The Heffalump Trap

CHAPTER V

One sunny afternoon, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet were sitting with their friend, Christopher Robin.

"I saw a Heffalump today, Piglet," Christopher Robin said.

"What was it doing?" asked Piglet.

"Just lumping along," said Christopher Robin.

Pooh Bear wiggled his nose. He wondered what a Heffalump looked like.

Later, Pooh and Piglet walked home together. They walked over the little stepping stones in the stream, splash, splish, splash. They walked through the soft, purple heather. When they came to the Six Pine Trees, Pooh looked all around. He leaned close to Piglet and whispered in a very important voice, "Piglet, I have decided something."

"What have you decided, Pooh?"

"I have decided to catch a Heffalump."

Pooh nodded his head up and down. He wanted to catch a Heffalump with a Cunning Trap. "You will have to help me, Piglet."

Piglet felt very happy to help. "I will, Pooh!" he said. "How will we do it?"

Pooh thought for a moment. "That's just it," he said. "How?" So they sat down together under a big pine tree to think.

Pooh had an idea. "We will dig a Very Deep Pit," he said. "The Heffalump will come along and fall right in!"

"Why will he fall in?" asked Piglet.

Pooh rubbed his nose. "Well," he said, "the Heffalump will be walking along, humming a little song. He will be looking up at the bright blue sky, and he won't see the pit at all!"

Piglet thought about this. "But what if it's raining?"

Pooh smiled. "If it's raining, the Heffalump will be looking up at the clouds, hoping the sun will come out. He still won't see the pit!"

Piglet clapped his little trotters. "Oh, Pooh," he said. "That is a very Cunning Trap."

Pooh felt very proud. But then he had another thought. "Where should we dig the Very Deep Pit?"

Piglet pointed. "Right where a Heffalump is about to walk!"

"But then he would see us digging," said Pooh sadly. "This isn't as easy as I thought."

Pooh thought and thought. "Piglet," he said, "if you wanted to catch me, how would you do it?"

"Oh, that's easy," said Piglet. "I would make a trap, and in the trap, I would put a big jar of yummy honey. You would smell the honey, and you would crawl right in to get it."

"I would!" said Pooh, his eyes lighting up. "I would go in very carefully… and I would get to the jar… and I would lick around the top… and then I would start licking the middle…"

"Yes, yes," said Piglet. "So, what do Heffalumps like to eat?"

Pooh woke up from his happy honey dream. "Honey!" he said. "Honey is the best thing for a trap."

Piglet thought that if they used honey, Pooh would have to get it from his own cupboard. So Piglet said, "Alright, Pooh. Honey it is."

"Good," said Pooh. "I will go get the honey while you dig the pit."

So Pooh bear stumped off toward his house.

Pooh went to his cupboard. He stood on a chair and reached up, up, up. He took down a very large jar. On the side, it said HUNNY.

Pooh took off the lid. It looked like honey. It smelled like honey. But you can never be sure. So he put his tongue in for a little taste. Lick.

"Yes," he said. "It is honey." But what if there was something else at the bottom? He should probably check. So he put his tongue in a little farther. Lick, lick.

"Ahhh," he sighed a happy sigh. "It is honey, all the way down."

Now he was sure. He took the jar back to Piglet. Piglet was at the bottom of the deep, dark pit. "Got it?" he called up.

"Yes," said Pooh. "But it isn't quite a full jar." He lowered it down to Piglet.

"Oh," said Piglet. He put the honey jar right in the middle of the pit. Then he climbed out, and the two friends went home.

"Good night, Pooh," said Piglet. "We will meet at six o'clock in the morning to see our Heffalump."

"Six o'clock, Piglet. Good night!" And Piglet trotted home to his cozy bed.

In the middle of the night, when the moon was shining, Pooh woke up. He had a funny, rumbly feeling in his tummy. He was hungry!

He went to his cupboard. He stood on his chair and reached up to the top shelf. But… it was empty.

"That's funny," he thought. "I know I had a jar of honey there." Then he remembered. Oh, bother. He had put it in the Cunning Trap.

He went back to bed. But he could not sleep. He closed his eyes and tried to think sleepy thoughts. But all he could think about were Heffalumps. Big Heffalumps, finding his lovely honey. Heffalumps eating it all up! Lick, lick, lick.

"Oh no!" thought Pooh. He could not bear it any longer. He jumped out of bed, ran out his door, and hurried as fast as he could toward the Six Pine Trees.

The sun was still sleeping. The woods were quiet and grey. Pooh looked down into the deep, dark pit. He saw his honey jar. As he got closer, his nose told him, yes, it was definitely honey!

"Bother!" he said, as he looked inside the jar. "A Heffalump has been eating it!" Then he remembered. "Oh, no. I did. I forgot."

There was still a little bit of honey left. Right at the very bottom. So Pooh pushed his head inside the jar to get it. He pushed, and he pushed… and he began to lick. Lick… lick… lick.

By and by, Piglet woke up. The first word in his brain was… "Heffalumps."

He wiggled his ears. What was a Heffalump like? Was it big? Did it make loud noises? Did it like to play with very small animals? He did not know.

He thought, "Maybe I should just stay in my warm bed this morning." But then he thought, "What if there is no Heffalump? I would miss a beautiful morning for nothing."

Then, he had a clever idea. He would go very quietly to the Six Pine Trees. He would peek very carefully into the trap. If a Heffalump was there, he would run right back to bed! So, off he tiptoed.

As Piglet got closer, he heard a noise. It was a bumping, thumping, rumbling noise. It sounded very big.

"Oh, dear," whispered Piglet. He wanted to run away. But he was also very curious. He had to see what a Heffalump looked like. He crept to the edge of the pit. He peeked in…

Down in the pit, Pooh was trying to get the honey jar off his head. It was stuck! The more he shook his head, the tighter it stuck.

"Bother!" he mumbled from inside the jar. "Oh, help!" He bumped his head against the side of the pit. Bump, thump!

And just as Piglet looked down, Pooh lifted his head and let out a loud, sad, rumbly-grumbly roar.

"Help, help!" cried Piglet. "A Heffalump! A big, noisy Heffalump!" And he scampered away as fast as his little legs could carry him.

Piglet ran and ran until he got to Christopher Robin's house. "A Heffalump!" he panted. "A Heff-a-lump!"

"Where?" asked Christopher Robin.

"Up there!" said Piglet, pointing with his trotter.

"What did it look like?"

"It had the biggest head you ever saw!" said Piglet. "A great big head… like a… like a big honey jar!"

"Well," said Christopher Robin, pulling on his boots, "I shall go and look. Come on."

Piglet felt brave with Christopher Robin beside him. So off they went. As they got near, they heard a noise. Bump. Thump.

"There!" whispered Piglet. "Do you hear it?"

Suddenly, Christopher Robin began to laugh. He laughed and he laughed. And while he was laughing… CRASH!

Pooh bumped his head one last time. The jar broke into pieces! And out came Pooh's head.

Then Piglet saw that it was not a Heffalump at all. It was just his silly old bear. Piglet felt so silly himself, he trotted straight home to his cozy house.

But Christopher Robin took Pooh's paw. They went home to have a big, warm breakfast together.

"Oh, Bear," said Christopher Robin. "You are the best bear."

"So are you," said Pooh.