13566 10 WTP Col pback Ins 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page iii Winnie ...

1 The original colourillustrations by E. H. ShepardEGMONT13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page published in Great Britain 14 October 1926 by Methuen & Co. LtdPublished in this edition 2004 by Egmont Books Limited239 Kensington High Street, London W8 6 SAText by A. A. Milne and line illustrations by E. H. ShepardCopyright under the Berne ConventionColouring of the illustrations copyright 1970E. H. Shepard and Egmont Books Limitedand 1974 E. H. Shepard and Egmont Books LimitedISBN 1 4052 1118 01 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2A CIP catalogue record for this title is availablefrom the British LibraryPrinted and bound in Great Britain by the CPI GroupThis paperback is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, orotherwise circulated without the publisher s prior consentin any form of binding or cover other than that in which itis published and without a similar condition including thiscondition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

2 13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page ivTO HERHand in hand we comeChristopher Robin and ITo lay this book in your you re surprised?Say you like it?Say it s just what you wanted?Because it s yours Because we love 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page v13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page viINTRODUCTIONIf you happen to have read another book aboutChristopher Robin, you may remember that he once hada swan (or the swan had Christopher Robin, I don tknow which), and that he used to call this swan was a long time ago, and when we said good-bye,we took the name with us, as we didn t think the swanwould want it any more.

3 Well, when edward bear saidthat he would like an exciting name all to himself,Christopher Robin said at once, without stopping tothink, that he was Winnie -the-Pooh. And he was. So, asI have explained the Pooh part, I will now explain therest of can t be in London for long without going to theZoo. There are some people who begin the Zoo at thebeginning, called WAYIN, and walk as quickly as theycan past every cage until they get to the one calledWAYOUT,but the nicest people go straight to theanimal they love the most, and stay there.

4 So whenChristopher Robin goes to the Zoo, he goes to where thePolar Bears are, and he whispers something to the third13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page viikeeper from the left, and doors are unlocked, and wewander through dark passages and up steep stairs, untilat last we come to the special cage, and the cage isopened, and out trots something brown and furry, andwith a happy cry of Oh, bear ! Christopher Robin rushesinto its arms. Now this bear s name is Winnie , whichshows what a good name for bears it is, but the funnything is that we can t remember whether Winnie iscalled after Pooh, or Pooh after Winnie .

5 We did knowonce, but we have forgotten ..I had written as far as this when Piglet looked up andsaid in his squeaky voice, What about Me? My dearPiglet, I said, the whole book is about you. So it is aboutPooh, he squeaked. You see what it is. He is jealousbecause he thinks Pooh is having a Grand Introduction allto himself. Pooh is the favourite, of course, there s nodenying it, but Piglet comes in for a good many thingswhich Pooh misses; because you can t take Pooh to schoolwithout everybody knowing it, but Piglet is so small thathe slips into a pocket, where it is very comforting to feelhim when you are not quite sure whether twice seven istwelve or twenty-two.

6 Sometimes he slips out and has agood look in the ink-pot, and in this way he has got moreeducation than Pooh, but Pooh doesn t mind. Some havebrains, and some haven t, he says, and there it now, all the others are saying, What about Us? So perhaps the best thing to do is to stop writingIntroductions and get on with the 5/11/03 4:14 pm Page viiiCONTENTSCHAPTERONEin which we are introduced to page1 Winnie -the-Pooh and some Bees, and the stories beginCHAPTERTWOin which Pooh goes visiting19and gets into a tight placeCHAPTERTHREEin which Pooh and Piglet go hunting30and nearly catch a WoozleCHAPTERFOURin which Eeyore loses a tail39and Pooh finds oneCHAPTERFIVEin which Piglet meets a Heffalump51 CHAPTERSIXin which Eeyore has a birthday65and gets two presentsCHAPTERSEVENin which Kanga and Baby Roo81come to the Forest.

7 And Piglet has a bathCHAPTEREIGHTin which Christopher Robin99leads an expotition to the North PoleCHAPTERNINEin which Piglet is entirely117surrounded by waterCHAPTERTENin which Christopher Robin133gives a Pooh Party, and we say good-bye13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:15 pm Page ix13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:15 pm Page x13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:15 pm Page xi13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:15 pm Page xiiCHAPTER ONEin which we are introduced to Winnie -the-Pooh and some Bees, and the stories beginHere is edward bear , coming downstairs now, bump,bump, bump, on the back of his head, behindChristopher Robin.

8 It is, as far as he knows, the onlyway of coming downstairs , but sometimes he feels thatthere really is another way, if only he could stop bumpingfor a moment and think of it. And then he feels thatperhaps there isn t. Anyhow, here he is at the bottom,and ready to be introduced to you. I first heard his name, I said, just as you aregoing to say, But I thought he was a boy? So did I, said Christopher Robin. Then you can t call him Winnie ? I don t. 113566_10_WTP_Col_pback_Ins 5/11/03 4:15 pm Page 1 But you said He s Winnie -ther-Pooh.

9 Don t you know what ther means? Ah, yes, now I do, I said quickly; and I hope you dotoo, because it is all the explanation you are going to Winnie -the-Pooh likes a game of somesort when he comes downstairs , and sometimes he likesto sit quietly in front of the fire and listen to a evening What about a story? said Christopher Robin. Whatabout a story? I said. Could you very sweetly tell Winnie -the-Pooh one? I suppose I could, I said. What sort of stories doeshe like? About himself. Because he s thatsort of bear . Oh, I see. So could you very sweetly?

10 I ll try, I said. So I upon a time, a very long time ago now, about lastFriday, Winnie -the-Pooh lived in a forest all by himselfunder the name of Sanders.( What does under the name mean? asked ChristopherRobin. It means he had the name over the door in gold lettersand lived under it. Winnie -the-Pooh wasn t quite sure, said ChristopherRobin. Now I am, said a growly voice. Then I will go on, said I.)2 Winnie -THE-POOH13566_10_WTP_Col_pback_In s 5/11/03 4:15 pm Page 23WE ARE INTRODUCEDOne day when he was out walking, he came to anopen place in the middle of the forest, and in the middleof this place was a large oak-tree, and, from the top ofthe tree, there came a loud sat down at the foot of the tree, puthis head between his paws, and began to of all he said to himself: That buzzing-noisemeans something.