Eeyore's Lost Tail

CHAPTER IV: Eeyore Loses a Tail and Pooh Finds One

The old grey donkey, Eeyore, stood all by himself in a prickly, thistly corner of the woods. His head was tipped to one side, and he was thinking very sad thoughts.

Then, thump, thump, thump… along came Winnie-the-Pooh. Eeyore was glad to see him.

"And how are you?" asked Pooh Bear.

Eeyore shook his head slowly from side to side.

"Not very how," he said in a gloomy voice. "I don't feel very well at all."

"Oh dear," said Pooh. "I am sorry to hear that. Let's have a look at you."

So Eeyore stood very still, looking sadly at the ground. Winnie-the-Pooh walked all the way around him.

Then Pooh stopped. "Why, what's happened to your tail?" he said in surprise.

"What has happened to it?" asked Eeyore.

"It isn't there!" said Pooh.

"Are you sure?"

"A tail is either there, or it isn't there," said Pooh. "And yours is not there!"

Eeyore turned slowly around to see for himself. He turned and turned, trying to see his own back, until he was right where he started. Then, he put his head down and looked between his front legs.

At last he said with a long, sad sigh, "I believe you're right."

"You must have left it somewhere," said Winnie-the-Pooh.

"Somebody must have taken it," said Eeyore.

Pooh wanted to do something helpful.

"Eeyore," he said in his most serious voice. "I, Winnie-the-Pooh, will find your tail for you."

"Thank you, Pooh," answered Eeyore. "You're a real friend."

So Winnie-the-Pooh went off to find Eeyore's tail.

It was a beautiful morning in the woods. Little, soft clouds played in the bright blue sky. The sun was warm and yellow, and the leaves on the trees were a fresh, happy green.

Pooh Bear walked and walked. He marched through tall trees and down sunny slopes. He hopped over little streams and climbed up sandy banks. At last, feeling a bit tired and hungry, he came to the part of the woods where Owl lived.

Pooh thought to himself, "If anyone knows anything about anything, it's Owl."

Owl lived in a grand old tree. His house had a big front door with a knocker for knocking and a rope for ringing a bell. Under the knocker was a little sign with wiggly letters. And under the bell-rope was another little sign.

Pooh looked at the signs carefully. Then, to make sure, he knocked the knocker and pulled the bell-rope. Knock, knock, knock. Tug, tug, tug.

Then he called out in a loud voice, "Owl! It's me, Bear, and I need an answer!"

The door opened, and Owl looked out.

"Hello, Pooh," he said. "How are things?"

"Terrible and Sad," said Pooh, "because my friend Eeyore has lost his tail. And he is very mopey about it. Could you please tell me how to find it for him?"

"Well," said Owl. "The proper thing to do is this."

"The what?" said Pooh. "I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me."

"It means The Thing to Do," said Owl.

"Oh, good," said Pooh. "I don't mind that."

"The Thing to Do," said Owl, "is to Issue a Reward."

"Just a moment," said Pooh, holding up a paw. "What was that? You sneezed just when you were telling me."

"I did not sneeze," said Owl.

"Yes, you did, Owl."

"No, Pooh, I did not. What I said was, 'First, Issue a Reward'."

"You're doing it again," said Pooh sadly.

"A REWARD!" said Owl very loudly. "We will make a sign that says we will give a wonderful prize to anyone who finds Eeyore's tail."

"I see," said Pooh, nodding. "Speaking of wonderful prizes," he went on dreamily, "I sometimes have a little something around this time of day." He looked toward a cupboard in Owl's room. "Just a mouthful of something sweet… perhaps a lick of honey."

But Owl went on talking and talking, using longer and longer words. Pooh's head began to feel very sleepy.

Then Owl said, "Did you see the signs on my front door? Come and look."

So they went outside. Pooh looked at the knocker and the sign. Then he looked at the bell-rope and its sign. And the more he looked at the long, dangly bell-rope, the more he felt that he had seen something just like it somewhere else before.

"It is a handsome bell-rope, isn't it?" said Owl proudly.

Pooh nodded. "It reminds me of something," he said, "but I can't think what. Where did you get it?"

"I just found it in the Forest," said Owl. "It was hanging over a bush. I rang it, but it came right off in my hand. Nobody seemed to want it, so I brought it home."

"Owl," said Pooh in a very serious voice. "You made a mistake. Somebody did want it."

"Who?" asked Owl.

"Eeyore," said Pooh. "My dear friend Eeyore. He was… he was very attached to it."

So Pooh carefully unhooked the long, grey tail from Owl's door. He carried it all the way back to Eeyore.

When the tail was put back on in its proper place, Eeyore was so happy! He frisked about the forest, waving his tail this way and that. Swish, swish, swish!

Seeing Eeyore so happy made Winnie-the-Pooh feel happy too. So happy, in fact, that he had to hurry home for a little snack to celebrate. And as he wiped his mouth, full of honey, he sang a proud little song to himself.

"Who found the Tail? I did!" said Pooh. "Yes, I found the Tail!"