“We just can’t be sure about it unless we find a map!” said Rabbit, once again.
Everyone was at the meeting Rabbit had Organdized to decide how to find Owl’s missing spectacles. “I don’t ordinarily wear them while I’m flying,” Owl explained, “but I might have been on Tuesday morning, I suppose. Because it was Tuesday, at tea-time, that I couldn’t find them.”
Just like they had done to find Small, who was one of Rabbit’s Friends and Relations and had once gone missing, everyone had looked for Owl’s spectacles in different places in the Hundred Acre Wood. Pooh had hoped he would be the one to find them. After all, he had been the one to find Small, even if it had been a bit of an accident (Small had been siting on him, which had given Pooh a bit of a tickle).
After they had all come back from looking, Rabbit had called the meeting. “Piglet,” whispered Pooh, “did you hear what Owl just said?”
“About wearing his spectacles while he was flying?” asked Piglet.
“No,” said Pooh, “about tea-time. I was just thinking…”
But before Pooh could explain that he had been thinking that it must be nearly tea-time, and even if it wasn’t, it was a fine time for a Little Something, Tigger said “I know where a map is.”
Tigger was usually better at bouncing than he was at knowing things, so after being Surprised for a moment, Rabbit said “Really Tigger? Where is there a map?”
“Aw,” said Tigger, “I was just bouncing yesterday when I bounced on a, whatchacallit, a Newspaper. Outside Christopher Robin’s house.”
“And the newspaper had a map in it?” asked Rabbit hopefully.
“Nope,” said Tigger, “had a picture of a map. Somebody with white gloves was holding it up.”
Rabbit decided, for everyone, that they should all go Right Away to see Christopher Robin and look at the newspaper that had a picture of a map. It was important to Be Quick About It, said Rabbit, so he said everyone should go as fast as they could.
After everyone else left, Pooh said to Piglet, “Owl will get there first, I expect, and Rabbit and Tigger.”
“I suppose they will,” said Piglet.
“But you and I, Piglet, are not as fast as Rabbit.”
“No,” said Piglet sadly. “I can run fast, but it’s only as fast as a Very Small Animal can go.”
“I think,” said Pooh, thinking hard, “that it would be better for us to go to my house, Piglet. Because it feels like tea-time. And tea-time is when you go to your house and have a little something,”
“Oh good,” said Piglet. He was a little tired from walking all day looking for Owl’s spectacles, but he didn’t like to say so. So while Everyone Else rushed to Christopher Robin’s house as fast as they could go, Pooh and Piglet went to Pooh’s house and sat down at his kitchen table. They didn’t find out that Kanga picked up Roo, put him in her pocket, and got there even before Rabbit, with Roo yelling “wheee!” and “faster, Mama!” the whole way. They also didn’t find out that Christopher Robin wasn’t home, but the newspaper was, and it did have a picture of a map of the Hundred Acre Wood. But the picture was too small and blurry to be any use. There were some words above the picture, and Owl, who could Read, explained that the map was being “Actioned Off,” and that meant Something Was To Be Done with it, but he wasn’t sure what. “Doesn’t say what,” he sniffed.
It wasn’t long after when Pooh and Piglet heard a Commotion outside Pooh’s house. Pooh opened the door to see what it could be, and saw that it was Everyone. “Ah, Pooh, Piglet,” said Rabbit importantly, “I thought we might find you here.”
“Yes,” said Pooh, “because this, Rabbit, is where we are.”
“We found the Picture of the Map,” Rabbit continued importantly, “and Something is about to be Done With It.”
“Actioned off”, added Owl.
“And so Eeyore said…” Rabbit began again.
“I just said,” interrupted Eeyore, “that we should go get it now. Before it gets Actioned. But never mind me,” he said gloomily, “never mind the Idea. I don’t suppose we could find it anyway,” said he.
“It’s right here,” said Tigger, who was holding the newspaper. “There’s another picture, and this one IS a map. The Actioned Off is going to be in this square.” Tigger pointed to the newspaper, which had a small map inset below the picture of the Hundred Acre Wood map. It showed a building on a street, and underneath were a few more words. Owl peered at them and announced that the Actioned Off was going to be at 12 Elm Street.
“But that,” said Pooh, “is in the Outside World. We don’t have an Ellum Street in the Hundred Acre Wood, you know.”
“But that’s where we have to go,” said Rabbit. “Come along, everyone, follow me. I know where the Town is! We shall have an Expedition!”
“Ooh, can I go? Can I go?” asked Roo.
“I think we shall go home now,” said Kanga kindly. It’s going to be supper time, and bath time, and bed time before you know it. This Expedition might be a very long one.”
And so, with Owl circling overhead and calling down directions to Rabbit, everyone set off. Even Pooh and Piglet went; they were feeling better after having a Little Something and a rest.
The animals crept into town, being careful not to be seen, even though, as Owl said “I’m not confenced the townspeople can see us at all.”
Then he had to explain that “not confenced” meant that he wasn’t sure about it, and then he had to argue with Eeyore about why he didn’t just say in the first place. that he wasn’t sure. By the time they finished arguing about it, Rabbit said “look, we found it.”
They were standing beside a Large Building, and the number 12 was on the front. And the sign on the street said “Elm.” At least that’s what Owl explained that it said.
“There’s an open window,” said Rabbit, pointing at an open window.
“And that one,” said Pooh, pointing at another window, “is closed, Rabbit.”
“Of course it is, Pooh,” said Rabbit crossly. “I was going to suggest that we go through the open window and find the map.”
“Oh,” said Pooh. “But Rabbit, I’m not sure I’m going to fit.”
Pooh had been nervous about smallish openings ever since he’d gotten stuck in Rabbit’s door. He had his front half outside Rabbit’s house and his back half inside until he got smaller and could squeeze his way out. He hadn’t minded the long visit, but it seemed that the way a Bear of Very Little Brain got small enough to fit through Rabbit’s doorway was to go a long time without anything to eat. Pooh hadn’t liked that at all.
But this window was Big Enough, and they all went inside the building. After a long Search, they found a sort of a table that was glass on the top, and under the glass was the map. Tigger bounced Piglet and Pooh up to the top so they could see it. He had offered to bounce Eeyore up too, but Eeyore just shook his head and explained that Eeyores don’t like to be Bounced.
“Now what, Rabbit?” asked Pooh, who had been wondering how the map was going to help them find Owl’s spectacles.
“Now we use the map to find the spectacles!” announced Rabbit. “When you’re looking for something, you should always have a map!”
Owl was peering very closely at the map. “I haven’t seen them yet,” he said.
“Seen what?” asked Rabbit.
“My spectacles,” said Owl. “I’m looking on the map to see where they are.”
“I don’t think…” began Rabbit, but suddenly Pooh interrupted.
“Owl,” said Pooh, “when you have to look closely at something, what helps you see it?”
“Why, my spectacles, of course,” said Owl. “You see, Pooh, as my Uncle Feldspar said after he found himself in a Difficult Position in the Far East…”
“Owl,” said Pooh, “your spectacles. Owl, you’re wearing them.”
Owl blinked two times. He put his wing up to his face and felt for his spectacles. He took them off, he put them back on again. Then he took them off, folded them, and put them carefully into his vest pocket.
“Quite so,” he said. “Thank you, Pooh, you were right. And now shall we take our Expedition back home?”
Rabbit’s ears drooped. “I suppose so,” he said.
“Oh, Pooh,” said Piglet, “you did it again, Pooh. You found Owl’s spectacles!”
“Well,” said Pooh, who didn’t want to seem too proud, “it wasn’t really anything, Piglet. Let’s go home. I can hear my hunny pots calling me.”
