Music Welcome to Snewscast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep. Find us at snewscast.com and if you enjoy our show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by The East Pole. Tonight, we'll read the next part too, Winnie the Pooh, a children's story written by A.A. Milne and published in 1926. This collection of short stories features an anthropomorphic teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh, along with his friends Christopher Robin, Piglet, Eor, Owl, Rabbit, Kanga and Roo. In the previous episode, we finished chapter 8 in which Christopher Robin plans to lead and expedition to the North Pole, and then we just started chapter 9, in which Piglet was entirely surrounded by water. Get cozy. Close your eyes.

Relax your body into the softness of your bed.

Now, take a few deep breaths. It rained and it rained and it rained. Piglet told himself that never in all his life and he was goodness knows how old. Three was it, or four? Never had he seen so much rain. Days and days and days. Then, suddenly, he remembered a story which Christopher Robin had told him about a man on a desert island who had ridden something in a bottle and thrown it in the sea. And Piglet thought that if he wrote something in a bottle and threw it in the water, perhaps somebody would come and rescue him. He left the window and began to search his house, all of it that wasn't underwater, and it last he found a pencil and a small piece of dry paper and a bottle with a cork to it. And he rode on one side of the paper. Help! Picklet, me! And on the other side, it's me, Picklet. Help! Help! Then he put the paper in the bottle and he corked the bottle up as tightly as he could. And he lent out of his window as far as he could lean without falling in. And he threw the bottle as far as he could throw, splash. And in a little while, it bobbed up again on the water. And he watched it floating slowly away in the distance, until his eyes ached with looking. And sometimes he thought it was the bottle. And sometimes he thought it was just a ripple on the water which he was following. 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, which I can't, so I hope they do it soon. And then he gave a very long sigh and said,

I wish Poo was here. It's so much more friendly with two.

When the rain began, Poo was asleep.

It rained and it rained and it rained and he slept slept, and he slept, and he slept. He had had a tiring day. You remember how he discovered the North Pole? Well, he was so proud of this that he asked Christopher Robin if there were any other poles such as a bear of little brain might discover. "'There's a South Pole,' said Christopher Robin. "'And I expect there's an East Pole and West Pole, though people don't like talking about them.' Who was very excited when he heard this and suggested that they should have an expedition to discover the East Pole. But Christopher Robin had thought of something else to do with Kanga, so Poo went out to discover the East Pole by himself. Whether he discovered it or not, I forget. But he was so tired when he got home that in the very middle of his supper, after he had been eating for little more than half an hour, he fell fast asleep in his chair and slept and slept and slept. Then suddenly he was dreaming, he was at the East Pole and it was a very cold pole with the coldest sort of snow and ice all over it. He had found a beehive to sleep in, but there wasn't room for his legs, so he had left them outside. And wild whosles, such as inhabit 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 around him. He splashed to his door and looked out. This is serious, said Poo, I must have an escape.

So he took his largest pot 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 pot. And when the whole escape was finished, there was poo sitting on his branch, dangling his legs, and there beside him were ten pots of honey. Two days later, there was poo sitting on his branch, dangling his legs, and there, beside him, were four pots of honey. Three days later, there was poo sitting on his branch, dangling his legs, and there beside him was one pot of honey. Four days later, there was poo, and it was on the morning of the fourth day that that pig's bottle came floating past him and with one loud cry of honey, poo plunged into the water, seized the bottle and struggled back to his tree again. Pothr said poo as he opened it.

All that wet for nothing. What's that bit of paper doing? He took it out and looked at it. It's a message. 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 Poo. So it's a very important message 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 message means. Only I can't swim, bother. Then he had an idea, and I think that for a bear a 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, I can sit on the top of it if it's a very big jar. So he took his biggest jar and quirked it up. All boats have to 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, poo and the floating bear 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 poo triumphantly astride it, paddling vigorously with his feet. Christopharobin 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. It was rather jolly to look down into the valleys and see the water all around him. 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 anymore. So he put another stick in the place where the water came up to. Then he walked home again. And each morning he had a shorter way to walk than he 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. He 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 unfavorable lately.

Said Owl. The what? It has 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 favorable. At any moment, have you seen Poo? No. At any moment? I hope he's alright," said Christopher Robin. I've been wondering about him. I expect piglets with him. Do you think they're all right, Owl? I expect so. You see, at any moment, to go and see Owl. Because Poo hasn't got very much brain, and he might do something silly, and I do love him so, Owl. Do you see Owl? That's all right. Said Owl. Owl go. Back directly. And he flew off. In a little while he was back again. Who isn't there? He said. Not there. Has been there. He's been sitting on a branch of his tree outside his house with nine pots of honey, but he isn't there now. Oh, poo! Cryed Christopher Robin? Where are you? Hey, I am! Said a growly voice behind him. Poo! They rushed into each other's arms. How did you get here, Poo? As Christopher Robin, when he was ready to talk again. On my boat, said Poo proudly, I had a very important message sent me in a bottle, and going to having 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 message. But it's from Piglet. Cryed Christopher Robin when he had read it? Isn't there anything about poo in it? Asked Bear, looking over his shoulder. Christopher Robin read the message out loud. Oh, are those peas, piglets? I thought they were poo's. We must rescue him at once. I thought he was with you, poo. Owl, could you rescue him on your back? I don't think so. Said Owl, after grave thought. It is doubtful if the necessary dorsal muscles. Then would you fly to him at once and say that rescue is coming, and poo and I will think of a rescue and come as quick as ever we can? Oh, don't talk, I will go on quick. And still thinking of something to say, I will flew off. Now then, Poo said Christopher Robin. Where's your boat?" I ought to say, explained poo as they walked down to the shore of the island, that 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 the top of it or underneath it. Oh, well, where is it? There," said Poo, pointing proudly to the floating bear. It wasn't what Christopher Robin expected, and the more he looked at it, the more he thought what a brave and clever bear, who was. And the more Christopher Robin thought this, the more poo looked modestly down his nose and tried to pretend he wasn't. But it's too small for two of us," said Christopher Robin, sadly. Three of us with piglet. That makes it smaller still. Oh, Poo Bear, what shall we do? And then this bear, Poo Bear, Winnie the Poo, FOP, Friend of Piglets, RC, Rabbits Companion, PD, Poll Discoverer, EC and TFO.'s Comforter and Tail Finder.

In fact, Poo himself 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 whom he had known and loved so long. "'We might go in your umbrella,' said Poo. Suddenly, Christopher Robbins saw that they might. He opened his umbrella and put it point downwards in the water. It floated but wobbled. Poo got in. He was just beginning to say that it was all right now when he found that it wasn't. So after a short drink, which he didn't really want, he waited back to Christopher Robin.

Then they both got in together, and it wobbled no longer.

I shall call this boat the brain of Poo," said Christopher Robin, and the brain of Poo

set sail forth with in a south-westernly direction, revolving gracefully. You can imagine Piglet's joy when at last the ship came inside of him. In after years, he liked to think that he had been in very great danger during the terrible flood. But the only danger he had really been in was in the last half hour of his imprisonment when Aal, who had just flown up, sat on a branch of his tree to comfort him and told him a very long story about an aunt who had once laid a seagull's egg by mistake, and the story went on and on, rather like this sentence until Piglet who was listening out of his window without much hope, went to sleep quietly and naturally, 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, which was really part of the story, being what his aunt said, woke the piglet up and just gave him time to jerk himself back into safety. And say, how interesting and did she? When. Well, you can imagine his joy when it last he saw the good ship, Brain of Poo Captain, C. Robin, first mate, P. Bear, coming over the sea to rescue him. Christopher Robin and poo again. And that is really the end of the story. And I am very tired after that last sentence. I think I shall stop there. Chapter 10 In which Christopher Robin gives poo a party, and we say goodbye.

One day, when the sun had come back over the forest, bringing with it the scent of may, and all the streams of the forest were tinkling happily to find themselves their own pretty shape again and the little pools lay dreaming of the life they had seen, and the big things they had done, and in the warmth and quiet of the forest, the cuckoo was trying over his voice carefully, and listening to see if he liked it, And wood pigeons were complaining gently to themselves in their lazy, comfortable way that it was the other fellow's fault. But it didn't matter very much. On such a day as this Christopher Robin whizzled in a special way he had.

And Owl came flying out of the hundred acre wood to see what was wanted. Owl said Christopher Robin, I am going to give a party. You are, are you, said Awl?

And it's to be a special sort of party. You are, are you, said Awl? And it's to be a special sort of party, because it's because of what Poo did when he did what he did to save Piglet from the flood. Oh, that's what it's for, is it? said Awl. Yes, so will you tell Pooh as quickly as you can and all the others, because it will be tomorrow? Oh, it will, will it? Said Awl. Still being as helpful as possible. So will you go and tell them, Owl?

Owl tried to think of something very wise to say, but couldn't. So he flew off to tell the others. you