IN WHICH POOH GOES VISITING AND GETS INTO A TIGHT PLACE

Edward Bear, known to his friends as Winnie-the-Pooh, or Pooh forrnshort, was walking through the forest one day, humming proudly tornhimself. He had made up a little hum that very morning, as he was doingrnhis Stoutness Exercises in front of the glass: _Tra-la-la, tra-la-la_,rnas he stretched up as high as he could go, and then _Tra-la-la,rntra-la--oh, help!--la_, as he tried to reach his toes. After breakfastrnhe had said it over and over to himself until he had learnt it off byrnheart, and now he was humming it right through, properly. It went likernthis:rnrn _Tra-la-la, tra-la-la,_rn _Tra-la-la, tra-la-la,_rn _Rum-tum-tiddle-um-tum._rn _Tiddle-iddle, tiddle-iddle,_rn _Tiddle-iddle, tiddle-iddle,_rn _Rum-tum-tum-tiddle-um._rnrnWell, he was humming this hum to himself, and walking along gaily,rnwondering what everybody else was doing, and what it felt like, beingrnsomebody else, when suddenly he came to a sandy bank, and in the bankrnwas a large hole.rnrn"Aha!" said Pooh. (_Rum-tum-tiddle-um-tum._) "If I know anything aboutrnanything, that hole means Rabbit," he said, "and Rabbit means Company,"rnhe said, "and Company means Food and Listening-to-Me-Humming and suchrnlike. _Rum-tum-tum-tiddle-um._"rnrnSo he bent down, put his head into the hole, and called out:rnrn"Is anybody at home?"rnrnThere was a sudden scuffling noise from inside the hole, and thenrnsilence.rnrn"What I said was, 'Is anybody at home?'" called out Pooh very loudly.rnrn"No!" said a voice; and then added, "You needn't shout so loud. I heardrnyou quite well the first time."rnrn"Bother!" said Pooh. "Isn't there anybody here at all?"rnrn"Nobody."rnrnWinnie-the-Pooh took his head out of the hole, and thought for a little,rnand he thought to himself, "There must be somebody there, becausernsomebody must have _said_ 'Nobody.'" So he put his head back in thernhole, and said:rnrn"Hallo, Rabbit, isn't that you?"rnrn"No," said Rabbit, in a different sort of voice this time.rnrn"But isn't that Rabbit's voice?"rnrn"I don't _think_ so," said Rabbit. "It isn't _meant_ to be."rnrn"Oh!" said Pooh.rnrnHe took his head out of the hole, and had another think, and then he putrnit back, and said:rnrn"Well, could you very kindly tell me where Rabbit is?"rnrn"He has gone to see his friend Pooh Bear, who is a great friend of his."rnrn"But this _is_ Me!" said Bear, very much surprised.rnrn"What sort of Me?"rnrn"Pooh Bear."rnrn"Are you sure?" said Rabbit, still more surprised.rnrn"Quite, quite sure," said Pooh.rnrn"Oh, well, then, come in."rnrnSo Pooh pushed and pushed and pushed his way through the hole, and atrnlast he got in.rnrn"You were quite right," said Rabbit, looking at him all over. "It _is_rnyou. Glad to see you."rnrn"Who did you think it was?"rnrn"Well, I wasn't sure. You know how it is in the Forest. One can't havern_anybody_ coming into one's house. One has to be _careful_. What about arnmouthful of something?"rnrnPooh always liked a little something at eleven o'clock in the morning,rnand he was very glad to see Rabbit getting out the plates and mugs; andrnwhen Rabbit said, "Honey or condensed milk with your bread?" he was sornexcited that he said, "Both," and then, so as not to seem greedy, hernadded, "But don't bother about the bread, please." And for a long timernafter that he said nothing ... until at last, humming to himself in arnrather sticky voice, he got up, shook Rabbit lovingly by the paw, andrnsaid that he must be going on.rnrn"Must you?" said Rabbit politely.rnrn"Well," said Pooh, "I could stay a little longer if it--if you----" andrnhe tried very hard to look in the direction of the larder.rnrn"As a matter of fact," said Rabbit, "I was going out myself directly."rnrn"Oh, well, then, I'll be going on. Good-bye."rnrn"Well, good-bye, if you're sure you won't have any more."rnrn"_Is_ there any more?" asked Pooh quickly.rnrnRabbit took the covers off the dishes, and said, "No, there wasn't."rnrn"I thought not," said Pooh, nodding to himself. "Well, good-bye. I mustrnbe going on."rnrnSo he started to climb out of the hole. He pulled with his front paws,rnand pushed with his back paws, and in a little while his nose was out inrnthe open again ... and then his ears ... and then his front paws ...rnand then his shoulders ... and then----rnrn"Oh, help!" said Pooh. "I'd better go back."rnrn"Oh, bother!" said Pooh. "I shall have to go on."rnrn"I can't do either!" said Pooh. "Oh, help _and_ bother!"rnrnNow by this time Rabbit wanted to go for a walk too, and finding thernfront door full, he went out by the back door, and came round to Pooh,rnand looked at him.rnrn"Hallo, are you stuck?" he asked.rnrn"N-no," said Pooh carelessly. "Just resting and thinking and humming tornmyself."rnrn"Here, give us a paw."rnrnPooh Bear stretched out a paw, and Rabbit pulled and pulled andrnpulled....rnrn"_Ow!_" cried Pooh. "You're hurting!"rnrn"The fact is," said Rabbit, "you're stuck."rnrn"It all comes," said Pooh crossly, "of not having front doors bigrnenough."rnrn"It all comes," said Rabbit sternly, "of eating too much. I thought atrnthe time," said Rabbit, "only I didn't like to say anything," saidrnRabbit, "that one of us was eating too much," said Rabbit, "and I knewrnif wasn't _me_," he said. "Well, well, I shall go and fetch ChristopherrnRobin."rnrnChristopher Robin lived at the other end of the Forest, and when he camernback with Rabbit, and saw the front half of Pooh, he said, "Silly oldrnBear," in such a loving voice that everybody felt quite hopeful again.rnrn"I was just beginning to think," said Bear, sniffing slightly, "thatrnRabbit might never be able to use his front door again. And I shouldrn_hate_ that," he said.rnrn"So should I," said Rabbit.rnrn"Use his front door again?" said Christopher Robin. "Of course he'll usernhis front door again."rnrn"Good," said Rabbit.rnrn"If we can't pull you out, Pooh, we might push you back."rnrnRabbit scratched his whiskers thoughtfully, and pointed out that, whenrnonce Pooh was pushed back, he was back, and of course nobody was morernglad to see Pooh than _he_ was, still there it was, some lived in treesrnand some lived underground, and----rnrn"You mean I'd _never_ get out?" said Pooh.rnrn"I mean," said Rabbit, "that having got _so_ far, it seems a pity tornwaste it."rnrnChristopher Robin nodded.rnrn"Then there's only one thing to be done," he said. "We shall have tornwait for you to get thin again."rnrn"How long does getting thin take?" asked Pooh anxiously.rnrn"About a week, I should think."rnrn"But I can't stay here for a _week_!"rnrn"You can _stay_ here all right, silly old Bear. It's getting you outrnwhich is so difficult."rnrn"We'll read to you," said Rabbit cheerfully. "And I hope it won't snow,"rnhe added. "And I say, old fellow, you're taking up a good deal of roomrnin my house--_do_ you mind if I use your back legs as a towel-horse?rnBecause, I mean, there they are--doing nothing--and it would be veryrnconvenient just to hang the towels on them."rnrn"A week!" said Pooh gloomily. "_What about meals?_"rnrn"I'm afraid no meals," said Christopher Robin, "because of getting thinrnquicker. But we _will_ read to you."rnrnBear began to sigh, and then found he couldn't because he was so tightlyrnstuck; and a tear rolled down his eye, as he said:rnrn"Then would you read a Sustaining Book, such as would help and comfort arnWedged Bear in Great Tightness?"rnrnSo for a week Christopher Robin read that sort of book at the North endrnof Pooh, and Rabbit hung his washing on the South end ... and inrnbetween Bear felt himself getting slenderer and slenderer. And at thernend of the week Christopher Robin said, "_Now!_"rnrnSo he took hold of Pooh's front paws and Rabbit took hold of ChristopherrnRobin, and all Rabbit's friends and relations took hold of Rabbit, andrnthey all pulled together....rnrnAnd for a long time Pooh only said "_Ow!_" ...rnrnAnd "_Oh!_" ...rnrnAnd then, all of a sudden, he said "_Pop!_" just as if a cork wererncoming out of a bottle.rnrnAnd Christopher Robin and Rabbit and all Rabbit's friends and relationsrnwent head-over-heels backwards ... and on the top of them camernWinnie-the-Pooh--free!rnrnSo, with a nod of thanks to his friends, he went on with his walkrnthrough the forest, humming proudly to himself. But, Christopher Robinrnlooked after him lovingly, and said to himself, "Silly old Bear!"