Roo's New Friend

Roo had a new friend. 'New' because she wasn't a friend of Roo's yesterday and today she was. Roo's new friend was special because only he knew about her, and that meant that if Roo told Pooh about her then she wouldn't be special anymore. He decided to tell Pooh about her anyway because then Pooh could become her friend too.

"She lives in the Hundred Acre Wood," said Roo, "and I think she is lonely because she is all alone."

Pooh thought he should ask a question, as Roo had stopped. "Is she little like you, Roo?" he asked.

"No Pooh," said Roo, "She is ever so big, bigger than Eeyore."

Pooh wondered what someone bigger than Eeyore would look like. "Is she VERY big, Roo, as big as a … a tree?"

Now Kanga had had one of her little talks with Roo that very morning about making things sound bigger, or worse, than they were. This was because Roo had been dropped onto his head, and had gone home and said that his head had been knocked off, when it hadn't.

So Roo thought very carefully. "No, Pooh, she isn't bigger than a tree because she lives in a tree."

Roo had to go home, so Pooh, who had nothing better to do, decided to go to the Hundred Acre Wood and see if he could make a new friend too.

Later he told Piglet all about it: "She is very big, Piglet, and she likes to drop out of her tree and surprise people."

"Like Tigger," asked Piglet, "only upside down?"

"Not ever so like Tigger, no. She is quiet and Tigger is loud. And Tigger is sort of stripy, and she is black and shiny."

Pooh thought some more. "And she likes showing her big teeth, and Tigger doesn't do that, does he Piglet?"

Piglet agreed that he didn't.

Then Piglet and Pooh both agreed to tell Christopher Robin about Roo's new friend. But wherever they looked, Christopher Robin wasn't there.

Then they met Roo who was looking sad.

"Roo," asked Pooh, "are you sad, and have you seen Christopher Robin today?"

"I am sad," said Roo. "I took Christopher Robin to meet my new friend because he likes surprises. And when we got to her tree she dropped out of her tree to surprise him, and then she carried him up to her home in the tree."

"She didn't carry me up," said Pooh.

"She didn't carry me up either," said Roo, "She has made Christopher Robin her special friend, and I don't think I'm her friend anymore. That is why I'm sad."

"Well Roo", said Pooh, "I am still your friend, and Piglet is too, aren't you Piglet?"

"Yes I am," squeaked Piglet, "and Christopher Robin is everybody's special friend, Roo."

Roo didn't know whether he should still be sad, so he decided to cheer up, and went home to have his tea.

"Let's go home to our teas too," said Pooh to Piglet, and so they did.