Winnie the Pooh and the Flood

This story is called Winnie and the Pooh and the Flood, written by A.A. Milne and narrated by Madeline Walton-Hadlock. This is a LibraryCall adaptation and recording. It rained and it rained and it rained for days and days and days. Piglet sat looking out of his window, which was about half way up a medium sized tree. He thought to himself, “never in all my life have I seen so much rain! If only I had been in Pooh's house, or Christopher Robin's house, when it began to rain, then I would have had Company all this time, instead of being here… all alone, with nothing else to do but wonder when it will stop." And he imagined himself with Pooh, saying, "Did you ever see such rain, Pooh?" and Pooh saying, "Isn't it awful, Piglet?" and Piglet saying, "I wonder how it is over Christopher Robin's way" and Pooh saying, "I should think poor old Rabbit is almost flooded out by now." It would have been jolly to talk like this, thought Piglet. And really, it wasn't much good having anything exciting like floods, if you couldn't share them with somebody. For it was rather exciting. At first, the little dry ditches in which Piglet had played so often had become streams, and then the little streams had become rivers. But then the river sprawled out of its own bed, and began taking up so much room everywhere, that Piglet wondered whether it would be coming up into his bed soon. "It's a little Anxious," he said to himself, "to be a Very Small Animal Entirely Surrounded by Water. Christopher Robin and Pooh might escape by Climbing Trees. But here I am, surrounded by water and I can't do anything." It went on raining, and every day the water got a little higher, until it was nearly up to Piglet's window ... and still he hadn't done anything. "Good old Pooh," he thought to himself. "Pooh doesn't have much Brain, but he never comes to any harm. He does silly things and they turn out all right.” Then he remembered a story his friend Christopher Robin had told him about a man who was stuck on a desert island, and had written something, put it in a bottle and then thrown it into the sea, and later he was rescued; and Piglet thought that maybe if he wrote something and put it in a bottle and threw it in the water, perhaps somebody would come and rescue him! So, he left his window and began to search his house– all of it that wasn't under water, that is– and at last he found a bottle with a cork, a pencil, and a small piece of dry paper. And on the paper he wrote HELP He looked at what he’d written and it didn’t seem like enough, so below the word “help” he wrote: PIGLET And then, just to make sure there was no confusion, below “piglet”, he added in small letters: ME Then he read what he’d written, and decided that “help piglet me” didn’t make much sense. So he turned the paper over and on the other side he wrote: IT'S ME PIGLET, HELP HELP. Then he put the paper in the bottle, and he corked the bottle up as tightly as he could, and he leaned out of his window as far as he could lean without falling in, and he threw the bottle as far as he could throw [sound effect—splash!] and he watched it float slowly away into the distance, and then suddenly he knew that he would never see it again, and that he had done all that he could do to save himself. "So now," he thought, "somebody else will have to do something, and I hope they will do it soon, because if they don't I shall have to swim, and I can't swim, so I hope they do it soon." And then he gave a very long sigh and said, "I do so wish Pooh were here.” Pooh had been asleep when the rain started. It rained, and it rained, and it rained, and he slept and he slept and he slept. He had had a tiring day. In the morning he had discovered the North Pole along with Christopher Robin and the rest of their friends. Afterwards, he was so proud that he asked Christopher Robin if there were any other Poles that a Bear of very Little Brain might discover. "There's a South Pole," said Christopher Robin, "and so I expect there should be an East Pole and a West Pole as well, though I never seem to hear anyone talking about those." Pooh was very excited to hear this, and suggested that they should have an Expotition to discover the East Pole, but by then Christopher Robin had thought of something else to do with Kanga; so Pooh went out to discover the East Pole by himself. And he didn’t find it, but it was an awfully long adventure, and he was so tired when he got home that, in the middle of his supper, after eating for a little more than half-an-hour, he fell fast asleep in his chair… and that is when it had started to rain. As he slept, he dreamt that he really had found the East Pole, and it was a very cold pole with the coldest sort of snow and ice all over it. And he found a bee-hive to sleep in, but there wasn't room for his legs, so he had left them outside. (You know how dreams are!) And then Wild Woozles, which live at the East Pole, came and nibbled all the fur off his legs to make nests for their Young. And the more they nibbled, the colder his legs got, until suddenly he woke up with an Ow!—and there he was, sitting in his chair with his feet in the water, and water all round him! He splashed to his door and looked out.... "This is Serious," said Pooh. "I must have an Escape." So he took his largest jar of honey and escaped with it to a broad branch of his tree, well above the water, and then he climbed down again and escaped with another jar ... and then another… and when the whole Escape was finished, there was Pooh sitting on his branch, alongside ten jars of honey.... And Two days later, there was Pooh, sitting on his branch, and there, beside him, were four jars full of honey, and 6 empty jars..... And Three days later, there was Pooh, next to one jar of honey. And nine empty jars. And Four days later, there was just Pooh, and ten empty jars … And it was on the morning of the fourth day that Piglet's bottle came floating past him, and with one loud cry of "Honey!" Pooh plunged into the water, seized the bottle, and struggled back to his tree again. "Bother!" said Pooh, as he opened it and realized there was no honey inside. "All that wet for nothing?!” He looked more closely, just to make sure, and then he saw Piglet’s note. “What's that bit of paper doing?" He took it out and looked at it. "It's a Missage," he said to himself, "that's what it is. And that letter is a 'P,' and so is that, and so is that, and 'P' means 'Pooh'! So, it's a very important Missage, to me, and… I can't read it. I must find Christopher Robin or Owl or Piglet, one of those Clever Readers who can read things, and they will tell me what this missage means. Only I can't swim. Bother!" Then he had an idea, and I think that for a Bear of Very Little Brain, it was a good idea. He said to himself: "If a bottle can float, then a jar can float, and if a jar floats, then I can float if I sit on top of it, if it's a very big jar." So he took his biggest jar, and corked it up. "All boats must have a name,” he said, "so I shall call mine The Floating Bear." And with these words he dropped his boat into the water and jumped in after it. For a little while Pooh and The Floating Bear, (that is, the jar) were uncertain as to which of them was meant to be on the top, but after trying one or two different positions, they settled down with The Floating Bear underneath, and the bear that was floating, (that is, Pooh) triumphantly on top, paddling vigorously with his feet. Christopher Robin lived at the very top of the Forest. It rained, and it rained, and it rained, but the water couldn't come up to his house. For him It was rather jolly to look down into the valleys and see the water all around, but it rained so hard that he stayed indoors most of the time, and thought about things. Every morning he went out with his umbrella and put a stick in the place where the water came up to, and every next morning he went out and couldn't see his stick any more, so he put another stick in the place where the water now came up to, and then he walked home again, and each morning he had a shorter walk than he had had the morning before. On the morning of the fifth day he saw the water all around him, and knew that for the first time in his life he was on a real island. Which was very exciting. It was on this morning that Owl came flying over the water to say "How do you do," to his friend Christopher Robin. "I say, Owl," said Christopher Robin, "isn't this fun? I'm on an island!" "The atmospheric conditions have been very unfavourable lately," said Owl. "The what?" "It’s been raining," explained Owl. "Yes," said Christopher Robin. "It has." "The flood-level has reached an unprecedented height." "The who?" "There's a lot of water about," explained Owl. “Yes," said Christopher Robin, "there is." "However, the prospects are rapidly becoming more favourable. At any moment——" "Have you seen Pooh?" "No. At any moment——" "I hope he's all right," said Christopher Robin. "I've been wondering about him. I expect Piglet's with him. Do you think they're all right, Owl?" "I expect so. You see, at any moment——" "Do go and see, Owl. Because Pooh hasn't got very much brain, and he might do something silly, and I do love him so, Owl." "At any m’– oh never mind...Alright," said Owl. "I'll go. Back soon." And he flew off. In a little while he was back again. "Pooh isn't there," he said. "Not there?" "He has been there. Recently, from what I can tell. It seems he has been sitting on a branch of his tree outside his house with nine empty honey jars. But he isn't there now." "Oh, Pooh!" cried Christopher Robin "Where are you?" "Here I am," said a growly voice behind him."Pooh!" They gave each other a big hug. "How did you get here, Pooh?" asked Christopher Robin. "On my boat," said Pooh proudly. "I had a Very Important Missage sent to me in a bottle, and because I got some water in my eyes, I couldn't read it, so I brought it to you. On my boat." With these proud words he gave Christopher Robin the missage. Christopher Robin took the paper and began to read "It's from Piglet! He needs help" "Isn't there anything about Pooh in it?" asked Pooh, looking over his shoulder. Christopher Robin read the message aloud. “Help. Piglet. Me… It’s me Piglet, help help!” "Oh, so those 'P's' are for piglet… I thought they were for pooh." "We must rescue him at once! I thought he was with you, Pooh. Owl, could you rescue him on your back?" "I don't think so," said Owl, after some thought. "It is doubtful if the necessary dorsal muscles——" "Then would you fly to him at once and say that Rescue is Coming? And Pooh and I will think of a Rescue and come as quick as we can.” “I – “ “Oh, don't talk, Owl, go on quick!" And, still thinking of something to say, Owl flew off. "Now then, Pooh," said Christopher Robin, "where's your boat?" As they walked down to the shore of the island, Pooh said "I ought to say… it isn't just an ordinary sort of boat. Sometimes it's a Boat, and sometimes it's more of an Accident. It all depends." "Depends on what?" "On whether I'm on top of it or underneath it." "Oh! Well, where is it?" "There!" said Pooh, pointing proudly to The Floating Bear. It was not what Christopher Robin expected. Not that Christopher Robin was expecting a grand sailing ship or anything like that, but he definitely was not expecting an empty honey jar with a cork in it. And the more he looked at it, the more he realized just how Brave and Clever Pooh was, and the more he thought this, the more Pooh looked down modestly and tried to pretend that he wasn't. "It will be too small for the two of us," said Christopher Robin sadly. "Three of us, with Piglet." "That makes it smaller still. Oh, What shall we do?" And then Winnie-the-Pooh said something so clever that Christopher Robin could only look at him with mouth open and eyes staring, wondering if this was really the Bear of Very Little Brain he had known and loved so long. "We might go in your umbrella," said Pooh. Christopher Robin just looked at him. "We might go in your umbrella," said Pooh again. And still Christopher Robin just stared. "I said, we might go in your umbrella," said Pooh. And suddenly Christopher Robin saw that they might. He opened his umbrella and put it point-downwards in the water. It floated but wobbled. Pooh got in. He was just beginning to say that it was all right, when he found that it wasn't, so after a short drink of water which he didn't really want he waded back to Christopher Robin. “Maybe if we both get in together?” So they tried that, and the wobbling stopped. "I shall call this boat The Brain of Pooh," said Christopher Robin. And so The Brain of Pooh set sail, forthwith, in a south-westerly direction, revolving gracefully. In the meantime, Owl had found Piglet, and had flown up to join him on the branch by his window to tell him that Christopher Robin and Pooh were on their way to rescue him, although he said it in much longer words than that. Then, to keep Piglet company, and comfort him while they waited, he told him a very long and rather boring story about an aunt of his who had once laid a seagull's egg by mistake, and the story went on and on until Piglet, who was sitting on his window sill without much hope, fell asleep from boredom, and started slipping slowly out of the window towards the water until he was only hanging on by his toes, at which moment, luckily, a sudden loud squawk from Owl woke Piglet up just in time that he could jerk himself back into his window to safety. “What’s that squawking about?” asked Piglet sleepily. Owl, too flabbergasted for long fancy words, simply pointed and said, “I say! Look there!” Well, you can imagine Piglet’s joy as he saw the good ship, Brain of Pooh, with Captain Christopher Robin and first-mate Pooh aboard, coming over the sea to rescue him.