One fine winter's day,
When Piglet was brushing away the snow in front of his house,
He happened to look up,
And there was Winnie the Pooh.
Pooh was walking round and round in a circle,
Thinking of something else,
And when Piglet called to him,
He just went on walking.
Hello,
Said Piglet.
What are you doing?
Hunting,
Said Pooh.
Hunting what?
Tracking something,
Said Winnie the Pooh,
Very mysteriously.
Tracking what,
Said Piglet,
Coming closer.
I shall have to wait until I catch up with it,
Said Winnie the Pooh.
Now look there,
He pointed to the ground in front of him.
What do you see there?
Tracks,
Said Piglet.
Poor Marks,
He gave a little squeak of excitement.
Oh Pooh,
Do you think it's a,
A,
A woosel?
It may be,
Said Pooh.
Sometimes it is,
And sometimes it isn't.
You never can tell with poor Marks.
With these few words,
He went on tracking,
And Piglet,
After watching him for a minute or two,
Ran after him.
Winnie the Pooh had come to a sudden stop,
And was bending over the tracks in a puzzled sort of way.
What's the matter?
Asked Piglet.
It's a very funny thing,
Said Bear,
But there seem to be two animals now.
This,
Whatever it is,
Has been joined by another,
Whatever it is,
And the two of them are now proceeding in company.
Would you mind coming with me,
Piglet,
In case they turn out to be hostile animals?
Piglet scratched his ear,
In a nice sort of way,
And said that he had nothing to do until Friday,
And would be delighted to come,
In case it really was a woosel.
You mean,
In case it really is two woosels,
Said Winnie the Pooh.
And Piglet said that anyhow,
He had nothing to do until Friday.
So off they went together.
There was a small spinny of larch trees just here,
And it seemed as if the two woosels,
If that is what they were,
Had been going round this spinny.
So round this spinny went Pooh and Piglet,
After them.
Piglet passing the time by telling Pooh what his grandfather had done to remove stiffness after tracking,
And other matters of interest.
And Pooh wondered what a grandfather was like,
And if perhaps this was two grandfathers that they were after now,
And,
If so,
Whether he would be allowed to take one home and keep it,
And what Christopher Robin would say.
And still the tracks went on in front of them.
Suddenly,
Winnie the Pooh stopped,
And pointed excitedly in front of him.
Look!
What,
Said Piglet,
With a jump.
And then,
To show that he hadn't been frightened,
He jumped up and down once or twice,
More in an exercising sort of way.
The tracks,
Said Pooh.
A third animal has joined the other two.
Pooh,
Cried Piglet,
Do you think it's another woosel?
No,
Said Pooh,
Because it makes different marks.
Let us continue to follow them.
So they went on,
Feeling just a little bit anxious now,
In case the three animals in front of them were of hostile intent.
And Pooh thought how nice it would be if they met Christopher Robin suddenly,
But quite accidentally,
And only because he liked Christopher Robin so much.
And then,
All of a sudden,
Winnie the Pooh stopped again.
And licked the tip of his nose in a cooling manner,
For he was feeling more hot and anxious than ever in his life before.
There were now four animals in front of them.
Do you see it,
Piglet?
Look at their tracks.
Another woosel has joined them.
And so it seemed to be.
There were the tracks crossing over each other here,
Getting muddled up with each other there.
But,
Quite plainly every now and then,
The tracks of four sets of paws.
I think,
Said Piglet,
When he had licked the tip of his nose too,
And found that it brought very little comfort,
I think I've just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday,
And I shan't be able to do tomorrow.
So I suppose I really ought to go back and do it now.
We'll do it this afternoon,
And I'll come with you,
Said Pooh.
It isn't the sort of thing you can do in the afternoon,
Said Piglet quickly.
It's a very particular morning thing that I think has to be done in the morning.
And if possible,
Between the hours of.
.
.
What would you say the time was?
About twelve,
Said Winnie the Pooh,
Looking at the sun.
Between,
As I was saying,
The hours of twelve and twelve-five.
So really,
Dear old Pooh,
If you'll excuse me.
What's that?
Pooh looked up at the sky,
And then he heard the whistle again,
And looked up at the branches of a big oak tree.
And then he saw a friend of his.
It's Christopher Robin,
He said.
Ah,
Then you'll be all right,
Said Piglet.
You'll be quite safe with him.
Goodbye.
And he trotted off home as quickly as he could,
Very glad to be out of all danger again.
Christopher Robin came slowly down his tree.
Silly old bear,
He said.
What were you doing?
First you went round the spinny twice by yourself,
And then Piglet ran after you,
And you went round again together,
And then you were just going round a fourth time.
Wait a moment,
Said Winnie the Pooh,
Holding up his paw.
He sat down and thought,
In the most thoughtful way he could think.
Then he fitted his paw into one of the tracks,
And then he scratched his nose twice,
And stood up.
Yes,
Said Winnie the Pooh,
I see it now.
I've been foolish and deluded,
He said.
And I am a bear of no brain at all.
You're the best bear in all the world,
Said Christopher Robin,
Soothingly.
Am I?
Said Pooh hopefully.
And then he brightened up suddenly.
Anyhow,
He said,
It's nearly luncheon time.
So he went home for it.
