Transcription
This is the story of Winnie the Pooh and a day for Eeyore. You can read along with me in your book. You'll know it is time to turn the page when you hear the chimes ring like this. Let's begin.
Now, one day, as Winnie the Pooh stood on the old wooden bridge that crossed the river that ran through the 100 Acre Wood, he dropped a fur cone into the water. He watched it disappear then reappear on the other side of the bridge. "Now, if I drop two cones," he wondered, "which will come up first?" Well, as Pooh quite expected, the big one came out first and the little one came out last. And that was how Pooh invented the game called Poo Sticks, even though he began with fur cones. [Music]
Not long after that, Pooh and Piglet, Rabbit, and Roo were all playing Poo Sticks together. Rabbit recited the rules: "All right now, the first stick to pass all the way under the bridge wins. On your marks, get set, go!" Pooh anxiously waited to see which stick would come out first. "I see your stick, Piglet. It's the gray one!" But Pooh soon discovered that it wasn't a gray stick at all; it was Eeyore's tail. "And if you find Eeyore's tail," Pooh mused, "you could be most assured of finding... don't pay any attention to me; nobody ever [Music] does."
Now, the problem was how to get Eeyore out of the water. Pooh offered a suggestion: "If we all threw stones and things into the river on one side of Eeyore, the stones would make waves, and the waves would wash him to the other side." It was a most brilliant solution. "Thank you," said Eeyore. "You're welcome," replied Pooh, and the others quite agreed. Pooh found a nice big boulder and rolled it onto the bridge. Rabbit, as usual, gave the instructions: "All right, Pooh, when I say 'now,' you can drop it. One, two, now!" Unfortunately, the boulder hit Eeyore in the softest spot of his tummy, and he sank. Pooh shook his head as he watched his friend disappear. "Oh dear, perhaps it wasn't such a very good idea." But just then, Piglet caught sight of Eeyore climbing up onto the river bank. "Look there he is!"
Of course, they all wanted to know how Eeyore had fallen in. Emptying the water from one ear, the old gray donkey explained, "I was thinking by the side of the river, minding my own business, when I received a loud bounce." Before anyone could make a guess as to what that meant, a very bouncy tiger came bouncing down the path and bowled over the unsuspecting Rabbit. "Oh, oh!" cried Rabbit. "Tiger, did you bounce Eeyore?" "No, I didn't really," stammered Tiger. "I uh, I just had a cough, see, and uh, besides, bouncing is what tigers do best." Rabbit nodded grimly. "Aha, so you did bounce Eeyore! A tiger! Some people have no sense of humor!" And with that, Tiger turned and bounced off down the path. A very soggy Eeyore watched Tigger leave. "Why should Tigger care? Nobody else does."
And while his friends puzzled over his unusual behavior, Eeyore followed the river back to his gloomy spot. Pooh ran after him. "Eeyore, what's the matter? You seem so sad." "Why should I be sad? It's my birthday, the happiest day of the year! Can't you see all the presents, the cake, the candles, and the pink sugar frosting?" Of course, there were no presents or cake or candles or pink sugar frosting. "But don't worry about me, Pooh. Go and enjoy [Music] yourself."
Pooh felt very bad for Eeyore, so he hurried home as fast as he could to tell the others. When he arrived at his house, who should he find there but Piglet. "Hello, Pooh! I was trying to reach the knocker. Let me do it for you." Pooh lifted the knocker and wrapped on the door. "Piglet, I found out what's troubling poor Eeyore. It's his birthday, and nobody has taken any notice of it." Now, you remember that Pooh is a bear of very little brain. Well, Piglet, whoever lives here certainly takes a long time answering his door. "But Pooh, isn't this your house?" "Oh, so it is!" Pooh opened the door, and they went [Music] inside. "Biglet, I must get poor Eeyore a present of some sort."
Pooh went directly to his cabinet and got down a nice big jar of honey. "This should do very well." "What are you going to give him, Piglet?" "Perhaps I could give Eeyore a balloon. I have one at home." Piglet trotted off in one direction to his house, and in the other direction went Pooh with his jar of honey towards Eeyore's gloomy spot. Pooh had only traveled a short distance when a little voice from deep inside his tummy spoke to him: "Now then, Pooh, time for a little something." So Pooh had a little something, and then he had a little more, and a little more, until he had taken the last lick from the inside of the honey jar. "Oh, brother! This jar seems to be missing something. Perhaps Owl can help."
At Owl's house, Pooh explained all about Eeyore's birthday. Owl nodded wisely. "What are you giving him, Pooh?" "I am giving him this useful pot to keep things in, and I was wondering if you could write something on it. My spelling is warbly." So Owl wrote on the pot: "A Happy Birthday, with love from Pooh." Pooh thanked Owl and happily went on his way, while Owl flew off to tell Christopher Robin about Eeyore's [Music] birthday.
As Owl flew overhead, Piglet waved from down below, holding tight to the bright red balloon he was taking to Eeyore. "Hello, Owl! Many happy returns of the day!" He ran straight into the trunk of a tree. Piglet and the balloon bounded up and down, up and down, until the balloon burst. "Oh dear! What shall I do? How shall I...?" "Well, perhaps Eeyore doesn't like balloons very much." Piglet sadly gathered up the flattened balloon and continued on his way.
It wasn't long until Piglet found Eeyore sitting under a tree. "Good afternoon, Eeyore." "Good... good afternoon, Piglet, if it is a good afternoon, which I doubt." Piglet handed Eeyore what was left of the balloon. "I'm very sorry. When I was running to bring it, I fell down." Eeyore looked at the balloon and smiled. "A birthday balloon for me! And it's red, my favorite color!" Just then, Pooh arrived. "I've brought you a little present, Eeyore. It's a useful pot for putting things in, like a balloon." Eeyore picked up the balloon in his mouth, dropped it in the pot, then took it out again. Pooh was very pleased with himself. "I'm glad I thought of giving you a useful pot to put things in." Eeyore gave a big grin. "And I'm glad I thought of giving you something to put in a useful [Music] pot."
Later that day, Christopher Robin gathered everyone together to celebrate Eeyore's birthday, and he brought along a cake covered with pink sugar frosting. He made a wish and blew out all the candles. Then Christopher Robin cut the cake and passed it around so that everyone had a piece. Just then, a great "HELLO!" was heard over the celebration. Pooh knew it could mean only one thing. Oh sure enough, Tiger came bouncing along and knocked Rabbit to the ground. "Christopher Robin! Giggle! Hello, Tiger! We're having a party! A party! Oh, boy! Tiger loves parties and cake!" Rabbit glared at Tiger. "You've got a lot of 'nerve' showing up here after what you did to Eeyore!" "I think Tigger should leave," said Pooh, but Christopher Robin had a better idea. "I think we all ought to play Poo [Music] Sticks!"
So they gathered on the old wooden bridge and played the game for many contented hours, and Eeyore, who had never played it before, won more times than anybody else. But poor Tiger won none at all. Tigers don't like Poo Sticks. It was getting late, and Rabbit decided that it was time for them all to be going home. They all agreed. "Yes, quite right. Congratulations, Eeyore! It's been a delightful party." As Tiger trudged sadly home, Eeyore caught up to him. "Tiger, I'd be happy to tell you my secret for winning at Poo Sticks." "You would? It's very easy. You just have to let your stick drop in a twitch sort of way." Tiger laughed and bounced along after Eeyore. "Oh, yeah! I forgot to twitch! Oh, that was my [Music] problem then!" Just on the other side of the hill, where no one could see, Tiger bounced Eeyore, because that's what tigers do best. And Eeyore, with memories of a wonderful birthday, didn't seem to mind a bit. [Music] For, for that was the end of the story. If you would like to hear it again, just turn the tape over.