Speaker 1: Chapter three of Winnie the Pooh by A. A. Milney.
This sleevervox recording is in the public domain. Chapter three,
in which Pooh and Picclic go hunting and nearly catch
a woozl. The Picclet lived in a very grand house
in the middle of a beech tree, and the beech
tree was in the middle of the forest, and the
piglet lived in the middle of the house. Next to
his house was a piece of broken board which had
trespassers w on it. When Christopher Robin asked the piglet
what it meant, he said it was his grandfather's name
and had been in the family for a long time.
Christopher Robin said, you couldn't be called trespasser's w and
Pickelet said yes, you could, because his grandfather was, and
it was short for trespasser's will, which was short for trespassers.
William and his grandfather had had two names in casey
lost one, Trespassers after an uncle and William after trespassers.
I've got two names, said Christopher Robin carelessly. Well there
you are. That proves it, said Picklet. One fine winter's day,
when Pikelet 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 Piclet called
to him, he just went on walking. Hello, said Picklet,
What are you doing? Haunting, said Pooh? Hunting what? Tracking something?
Said Winnie the Pooh, very mysteriously, tracking what, said Picklet?
Coming closer? That's just what I asked myself, I asked myself.
What what do you think you'll answer? 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. Paw marks. He gave a little squeak of excitement. Oh, Pooh,
do you think it's a a a woozle? It may be,
said Pooh. Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. You
never can tell with paw marks. With these few words,
he went on tracking, and Pickelet, 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 seemed to be two animals. Now, this whatever it was,
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 turned 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 was a woozle. You mean, in case
it really is two woozles, 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 spinney
of larch trees just here, and it seemed as if
the two woozles, if that is what they were, had
been going round this spinny. So round this spinny went
Pooh and Piglet after them. Pilet asked the time by
telling Pooh what his grandfather Trespasser's w had done to
remove stiffness after tracking, and how his grandfather Trespasser's W
had suffered in his later years from sharpness of breath
and other matters of interest, and Pooh wondering what a
grandfather was like, and if perhaps this was two grandfathers
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, Whinn the Pooh stopped
and pointed excitedly in front of him. Look what, said Picklet,
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.
Speaker 2: A third animal has joined the other two, Pooh said, Picklet.
Do you think it's another whoozzle? No, said Pooh, because
it makes different marks.
Speaker 1: It is either.
Speaker 2: Two woozles and one as it might be wizzle, or
two as it might be whizzles and one. If it
is so woozle, Let us continue to follow them.
Speaker 1: So they went on, feeling just a little anxious now
in case the three animals in front of them were
of hostile intent. And Pilett wished very much that his
grandfather t w were there instead of elsewhere, 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
four animals in front of them, do you see, Piglet,
look at their tracks, Three as it were woozles, and
one as it was wizzle. Not the woozle has joined them.
And so it seemed to be there were 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 pause, I think, said Piglet, when he
had licked the tip of his nose too, and found
that it brought very little comfort. I think that I
have just remembered something. I have just remembered something that
I forgot to do yesterday and 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
Picklet quickly. It's a very particular morning thing that 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 in the sky, and then
as he heard the whistle again, he looked up into
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 it 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 spy twice by yourself, and then Picklet
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 now,
said Winnie the Pooh. I have been foolish and deluded,
said he. And I'm 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 is nearly luncheon time,
so he went home for it. End of Chapter three.