by A. A. Milne
WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG
When We Were Very Young
A. A. MILNE
DECORATIONS BY Ernest H. Shepard
Dutton Children’s Books
AN IMPRINT OF PENGUIN GROUP [USA] INC.
Dutton Children’s Books
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This presentation copyright © 2009 by The Trustees of the Pooh Properties Coloring of the illustrations copyright © 1992 by Dutton Children’s Books When We Were Very Young copyright © 1924 by E. P. Dutton Copyright renewal, 1952, by A. A. Milne
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Published in the United States by Dutton Children’s Books,
a division of Penguin Young Readers Group
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
www.penguin.com/youngreaders
ISBN: 1-101-15895-6
to
CHISTOPHER ROBIN MILNE
or
as he prefers to call himself
BILLY MOON
this book
which owes so much to him
is now
humbly offered
Just Before We Begin
AT ONE TIME (but I have changed my mind now) I thought I was going to write a little Note at the top of each of these poems, in the manner of Mr. William Wordsworth, who liked to tell his readers where he was staying, and which of his friends he was walking with, and what he was thinking about, when the idea of writing his poem came to him. You will find some lines about a swan here, if you get as far as that, and I should have explained to you in the Note that Christopher Robin, who feeds this swan in the mornings, has given him the name of “Pooh.” This is a very fine name for a swan, because, if you call him and he doesn’t come (which is a thing swans are good at), then you can pretend that you were just saying “Pooh!” to show how little you wanted him. Well, I should have told you that there are six cows who come down to Pooh’s lake every afternoon to drink, and of course they say “Moo” as they come. So I thought to myself one fine day, walking with my friend Christopher Robin, “Moo rhymes with Pooh! Surely there is a bit of poetry to be got out of that?” Well, then, I began to think about the swan on his lake; and at first I thought how lucky it was that his name was Pooh; and then I didn’t think about that any more…and the poem came quite differently from what I intended…and all I can say for it now is that, if it hadn’t been for Christopher Robin, I shouldn’t have written it; which, indeed, is all I can say for any of the others. So this is why these verses go about together, because they are all friends of Christopher Robin; and if I left out one because it was not quite like the one before, then I should have to leave out the one before because it was not quite like the next, which would be disappointing for them.
Then there is another thing. You may wonder sometimes who is supposed to be saying the verses. Is it the Author, that strange but uninteresting person, or is it Christopher Robin, or some other boy or girl, or Nurse, or Hoo? If I had followed Mr. Wordsworth’s plan I could have explained this each time; but, as it is, you will have to decide for yourselves. If you are not quite sure, then it is probably Hoo. I don’t know if you have ever met Hoo, but he is one of those curious children who look four on Monday, and eight on Tuesday, and are really twenty-eight on Saturday, and you never know whether it is the day when he can pronounce his “r’s.” He had a great deal to do with these verses. In fact, you might almost say that this book is entirely the unaided work of Christopher Robin, Hoo, and Mr. Shepard, who drew the pictures. They have said “Thank you” politely to each other several times, and now they say it to you for taking them into your house. “Thank you so much for asking us. We’ve come.”
A.A.M.
Contents
Corner-of-the-Street
Buckingham Place
Happiness
The Christening
Puppy and I
Twinkletoes
The Four Friends
Lines and Squares
Brownie
Independence
Nursery Chairs
Market Square
Daffodowndilly
Water-Lilies
Disobedience
Spring Morning
The Island
The Three Foxes
Politeness
Jonathan Jo
At the Zoo
Rice Pudding
Missing
The King’s Breakfast
Hoppity
At Home
The Wrong House
Summer Afternoon
The Dormouse and the Doctor
Shoes and Stockings
Sand-Between-the-Toes
Knights and Ladies
Little Bo-Peep and Little Boy Blue
The Mirror
Halfway Down
The Invaders
Before Tea
Teddy Bear
Bad Sir Brian Botany
In the Fashion
The Alchemist
Growing Up
If I Were King
Vespers*
WHEN WE WERE VERY YOUNG
Corner-of-the-Street
Down by the corner of the street,
Where the three roads meet,
And the feet
Of the people as they pass go “Tweet-tweet-tweet—”
Who comes tripping round the corner of the street?
One pair of shoes which are Nurse’s;
One pair of slippers which are Percy’s…
Tweet! Tweet! Tweet!
Buckingham Palace
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
Alice is marrying one of the guard.
“A soldier’s life is terrible hard,”
Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We saw a guard in a sentry-box.
“One of the sergeants looks after their socks,”
Says Ali
ce.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
We looked for the King, but he never came.
“Well, God take care of him, all the same,”
Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
They’ve great big parties inside the grounds.
“I wouldn’t be King for a hundred pounds,”
Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
A face looked out, but it wasn’t the King’s.
“He’s much too busy a-signing things,”
Says Alice.
They’re changing guard at Buckingham Palace—
Christopher Robin went down with Alice.
“Do you think the King knows all about me?”
“Sure to, dear, but it’s time for tea,”
Says Alice.
Happiness
John had Great Big Waterproof Boots on; John had a Great Big Waterproof Hat; John had a Great Big Waterproof Mackintosh—And that (Said John) Is That.
The Christening
What shall I call
My dear little dormouse?
His eyes are small,
But his tail is e-nor-mouse.
I sometimes call him Terrible John,
’Cos his tail goes on—
And on—
And on.
And I sometimes call him Terrible Jack,
’Cos his tail goes on to the end of his back.
And I sometimes call him Terrible James,
’Cos he says he likes me calling him names….
But I think I shall call him Jim,
’Cos I am so fond of him.
Puppy and I
I met a man as I went walking;
We got talking,
Man and I.
“Where are you going to, Man?” I said
(I said to the Man as he went by).
“Down to the village, to get some bread.
Will you come with me?” “No, not I.”
I met a Horse as I went walking;
We got talking,
Horse and I.
“Where are you going to, Horse, today?”
(I said to the Horse as he went by).
“Down to the village to get some hay.
Will you come with me?” “No, not I.”
I met a Woman as I went walking;
We got talking,
Woman and I.
“Where are you going to, Woman, so early?”
(I said to the Woman as she went by).
“Down to the village to get some barley.
Will you come with me?” “No, not I.”
I met some Rabbits as I went walking;
We got talking,
Rabbits and I.
“Where are you going in your brown fur coats?”
(I said to the Rabbits as they went by)
“Down to the village to get some oats.
Will you come with us?” “No, not I.”
I met a Puppy as I went walking;
We got talking,
Puppy and I.
“Where are you going this nice fine day?”
(I said to the Puppy as he went by).
“Up in the hills to roll and play.”
“I’ll come with you, Puppy,” said I.
Twinkletoes
When the sun
Shines through the leaves of the apple-tree,
When the sun
Makes shadows of the leaves of the apple-tree,
Then I pass
On the grass
From one leaf to another,
From one leaf to its brother,
Tip-toe, tip-toe!
Here I go!
The Four Friends
Ernest was an elephant, a great big fellow,
Leonard was a lion with a six-foot tail,
George was a goat, and his beard was yellow,
And James was a very small snail.
Leonard had a stall, and a great big strong one,
Ernest had a manger, and its walls were thick,
George found a pen, but I think it was the wrong one,
And James sat down on a brick.
Ernest started trumpeting, and cracked his manger,
Leonard started roaring, and shivered his stall,
James gave the huffle of a snail in danger
And nobody heard him at all.
Ernest started trumpeting and raised such a rumpus,
Leonard started roaring and trying to kick,
James went a journey with the goat’s new compass
And he reached the end of his brick.
Ernest was an elephant and very well-intentioned,
Leonard was a lion with a brave new tail,
George was a goat, as I think I have mentioned,
But James was only a snail.
Lines and Squares
Whenever I walk in a London street,
I’m ever so careful to watch my feet;
And I keep in the squares,
And the masses of bears,
Who wait at the corners all ready to eat
The sillies who tread on the lines of the street,
Go back to their lairs,
And I say to them, “Bears,
Just look how I’m walking in all of the squares!”
And the little bears growl to each other,
“He’s mine,
As soon as he’s silly and steps on a line.”
And some of the bigger bears try to pretend
That they came round the corner to look for a friend;
And they try to pretend that nobody cares
Whether you walk on the lines or squares.
But only the sillies believe their talk;
It’s ever so portant how you walk.
And it’s ever so jolly to call out, “Bears,
Just watch me in all the squares!”
Brownie
In a corner of the bedroom is a great big curtain,
Someone lives behind it, but I don’t know who;
I think it is a Brownie, but I’m not quite certain.
(Nanny isn’t certain, too.)
I looked behind the curtain, but he went so quickly—
Brownies never wait to say, “How do you do?”
They wriggle off at once because they’re all so tickly.
(Nanny says they’re tickly too.)
Independence
I never did, I never did, I never did like
“Now take care, dear!”
I never did, I never did, I never did want
“Hold-my-hand”
I never did, I never did, I never did think much of
“Not up there, dear!”
It’s no good saying it. They don’t understand.
Nursery Chairs
One of the chairs is South America,
One of the chairs is a ship at sea,
One is a cage for a great big lion,
And one is a chair for Me.
THE FIRST CHAIR
When I go up the Amazon,
I stop at night and fire a gun
To call my faithful band.
And Indians in twos and threes,
Come silently between the trees,
And wait for me to land.
And if I do not want to play
With any Indians today,
I simply wave my hand.
And then they turn and go away—
They always understand.
THE SECOND CHAIR
I’m a great big lion in my cage,
And I often frighten Nanny with a roar.
Then I hold her very tight, and
Tell her not to be so frightened—
And she doesn’t be so frightened any more.
THE THIRD CHAIR
When I am in my ship, I see
The other ships go sailing by.
A sailor leans and calls to me
As his ship goes sailing by.
Across the sea he leans to me,
Above the winds I hear him cry:
“Is this the way to Round-the-World?”
He calls as he goes by.
THE FOURTH CHAIR
Whenever I sit in a high chair
For breakfast or dinner or tea,
I try to pretend that it’s my chair,
And that I am a baby of three.
Shall I go off to South America?
Shall I put out in my ship to sea?
Or get in my cage and be lions and tigers?
Or—shall I be only Me?
Market Square
I had a penny,
A bright new penny,
I took my penny
