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02 - In Which We Are Introduced to Winnie-the-Pooh and Some Bees and the Stories Begin · Winnie-the-Pooh

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  Speaker 1: Chapter one of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milne.
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  Speaker 1: This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in
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  Speaker 1: the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please
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  Speaker 1: visit LibriVox dot org. Chapter one, in which we are
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  Speaker 1: introduced to Winnie the Pooh and some bees and the
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  Speaker 1: stories begin. Here is Edward Bhaer coming downstairs now boom
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  Speaker 1: bump bump on the back of his head behind Christopher Robin.
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  Speaker 1: It is, as far as he knows, the only way
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  Speaker 1: of coming downstairs. But sometimes he feels that there really
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  Speaker 1: is another way, if only he could stop bumping for
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  Speaker 1: a moment and think of it. And then he feels
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  Speaker 1: that perhaps there isn't anyhow. Here he is at the
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  Speaker 1: bottom and ready to be introduced to you, Winnie the Pooh.
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  Speaker 1: When I first heard his name, I I said, just
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  Speaker 1: as you are going to say. But I thought he
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  Speaker 1: was a boy, so did I said, Christopher Robin. Then
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  Speaker 1: you can't call him Winnie. I don't. But you said
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  Speaker 1: he's Winnie the Pooh. Don't you know what the means? Ah, yes,
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  Speaker 1: now I do, I said quickly, And I hope you
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  Speaker 1: do too, because it is all the explanation you are
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  Speaker 1: going to get Sometimes Winnie the Pooh likes a game
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  Speaker 1: of some sort when he comes downstairs, and sometimes he
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  Speaker 1: likes to sit quietly in front of the fire and
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  Speaker 1: listen to a story this evening. What about a story,
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  Speaker 1: said Christopher Robin. What about a story? I said, could
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  Speaker 1: you very sweetly tell Winnie the Pooh one? I suppose
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  Speaker 1: I could, I said, what sort of stories does he
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  Speaker 1: like about himself? Because he's that sort of bear? Oh,
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  Speaker 1: I see, so could you very sweetly? I'll try, I said,
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  Speaker 1: So I tried. Once upon a time, a very long
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  Speaker 1: time ago, now about last Friday, Winnie the Pooh lived
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  Speaker 1: in a forest all by himself, under the name of Sanders.
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  Speaker 1: What does under the name mean, asked Christopher Robin. It
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  Speaker 1: means he had the name over the door in gold
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  Speaker 1: letters and lived under it. Winnie the Pooh wasn't quite sure,
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  Speaker 1: said Christopher Robin. Now I am, said a growly voice.
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  Speaker 1: Then I will go on, said I. One day, when
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  Speaker 1: he was out walking, he came to an open place
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  Speaker 1: in the middle of the forest. And in the middle
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  Speaker 1: of this place was a large oak tree. And from
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  Speaker 1: the top of the tree there came a loud buzzing noise.
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  Speaker 1: Winnie the Poo sat down at the foot of the tree,
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  Speaker 1: put his head between his paws, and began to think.
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  Speaker 1: First of all, he said to himself.
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  Speaker 2: That buzzing noise means something. You don't get a buzzing
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  Speaker 2: noise like that, just buzzing and buzzing without its meaning something.
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  Speaker 2: If there's a buzzing noise, somebody's making a buzzing noise.
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  Speaker 2: And the only reason for making a buzzing noise that
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  Speaker 2: I know of is because you're a bee.
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  Speaker 1: Then he thought another long time and said.
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  Speaker 2: And the only reason for being a bee that I
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  Speaker 2: know of is making honey.
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  Speaker 1: And then he got up and said, and.
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  Speaker 2: The only reason for making honey is so as I
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  Speaker 2: can eat it.
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  Speaker 1: So he began to climb the tree. He climbed, and
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  Speaker 1: he climbed, and he climbed, he climbed. He sang a
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  Speaker 1: little song to himself.
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  Speaker 2: It went like, this, isn't it funny how a bear
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  Speaker 2: likes honey. Buzz buzz buzz. I wonder why he does.
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  Speaker 1: Then he climbed a little further, and a little further,
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  Speaker 1: and then just a little further. By that time he
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  Speaker 1: had thought of another song.
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  Speaker 2: It's very funny thought that if bears were bees, they
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  Speaker 2: build their nests at the bottom of trees, and that
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  Speaker 2: being so, if the bees were bears, we shouldn't have
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  Speaker 2: to climb up all these stairs.
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  Speaker 1: He was getting rather tired by this time, so that
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  Speaker 1: is why he sang a complaining song. He was nearly
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  Speaker 1: there now, and if he just stood on that branch, quack,
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  Speaker 1: Oh help, said pooh, as he dropped ten feet on
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  Speaker 1: the branch below him.
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  Speaker 2: If only I hadn't, he.
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  Speaker 1: Said, He bounced twenty feet on to the next branch.
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  Speaker 1: You see what I meant to do, he explained, as
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  Speaker 1: he turned head over heels and crashed onto another branch
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  Speaker 1: thirty feet below.
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  Speaker 2: What I meant to do? Of course it was.
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  Speaker 1: Rather, he admitted, as he slithered very quickly through the
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  Speaker 1: next six branches.
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  Speaker 2: It all comes, I suppose.
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  Speaker 1: He decided, as he said goodbye to the last branch,
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  Speaker 1: spun around three times, and flew gracefully into a gorse bush.
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  Speaker 2: It all comes of liking honey so much. Oh help.
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  Speaker 1: He crawled out of the gorse bush, brushed the prickles
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  Speaker 1: from his nose, and began to think again. And the
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  Speaker 1: first person he thought of was Christopher Robin? Was that me?
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  Speaker 1: Said Christopher Robin in an awed voice, hardly daring to
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  Speaker 1: believe it. That was you. Christopher Robin said nothing, but
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  Speaker 1: his eyes got larger and larger, and his face got
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  Speaker 1: pinker and pinker. So Winnie the Pooh went round to
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  Speaker 1: his friend Christopher Robin, who lived behind a green door
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  Speaker 1: in another part of the forest.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, Christopher Robin, he.
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  Speaker 1: Said, Good morning. Winnie the Pooh said you.
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  Speaker 2: I wonder if you've got such a thing as a
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  Speaker 2: balloon about you. A balloon, Yes, I.
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  Speaker 1: Just said to myself coming along, I wonder if Christopher
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  Speaker 1: Robin has such a thing as a balloon about him.
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  Speaker 1: I just said it to myself, thinking of balloons and
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  Speaker 1: wondering what do you want a balloon for? You? Said
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  Speaker 1: Winnie the Pooh, looked round to see that nobody was listening,
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  Speaker 1: put his paw to his mouth, and said, in a
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  Speaker 1: deep whisper, honey. But you don't get honey with balloons,
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  Speaker 1: I do, said Pooh. Well, it just happened that you
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  Speaker 1: had been to a party the day before at the
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  Speaker 1: house of your friend Piglet, and you had balloons at
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  Speaker 1: the party. You had had a big green balloon, and
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  Speaker 1: one of Rabbit's relations had had a big blue one
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  Speaker 1: and had left it behind, being really too young to
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  Speaker 1: go to a party at all. And so you had
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  Speaker 1: brought the green one and the blue one home with you.
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  Speaker 1: Which one would you like, you asked Pooh. He put
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  Speaker 1: his head between his paws and thought very carefully. It's
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  Speaker 1: like this, he said, when you go after honey with
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  Speaker 1: a balloon. The great thing is not to let the
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  Speaker 1: bees know you're coming. Now, if you have a green balloon,
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  Speaker 1: they might think you were only a part of the
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  Speaker 1: tree and not notice you. And if you have a
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  Speaker 1: blue balloon, they might think you were only part of
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  Speaker 1: the sky and not notice you. And the question is
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  Speaker 1: which is most likely. Wouldn't they notice you underneath the balloon,
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  Speaker 1: you asked. They might, or they might not, said Winnie
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  Speaker 1: the Pooh.
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  Speaker 2: You can never tell with bees.
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  Speaker 1: He thought for a moment and said, I.
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  Speaker 2: Shall try to look like a small black cloud. That
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  Speaker 2: will deceive them.
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  Speaker 1: Then you had better have the blue balloon, you said,
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  Speaker 1: And so it was decided. Well you both went out
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  Speaker 1: with the blue balloon, and you took your gun with you,
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  Speaker 1: just in case, as you always did. And Winnie the
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  Speaker 1: Pooh went to a very muddy place that he knew of,
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  Speaker 1: and rolled and rolled until he was black all over.
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  Speaker 1: And then when the balloon was blown up as big
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  Speaker 1: as big, and you and Pooh were both holding onto
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  Speaker 1: the string, you let go suddenly, and poo bear floated
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  Speaker 1: gracefully up into the sky and stayed there, level with
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  Speaker 1: the top of the tree and about twenty feet away
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  Speaker 1: from it. Hooray, you shouted.
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  Speaker 2: Isn't that fine?
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  Speaker 1: Shouted Winnie the Pooh down to you.
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  Speaker 2: What do I look like?
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  Speaker 1: You look like a bear holding onto a balloon, you said, not,
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  Speaker 1: said Pooh anxiously, Not like.
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  Speaker 2: A small black cloud in a blue sky.
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  Speaker 1: Not very much.
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  Speaker 2: Ah well, perhaps from up here it looks different. And
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  Speaker 2: as I say, you can never tell with bees.
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  Speaker 1: There was no wind to blow him nearer to the tree,
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  Speaker 1: so there he stayed. He could see the honey, he
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  Speaker 1: could smell the honey, but he couldn't quite reach the honey.
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  Speaker 1: After a little while he called down to you, Christopher Robin,
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  Speaker 1: he said, in a loud whisper, Hello.
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  Speaker 2: I think the bees suspect something. What sort of thing,
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  Speaker 2: I don't know, but something tells me that they're suspicious.
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  Speaker 2: Perhaps they think that you're after their honey. It may
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  Speaker 2: be that you can never tell with bees.
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  Speaker 1: There was another little silence, and then he called down.
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  Speaker 2: To you again, Christopher Robin. Yes, have you an umbrella
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  Speaker 2: in your house?
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  Speaker 1: I think so.
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  Speaker 2: I wish you would bring it out here and walk
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  Speaker 2: up and down with it and look up at me
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  Speaker 2: every now and then and say tut tut. It looks
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  Speaker 2: like rain. I think if you did that it would
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  Speaker 2: help the deception which we are prac to sing on
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  Speaker 2: these bees.
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  Speaker 1: Well, you laughed to yourself, so you hold bear, but
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  Speaker 1: you didn't say it aloud because you were so fond
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  Speaker 1: of him, and you went home bore your umbrella.
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  Speaker 2: Oh there you are.
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  Speaker 1: Called down Winnie the Pooh. As soon as you got
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  Speaker 1: back to the tree.
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  Speaker 2: I was beginning to get anxious. I have discovered that
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  Speaker 2: the bees are now definitely suspicious.
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  Speaker 1: Shall I put my umbrella up?
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  Speaker 2: You said, yes, bo way in a moment. We must
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  Speaker 2: be practical. The important bee to deceive is the queen bee.
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  Speaker 2: Can you see which is the queen bee? From down here?
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  Speaker 2: No Ah, pity? Well, now if you walk up and
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  Speaker 2: down with your umbrella saying tut tut, it looks like rain.
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  Speaker 2: I shall do what I can by singing a little
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  Speaker 2: cloud song, such as a cloud might sing, go.
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  Speaker 1: So while you walked up and down and wondered if
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  Speaker 1: it would rain. Winnie the Pooh sang this song.
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  Speaker 2: How sweet to be a cloud floating in the blue.
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  Speaker 2: Every little cloud always sings aloud, how sweet to be
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  Speaker 2: a cloud floating in the blue, and makes him very
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  Speaker 2: proud to be a little cloud.
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  Speaker 1: The bees were still buzzing as suspiciously as ever. Some
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  Speaker 1: of them indeed left their nests and flew all around
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  Speaker 1: the cloud as it began the second verse of this song,
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  Speaker 1: and one bee sat down on the nose of the
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  Speaker 1: cloud for a moment, and then got up again. Christopher
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  Speaker 1: Robin called out the cloud.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I have just been thinking, and I have come
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  Speaker 2: to a very important decision. These are the wrong sort
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  Speaker 2: of bees? Are they quite the wrong sort? So? I
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  Speaker 2: think they would make the wrong sort of honey, shouldn't you?
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  Speaker 1: Would they?
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  Speaker 2: Yes? So I think I shall come down now.
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  Speaker 1: How asked you? Winnie the Pooh hadn't thought about this.
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  Speaker 1: If he let go of the string, he would fall pump,
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  Speaker 1: and he didn't like the idea of that, so he
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  Speaker 1: thought for a long time and then he.
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  Speaker 2: Said, Christopher Robin, you must shoot the balloon with your gun.
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  Speaker 2: Have you got your gun?
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  Speaker 1: Of course I have, you said. But if I do that,
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  Speaker 1: it will spoil the balloon, you said. But if you don't,
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  Speaker 1: said Pooh.
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  Speaker 2: I shall have to let go, and that would spoil me.
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  Speaker 1: When he put it like this, you saw how it was,
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  Speaker 1: and you aimed very carefully at the balloon and fired. How,
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  Speaker 1: said Pooh? Did I miss? You asked?
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  Speaker 2: You didn't exactly miss, said Pooh, But you missed the balloon.
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  Speaker 1: I'm so sorry, you said, And you fired again, and
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  Speaker 1: this time you hit the balloon, and the air came
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  Speaker 1: slowly out, and Winnie the Pooh floated down to the ground.
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  Speaker 1: But his arms were so stiff from holding on to
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  Speaker 1: the string of the balloon all that time that they
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  Speaker 1: stayed up straight in the air for more than a week,
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  Speaker 1: and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose,
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  Speaker 1: he had to blow it off. And I think, but
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  Speaker 1: I am not sure, that that is why he was
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  Speaker 1: always called Pooh. Is that the end of the story,
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  Speaker 1: asked Christopher Robin. That's the end of that one. There
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  Speaker 1: are others about Pooh and me and Piglet and Rabbit
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  Speaker 1: and all of you. Don't you remember? I do remember,
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  Speaker 1: And then when I try to remember, I forget that
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  Speaker 1: day when Pooh and Piglet tried to catch the hepplump.
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  Speaker 1: They didn't catch it, did they? No, Pooh couldn't because
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  Speaker 1: he hasn't any brain. Did I catch it? Well? That
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  Speaker 1: comes into the story. Christopher Robin nodded. I do remember,
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  Speaker 1: he said, Only Pooh doesn't very well. So that's why
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  Speaker 1: he likes having it told to him again, because then
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  Speaker 1: it's a real story and not just a remembering. Hm.
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  Speaker 1: That's just how I feel, I said. Christopher Robin gave
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  Speaker 1: a deep sigh, picked his bear up by the leg,
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  Speaker 1: and walked off to the door, trailing Poo behind him.
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  Speaker 1: At the door, he turned and said, coming to see
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  Speaker 1: me have my bath? I might, I said, it didn't
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  Speaker 1: hurt him when I shot him, did I not a bit?
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  Speaker 1: He nodded and went out, and in a moment I
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  Speaker 1: heard Winnie the Pooh boom boom boom going up the
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  Speaker 1: stairs behind him. End of Chapter one