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 a special pencil case. Tonight, we'll read the final part to Winnie the Pooh, a children's story written by A.A. Milm and published in 1926. Pooh is naive and slow-witted, but he is also friendly, thoughtful, and steadfast. Although he and his friends agree that he is a bear of very little brain, Poo is occasionally acknowledged to have a clever idea, usually driven by common sense. These include riding and Christopher Robinson Brella to rescue Piglet from a flood and discovering the North Pole by picking it up to help fish rue out of the river. In the previous episode we finished chapter 9 in which piglet was entirely surrounded by water.

Let's get cozy. Close your eyes. Relax your body into the softness of your bed. Now take a few deep breaths. 10. 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

Kuku 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 fellows 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 he wanted. Owl Christopher Robin. «I'm going to give a party. «You are, are you» said Aul. «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 Owl. "'Yes, so will you tell Poo as quickly as you can and all the others, because it will be tomorrow?' "'Oh, it will, will it,' said Owl, 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. And the first person he told was Poo. Poo, he said. Christopher Robin is giving a party. Oh, said Poo. And then seeing that Owl expected him to say something else, he said, Will there be those little cake things with pink sugar icing?

Owl felt that it was rather beneath him to talk about little cake things with pink sugar icing, so he told Poo exactly what Christopher Robin had said and flew off to ER. A party for me thought poo to himself.

How grand! And he began to wonder if all the other animals would know that it was a special Poo party, and if Christopher Robin had told them about the floating bear and the brain of Poo, and all the wonderful ships he had invented and sailed on. And he began to think how awful it would be if everybody had forgotten about it, and nobody quite knew what the party was for. And the more he thought like that, The more the party got muddled in his mind. Like a dream when nothing goes right. And the dream began to sing itself over in his head until it became a sort of song. It was an anxious poo song. Three cheers for poo. for who for poo? Why, what did he do? I thought you knew. He saved his friend from a wedding. Three cheers for bear, for where? For bear. He couldn't swim, but he rescued him. He rescued who? Oh, listen, do. I am talking of poo. Of who? Of poo. I'm sorry I keep forgetting. Well, poo was a bear of enormous brain, just say it again. Of enormous brain. Of enormous what? Well, he ate a lot, and I don't know if he could swim or not, But he managed to float on a sort of boat, on a sort of what? Well, a sort of pot. So now let's give him three hearty cheers. So now let's give him three hearty witches, and hope he'll be with us for years and years, and grow in health and wisdom and riches. Three cheers for poo. For who? For poo. Three cheers for bear. For where? For bear. Three cheers for the wonderful, Winnie the Pooh. Just tell me, somebody, what did he do? While this was going on inside of him, Owl was talking to Eor. Eor said Owl. Christopher Robin is giving a party. Very interesting, said Eor. I suppose they will be sending me down the odd bits which got trotted on. Kind and thoughtful. Not at all. Don't mention it. There's an invitation for you. What's that like? An invitation. Yes, I heard you. Who dropped it? This isn't anything to eat. It's asking you to the party tomorrow. E'er shook his head slowly. You mean Piglet, the little fellow with the excited ears. That's Piglet. I'll tell him. No, no, said Owl, getting quite fussy. It's you. Are you sure? Of course I'm sure. Christopher Robin said all of them. Tell all of them. All of them except your. All of them said owl, soakly. Ah, said your. A mistake, no doubt, but still I shall come. Only don't blame me if it rains. But it didn't rain. Christopher Robin had made a long table out of some wood pieces, and they all sat round it. Christopher Robin sat at one end, and poo sat at the other and between them on one side were owl, and ee or, and piglet, and between them, on the other side, were rabbit, and row, and kenga, and all rabbits, friends, and relations spread themselves about on the grass, and waited hopefully in case anybody spoke to them, or dropped anything, or asked them the time. It was the first party to which Roo had ever been, and he was very excited. As soon as ever they sat down, he began to talk. "'Hello, Pooh,' he squeaked. "'Hello, Roo,' said Pooh. Roo jumped up and down in his seat for a little while, and then began again. "'Helllet?' he squeaked. Piglet waved upon him, being too busy to say anything. "'Hello, Eor,' said Rue. Eor nodded gloomily at him. "'It will rain soon. You see if it doesn't." He said. Rue looked to see if it didn't, and it didn't. So he said, Hello, Owl. And Owl said, Hello, my little fellow, in a kindly way, and went on telling Christopher Robin about an accident which had nearly happened to a friend of his whom Christopher Robin didn't know and Kanga said to Rue, drink up your milk first dear and talk afterwards. So Rue, who was drinking his milk, tried to say that he could do both at once and had to be patted on the back and dried for quite a long time afterwards. When they had all nearly eaten enough, Christopher Robin banged on the table with his spoon. And everybody stopped talking and was very silent. Except Rue, who was just finishing a loud attack of hiccups and trying to look as if it was one of Rabbit's relations. This party, said Christopher Robin, is a party because of what someone did, and we all know who it was, and it's his party because of what he did, and I've got a present for him, and here it is."

Then he felt about a little and whispered, "'Where is it?' While he was looking, E or coughed in an impressive way, and began to speak. Friends, he said, including Ottments, it is a great pleasure.

Or... Friends, he said, including Ottman's, it is a great pleasure, or perhaps I had better say it had been a pleasure so far to see you at my party. What I did was nothing. of you except Owl and Kanga, would have done the same. Oh, and poo. My remarks do not, of course, apply to Piglet and Roo, because they are too small. Any of you would have done the same, but it just happened to be me. It was not, I need hardly say, with an idea of getting what Christopher Robin is looking for now. And he put his front leg to his mouth and said in a loud whisper, try under the table. That I did what I did, but because I feel that we should all do what we can to help, I feel that we should all, uh-huh, said Rue accidentally. Rudeer said Kanga were progfully.

Was it me? Asked Rue. A little surprised. What's Eeyore talking about? Piglet whispered to Poo. I don't know. Said Poo. Rather rather dullfully. I thought this was your party. I thought it was once, but I suppose it isn't. I'd sooner it was yours than Ears said Piglet. So would I said,' said Poo. "'Hup,' said Ru again. "'As I was saying,' said ER loudly and sternly. "'As I was saying when I was interrupted by various loud sounds. I feel that here it is, cried Christopher Robin, excitedly. Pass it down to silly old poo. It's for poo. For poo. Of course it is.

The best bear in all the world. I might have known. Said Eor. After all, one can't complain. I have my friends. Somebody spoke to me only yesterday. Was it last week or the week before that rabbit bumped into me and said, ''Bother, the social round, always something going on.'' Nobody was listening, for they were all saying, ''Open it, poo. What is it, poo? I know what it is. No, you don't. And other helpful remarks of this sort. And of course, poo was opening it as quickly as ever he could. But without cutting the string, because you never know when a bit of string might be useful. At last, it was undone. When Poo saw what it was, he nearly fell down. He was so pleased. It was a special pencil case.

There were pencils in it marked B for bear and pencils marked HB for helping bear and

pencils marked BB for brave bear. There was a knife for sharpening the pencils and India rubber for rubbing out anything which you had spelt wrong and a ruler for ruling lines for the words to walk on. inches marked on the ruler in case you wanted to know how many inches anything was. And blue pencils and red pencils and green pencils for saying special things in blue blue and red and green.

And all these lovely things were in little pockets of their own, in a special case, which shut with a click when you clicked it. And they were all for poo. Oh, said poo.

Oh, poo said everybody else except Eor. Thank you, growled poo. But Eor was saying to himself, this writing business, pencils and whatnot overrated overrated if you ask me silly stuff, nothing in it. Later on, when they had all said goodbye and thank you to Christopher Robin, poo and picklet walked home thoughtfully together in the golden evening. And for a long time, they were silent. When you wake up in the morning Pooh said Piglet at last, what's the first thing you say to yourself? "'What's for breakfast?' said Poo.' "'What do you say, Piglet?' I say. I wonder what's going to happen exciting today,' said Piglet. "'Poo, not it, thoughtfully.' "'It's the same thing, he said.

And what did happen as Christopher Robin?

When?

Next morning, I don't know.

Could you think and tell me and poo sometime?

If you wanted it very much,

poo does say Christopher Robin. He gave a deep sigh, picked his bear up by the leg, and walked off to the door, trailing Winnie the Poo behind him. At the door he turned and said, coming to see me have my bath? I might, I said. Was Poops pencil case any better than mine? It was just the same, I said. He nodded and went out. And in a moment I heard Winnie the Pooh, bump, bump, bump, bump, going up the stairs behind him. The end. you you you you you you