see, what I meant to do,’ he explained, as he
turned head-over-heels, and crashed on to another
branch thirty feet below, 'what I meant to do — ’

'Of course, it was rather - he admitted, as he
slithered very quickly through the next six branches.

'It all comes, I suppose,’ he decided, as he said good-
bye to the last branch, spun round three times, and flew
gracefully into a gorse-bush, 'it all comes of liking honey
so much. Oh, help!’

He crawled out of the gorse-bush, brushed the
prickles from his nose, and began to think again. And
the first person he thought of was Christopher Robin.

(' Was that me?’ said Christopher Robin in an awed
voice , hardly daring to believe it.

‘That was you. ’

Christopher Robin said nothing , but his eyes got larger
and larger ; and his face got pinker and pinker. )

So Winnie-the-Pooh went round to his friend
Christopher Robin, who lived behind a green door in
another part of the Forest.

'Good morning, Christopher Robin/ he said.

'Good morning, Winnie-tfeer-Pooh/ said you.

'I wonder if you’ve got such a thing as a balloon about
you?’

'A balloon?’

'Yes, I just said to myself coming along: “I wonder if
Christopher Robin has such a thing as a balloon about
him?” I just said it to myself, thinking of balloons, and
wondering.’

'What do you want a balloon for?’ you said.

Winnie-the-Pooh looked round to see that nobody
was listening, put his paw to his mouth, and said in a
deep whisper: ' Honey !’

'But you don’t get honey with balloons!’

7 do,’ said Pooh.

Well, it just happened that you had been to a party
the day before at the house of your friend Piglet, and
you had balloons at the party. You had had a big green
balloon; and one of Rabbit’s relations had had a big blue
one, and had left it behind, being really too young to go
to a party at all; and so you had brought the green one
and the blue one home with you.

'Which one would you like?’ you asked Pooh.