Archive of Our Own ^beta

Rainy days came to the Hundred Acre Wood as they did anywhere else. On these days Pooh polished his hunny pots, worked on his hums, or dug out his umbrella and went off to visit a friend, depending on his mood.

Today was an umbrella and puddle day. He'd woken up to the sound of raindrops dancing on the ground and thought "Oh what a lovely day to race between the raindrops and jump in puddles," so once he'd finished his morning honey, he pulled on his red rubber boots and picked up his brightly-coloured umbrella and wandered outside.

Happily, there was a puddle forming right outside his door. He tested it. "No, too small," he said to himself. It had barely made any splash at all. "I'll have to let that one grow a bit." Instead, he wandered down the path toward Christopher Robin's house in the hope that he would also feel like it was a puddle splashing day.

He investigated every puddle he came across along the way. Some of the larger ones he tested, but mostly he just noted where they were. If they came back this way there should be plenty of splashes to make. The rain beat against his umbrella in a hum inspiring rhythm.

Drop, drop, drop,
Hop, hop, hop,
Jump, jump, jump,

"Oh, bother. What rhymes with jump? Flump? Hump? Stump?" Pooh sat down on a rather damp stump, put his paw under his chin, stared at a puddle and thought.

Jump, jump, jump
Sitting on a stump.

"You can't jump if you're sitting on a stump, you silly old bear," Christopher Robin said from behind him.

"I know that. I'm trying to work out a hum," Pooh replied,very seriously. "I know." He stood up. "Watch out. You might get splashed."

Jump, jump, jump
Jump from a stump

Pooh did just that and it caused a satisfying splash, indeed.

Christopher Robin clapped delightedly. "That was a very good splash."

"I used up the puddle, though." Pooh said sadly.

"We can find more." Christopher Robin took Pooh's hand. "It's a lovely, puddle-splashing day. And you're the best bear in the world to spend it with."

They wandered through the forest in search of new puddles to splash in. Christopher Robin made Pooh teach him his new hum. They didn't find any other stumps close enough to puddles to jump, but

Hip, hop, skip
Shall we take a dip

and

Splish, splash, splish,
Jump and make a wish

were both well received.

Their path led them first to Piglet's house. Ever since the big flood, Piglet had insisted on keeping a boat moored right outside his window and now he was practising getting in and out, just in case. Or at least, that was what it looked like he was doing. When they got closer they could see all sorts of cans and jars and boxes in the boat, to the point where Piglet himself barely fit.

"Piglet, what are you doing?" Christopher Robin asked, laughing. "You've packed it so full, it probably won't even float."

Piglet looked at him seriously. "It h-h-has to, Christopher Robin. "I n-n-need all of these things."

"Food, yes, and dry clothes, but why would you need five jars of pine cones and a corner cupboard?" Pooh asked. He knew the jars contained pine cones because it said pin cons right on the jars. Owl had been teaching him his letters and he remembered those.

"Those aren't pine cones," Piglet said, "those are p-p-provisions. I put them in the pine cone jars so they'd stay dry." He opened a jar to display biscuits. "See."

"But the rain is stopping anyway," Christopher Robin pointed out, and so it was. The drip, drip drip from the sky had ceased and all that was left was water trickling down through the leaves.

"It's silly to put all these things back in the house, since you spent all that time bringing them out," Pooh said. His tummy was starting to get rumbly in the way that meant it was time for Elevenses. Jumping in puddles was hard work.

"Everything's all wet," Piglet protested.

"Not under the leaves here." Christopher Robin was already taking one of the blankets Piglet had used to keep his provisions dry and laying it on the ground. "We'll even help you take the rest of the things back inside once we eat."

Piglet couldn't argue with that, even though he knew he was on his last jar of honeycakes, so he started picking out the very best of his provisions and arranging them neatly on the blanket.

They had just sat down to eat when Eeyore came down the path.

"Hello. Lovely day, isn't it? Drip, drip drip, always dripping." He shook himself, getting water all over the other three. "And now you're having a picnic. Strange day for a picnic, being so wet and all. Shouldn't have expected anyone would want to have a picnic on a day like today."

"It's a Rainy Day Picnic," Christopher Robin interrupted, making it sound like a very important thing."Would you like to stay and join us? There are thistles."

"A picnic in the rain. Wouldn't everything just get wet?" Eeyore continued, as though Christopher Robin hadn't said anything. "And it's not as though anyone would invite me to such a picnic-" he broke off there. "Thistles you say. Don't mind if I do."

Pooh wasn't sure why Piglet had packed thistles, but it was just as well.

They all sat on the blanket and ate until they were full

"L-l-look," Piglet exclaimed as Pooh finished the very last of the honeycakes. "A rainbow."

"Pretty," Eeyore barely glanced at it. "These thistles were very good, and the wetness made them taste extra flavourful. I should try them wet again sometime."

They sat and digested their meals for a little while, watching as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and slowly dried up the puddles.

Pooh felt a little disappointed. "But there will be other puddles to jump in another day," he thought.

"We should help Piglet get the rest of this back inside," Christopher Robin suggested.

And they all did. Piglet directed them where to put everything, while the other three fetched and carried, but that was okay. He was a very small animal. "And hang the blanket on that branch over there." Despite their care in placing it on a dryish spot it had ended up very damp.

Once they were done, they all said their good-byes and Eeyore wandered off in one direction, while Christopher Robin and Pooh went off, hand in hand, in the other.

"Maybe not all the puddles are dried up," Pooh said hopefully.

"I imagine we could find one or two," Christopher Robin replied. "Maybe down by the floody place."

"That's a very good place to look for puddles," Pooh agreed. "It's a good day, isn't it, Christopher Robin?"

"One of the very best."