Pooh and the Honey Tree

Meet ‘Winnie’.  She’s my Pooh Bear.  This cute fur-ball has speckles of shiny glitter all over her body and a quirky smile to warm any human’s heart.

My son gave her to me years ago.  It was his way of reminding me of the special afternoons we’d spent together when he was young. We’d hide in the forts he built out of furniture, blankets and pillows and talk for hours. Sometimes we would read stories to his teddy bears.

I was thinking of those treasured moments over the Christmas holidays. Instinctively I reached for Winnie and sat her on my lap.  I even pulled out the A.A. Milne book ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’. I decided to read it to her.  She’d never heard it before; it was time she did.

It all started with Pooh Bear sitting at the foot of the Honey Tree.  He wasn’t lost in thought about how tired he was from his walk.  He wasn’t even thinking of what he had to do next.

He was busy listening to the buzzing noises coming from above.  And those buzzing noises could only mean one thing – there was honey up there, waiting for him!

After all, the only reason bees made honey was so he could eat it. He had to go get some. So up the tree he clambered.

Pooh’s initial enthusiasm waned the more tired he got.  Climbing became harder, each branch testing his resolve. “If Bears were Bees, they’d build their nests at the bottom of the trees,” he complained.  He kept muttering to himself as he tussled up the ‘stairs’ as he called them. And in this state he never noticed that the limbs became less sturdy the higher up he got – until one went Crack.  And down the tree tumbled Pooh, bouncing off the branches one by one.

It’s natural for us to be eager and excited at the outset of a new project or activity.   I know I am.  But then it starts to change. We encounter roadblocks or obstacles.  We get stuck. We get frustrated and before you know it, we find ourselves bellyaching or grumbling about it to anyone who will listen.

Complaining really does not serve us well.  It’s damaging to us and those around us.  And despite what we may want to believe, it will not get things done or make us feel better in the long run.

Perhaps that’s one of the reasons Mr. Milne had the industrious Pooh come toppling out of the tree before he reached his much beloved honey.

Those stories from the 100 Acre Woods are priceless.  I’d forgotten how many layers of wisdom Mr. Milne had added to them. I wonder if my Winnie picked up on any of these nuggets, or maybe she simply sat there and enjoyed the moment to its fullest with every fluff of her being.

***

Charli Mills’ Carrot Ranch December 30th Flash Fiction Challenge:  in 99 words (no more, no less), write an “industrious” story.  I confess I was lost in the afterglow of reading ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ and it was hard for me to come up with a new idea for this short fiction piece.  I’ve decided to simply let my stuffed bear, Winnie, tell us the rest of Pooh’s Honey Tree story.

***

“Winnie, tell us what your cousin Pooh Bear did after he fell down the honey tree.”

“Me?” she cries nodding her head vigorously. 

“Yes you.” I reply.

“He did another boo-boo.”

“How so?”

“He flew up in a blue balloon?” she asks blinking her eyes.

“That’s right.  And why did he do that?”

“’Cause he … He wanted the bees to think he was the sky!”

“And did he fool them?”

“Noooo…”

“What did they do?”

“They got suspicious and stung him.”

“Did Pooh fall down from the sky?

 “Ummm no… He floated ‘cause Christopher Robin shot his balloon.”

Remember, my little Winnie’s head is full of fluff just like Pooh’s … a common occurrence among teddy bears, you know.  But their hearts are full of love that’s what matters the most.   The reason I’m telling you this is because I recall there was a lot more to the story than what Winnie has told us.   Maybe I’ll talk about in another blog I write. Who knows?