“Have you noticed, Pooh, which paw you use the most?” Piglet had been looking at his own paws all morning long, peering at one and then peering at the other.
“No, Piglet,” said Pooh, “I suppose I use the one that’s closest to the hunny.”
“Well I think,” said Piglet, thinking, “that everybody has a favorite paw and that’s the one they use the most.”
“Which one is your favorite, Piglet?” asked Pooh.
“This one,” said Piglet, holding up his right paw.
“Is that the one closest to the haycorns?” asked Pooh.
“I don’t know, Pooh,” said Piglet. “It’s just the one that reaches for things. When I’m not watching, you see.”
Pooh thought about that for a moment, then he held up one paw. Then he put that paw down and held up the other one. Then he held them both up and looked carefully from one to the other.
“I think,” said Pooh, “that this one is my favorite, Piglet.” He held up one of his paws. “Except I can’t be sure what happens when I’m not watching,” he said, “because now I AM watching. And once you start watching, Piglet, it’s not easy to stop. As soon as you say to yourself ‘I shall stop watching right now,’ you realize you’re watching even harder.”
“We could go ask everyone about their favorite paw,” said Piglet, “and see if it’s the same one for everyone.”
“I don’t think it could be the same one,” said Pooh, “because, Piglet, most people’s favorite is going to be one of their own paws. And that means…that is, I think it means, Piglet…that it would be different for everyone.”
“What I meant was which side,” said Piglet. “See, Pooh? Your favorite is on the same side — I mean the same side of you — as my favorite is on me. Do you see, Pooh?”
Piglet was getting very excited and trying to stand next to Pooh so as to Show Him, but because he was so excited it was very hard to stand still. “Do you see, Pooh?” Piglet asked again.
“No, Piglet,” said Pooh. “I’m sorry, Piglet. Let’s go see who we can find and ask them about their favorite paw.”
“Except for Owl,” said Piglet.
“Why not Owl?” asked Pooh.
“Owl has wings, not paws,” said Piglet, “so he can’t have a favorite.”
Pooh thought about this. “Perhaps,” he said slowly, “Owl has a favorite wing instead.”
“Oh Pooh,” said Piglet admiringly, “that must be it!” He took Pooh’s paw in his own (noticing that if he used his favorite paw, then Pooh couldn’t use his favorite paw. But Pooh didn’t seem to mind. Piglet always felt better holding paws with Pooh.
They set off in the direction of Owl’s house, but before they got there they found Turtle. Or Turtle found them.
“Greetings, Pooh Bear and Piglet,” said Turtle, who was sunning himself on a flat rock beside the path. “Where are you off to this fine day?”
“Hullo, Turtle,” said Pooh.
“Turtle,” said Piglet, holding Pooh’s paw (not Pooh’s favorite paw) a little more tightly so as to stop himself from getting Too Excited, “which is your favorite paw?”
“Ah,” said Turtle, “I, little Piglet, am a South Paw. So my answer will be the opposite of what you’ll hear from most everyone in the Hundred Acre Wood.”
“A South Paw?” said Piglet. “Does that mean your favorite paw can’t be on the north side?”
“Not at all, Piglet,” said Turtle. “Most everyone favors their right paw, or hand, or, I suppose, wing. But some of us, instead, favor our left. And ever since the year 1813, when a letter to the editor of a Philadelphia Newspaper called The Tickler first put the term into print, those who favor their sinister appendage have been pleased to call themselves Southpaws.”
“Ooh,” said Piglet. “That was a long time ago, wasn’t it, Turtle?”
“Indeed it was, Piglet,” said Turtle. “Even I don’t remember so long ago. But ‘southpaw’ was adopted by the game of baseball to denote left-handed pitchers, and by boxing for left-handed boxers.”
“Pitchers?” said Pooh, who hadn’t been listening closely. “Is there a pitcher of something, Turtle? Because I think it might be getting to be time for A Little Something.”
“Well in that case,” said Turtle, “we can all go see Christopher Robin. I’m sure he has a pitcher of something good to drink, and some honey and haycorns too.”
Turtle took Pooh’s other paw. Piglet thought his friend Pooh must be happy to be able to use his favorite paw too. But Pooh just hummed a hum, and it didn’t have anything to do with paws, not even south ones.
