The trouble with being covered in fluff, is that it grants you the warmest of hearts. And so, when grave news reached the Hundred Acre Wood on International Winnie the Pooh day, neither Pooh nor his fluff covered friends felt like celebrating.
‘There’s just not enough care in the Outlands for the people who need it,’ said rabbit, who’d heard it from Albert Beetle, one of his smaller friends-and-relations.
‘Oh dear,’ sniffed Pooh, his heart – and his fur – feeling suddenly heavy. ‘It seems to me that everyone should have someone to care for them.’
‘Even if it’s just to hold their paw when they’re sad,’ agreed Piglet, placing a trotter on his dear friend’s paw.
‘It sounds like a broken system,’ said Owl, who despite knowing very little about the fixing of systems – or even about how they break – fluffed up his feathers and prepared to pontificate on the matter.
‘You see, much like the workings of our woodlands, the parts of a system are ..’ Owl paused, gesturing dramatically at absolutely nothing, ‘…invisible.’
Gathering momentum, he began to pace around the trunk of his home.
‘And fixing invisible things is decidedly difficult. One never knows quite where best to catch a hold of them!’ he declared, with a wing flap that very nearly toppled him.
‘One must go back and forth and forth and back in wise debate!’ he asserted, shifting direction repeatedly. ‘Step by careful step…’ he panted, ‘coming full circle,…to arrive at—’
‘Precisely right back where you started,’ muttered Eeyore. ‘And thinking about how to fix social care in the Outlands, has gone round in circles in parliament, for years.‘
‘And to think that I’ve always found lending a paw, to be rather simple,’ said Pooh feeling foolish, and pressing his aforementioned paw firmly down on Owls shoulder, to de-wobble him.
‘What’s parliament?’ asked Roo, who being small, was eager to understand grown up things.
‘It’s the place in the Outlands where the great minds pontificate on how to fix things’ managed Owl.
‘When its high time for actually doing something!’ said Eeyore.
‘Well I’ve always found that today is a good day for doing something’ said Pooh.
‘And that’s precisely what the Wilf Ward Family Trust think,’ said Rabbit, who’d heard it from Elephant Beetle, the largest of his smaller friends- and-relations.
‘They’re making changes to how they do things. And their CEO has spoken up, on the news, about how rising costs are making it harder to care for those who need it.
‘Highly commendable.’ said Eeyore. ‘Like a wise bear once said, one can’t just wait at the edge of the woods for the world to come to you!’
‘And their Jigsaw Group invited members of parliament to a meeting. But only one member of parliament showed up.’
‘Don’t the great minds in parliament know that today is a good day for doing something?’ asked Roo.
‘The trouble is that when everything needs fixing at once, people don’t always agree about what’s most important,’ said Eeyore.
‘But what could be more important than caring for people?’ asked Roo.
‘Absolutely nothing,’ said Kanga, gently spooning a dose of fixing medicine into Roo’s mouth, then wiping his face, and straightening his collar.
‘Not even honey,’ said Pooh solemnly.
‘Yes well, it’s all very easy to criticise, defended Owl. But fixing people with medicine costs money! And there’s not a lot left for a wash behind the ears and help with getting dressed and the like.’
‘When a bit of help at home, could prevent the need for fixing,’ said Kanga, guiding a springy Roo to perfect his steady landings.
‘Like I said, one never knows quite where best to catch a hold of it,’ admitted Owl.
‘What’s truly unwise, is waiting any longer to fix the problem,’ said Eeyore. ‘And all the different parties arguing about the best way to do things.’
‘Are we still talking about great minds and grownups?’ asked a puzzled Roo.
‘We are,’ confirmed Rabbit.
‘Are members of parliament … the fiercest of creatures?’ asked Piglet tentatively.
‘Of course not. They want to help, and dedicate their time to doing so.’ said Owl.
‘They just get far too caught up in their differences,’ muttered Eeyore.
‘Well let’s speak up like the Wilf’s and the Wards, and ask that they change the way they do things!’,’ said Piglet, finding his courage.
At which point Tigger bounced with such enthusiasm, he accidentally left a hole in the floor, which the group swiftly filled, like a reflex.
‘And stop blaming each other for old bumps in the road,’ added Eeyore.
‘Probably best not to even mention the roads,’ said rabbit.
‘Yes. No more criticism.’ said Pooh. ‘In fact, let’s send those good folks in parliament a present.’
‘A present. What kind of present?’ asked Owl.
‘A book,’ said Pooh assertively.
‘Ah yes a book, the perfect gift for great minds, I was just about to suggest it!’ claimed Owl. ‘And I just happen to have a spare copy of – Back and Forth: the Grand Dance of Wise Debate!’
‘I think we can assume that they’ve read that,’ muttered Eeyore.
‘I was thinking more specifically of our book,’ said Pooh.
‘Our book?’ said everyone.
‘Yes. The book of our adventures, here in the Hundred Acre Wood.’
‘But why on earth would parliament want to read about the time when Pooh ate so much honey, he got himself stuck, half way in and half way out of Rabbits doorway?’ asked Owl.
‘Because..,’ Pooh flushed, ‘our adventures show it’s precisely our differences that help us to work together to fix things.’
And for a moment the entire wood fell silent, hanging on the possibility of further wisdom.
‘Let parliament pontificate on that!’ proclaimed Rabbit.
‘Pontificated in parliament!’ gasped Owl, ‘I love it! ‘I really do!’
‘Me too!’ agreed everyone.
‘That’s settled then,’ said Pooh, flipping through the very book to find a blank page. ‘Now all we need to do, is sign it.’
At which point Tigger bounced with such enthusiasm, he accidentally toppled Pooh’s pot of honey, causing it spill all over the page.
‘Ah Tigger, we really are lucky to have your help,’ said Pooh. ‘This sweet idea of yours couldn’t be more perfect for our message.’
‘It couldn’t?’ said everyone.
‘Of course,’ said Pooh smiling and pressing his paw gently down on the page, then encouraging his friends to do the same.
‘The best, fix it plans are the ones that we all have a paw in.’
And with Tigger bouncing a sticky message all way to parliament, the friends could finally turn their attention to celebrating.
Which for Pooh, always begins in the same way. And by in the same way, I mean in the same place. Namely his fluff covered tummy, which much like a fluff covered heart, strives to feel full.