Pohádka

A. A. Milne
Winnie-The-Pooh - Chapter 3
...IN WHICH POOH AND PIGLET GO HUNTING AND NEARLY CATCH A WOOZLE
THE Piglet lived in a very grand house in the middle of a beech-tree, and the
beech-tree was in the middle of the forest, and the Piglet lived in the middle
of the house. Next to his house was a piece of broken board which had:
"TRESPASSERS W" on it. When Christopher Robin asked the Piglet what it meant, he
said it was his grandfather's name, and had been in the family for a long time.
Christopher Robin said you couldn't be called Trespassers W, and Piglet said
yes, you could, because his grandfather was, and it was short for Trespassers
Will, which was short for Trespassers William. And his grandfather had had two
names in case he lost one--Trespassers after an uncle, and William after
Trespassers.
"I've got two names," said Christopher Robin carelessly.
"Well, there you are, that proves it," said Piglet.
One fine winter's day when Piglet was brushing away the snow in front of his
house, he happened to look up, and there was Winnie-the-Pooh. Pooh was walking
round and round in a circle, thinking of something else, and when Piglet called
to him, he just went on walking.
"Hallo!" said Piglet, "what are you doing?"
"Hunting," said Pooh.
"Hunting what?"
"Tracking something," said Winnie-the-Pooh very mysteriously.
"Tracking what?" said Piglet, coming closer
"That's just what I ask myself. I ask myself, What?"
"What do you think you'll answer?"
"I shall have to wait until I catch up with it," said Winnie-the-Pooh. "Now,
look there." He pointed to the ground in front of him. "What do you see there?"
"Tracks," said Piglet. "Paw-marks." He gave a little squeak of excitement. "Oh,
Pooh! Do you think it's a--a--a Woozle?"
"It may be," said Pooh. "Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't. You never can
tell with paw- marks."
With these few words he went on tracking, and Piglet, after watching him for a
minute or two, ran after him. Winnie-the-Pooh had come to a sudden stop, and was
bending over the tracks in a puzzled sort of way.
"What's the matter?" asked Piglet.
"It's a very funny thing," said Bear, "but there seem to be two animals now.
This--whatever-it-was--has been joined by another--whatever-it-is--
and the two of them are now proceeding in company. Would you mind coming with
me, Piglet, in case they turn out to be Hostile Animals?"
Piglet scratched his ear in a nice sort of way, and said that he had nothing to
do until Friday, and would be delighted to come, in case it really was a Woozle.
"You mean, in case it really is two Woozles," said Winnie-the-Pooh, and Piglet
said that anyhow he had nothing to do until Friday. So off they went together.
There was a small spinney of larch trees just here, and it seemed as if the two
Woozles, if that is what they were, had been going round this spinney; so round
this spinney went Pooh and Piglet after them; Piglet passing the time by telling
Pooh what his Grandfather Trespassers W had done to Remove Stiffness after
Tracking, and how his Grandfather Trespassers W had suffered in his later years
from Shortness of Breath, and other matters of interest, and Pooh wondering what
a Grandfather was like, and if perhaps this was Two Grandfathers they were after
now, and, if so, whether he would be allowed to take one home and keep it, and
what Christopher Robin would say. And still the tracks went on in front of
them....
Suddenly Winnie-the-Pooh stopped, and pointed excitedly in front of him. "Look!"
"What?" said Piglet, with a jump. And then, to show that he hadn't been
frightened, he jumped up and down once or twice more in an exercising sort of
way.
"The tracks!" said Pooh. "A third animal has joined the other two!" "Pooh!"
cried Piglet "Do you think it is another Woozle?"
"No," said Pooh, "because it makes different marks. It is either Two Woozles and
one, as it might be, Wizzle, or Two, as it might be, Wizzles and one, if so it
is, Woozle. Let us continue to follow them."
So they went on, feeling just a little anxious now, in case the three animals in
front of them were of Hostile Intent. And Piglet wished very much that his
Grandfather T. W. were there, instead of elsewhere, and Pooh thought how nice it
would be if they met Christopher Robin suddenly but quite accidentally, and only
because he liked Christopher Robin so much. And then, all of a sudden,
Winnie-the-Pooh stopped again, and licked the tip of his nose in a cooling
manner, for he was feeling more hot and anxious than ever in his life before.
There were four animals in front of them!
"Do you see, Piglet? Look at their tracks! Three, as it were, Woozles, and one,
as it was, Wizzle. Another Woozle has joined them!"
And so it seemed to be. There were the tracks; crossing over each other here,
getting muddled up with each other there; but, quite plainly every now and then,
the tracks of four sets of paws.
"I think," said Piglet, when he had licked the tip of his nose too, and found
that it brought very little comfort, "I think that I have just remembered
something. I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday and
sha'n't be able to do to-morrow. So I suppose I really ought to go back and do
it now."
FACE="Arial"> "We'll do it this afternoon, and I'll come with you," said Pooh.
"It isn't the sort of thing you can do in the afternoon," said Piglet quickly.
"It's a very particular morning thing, that has to be done in the morning, and,
if possible, between the hours of What would you say the time was?"
"About twelve," said Winnie-the-Pooh, looking at the sun.
"Between, as I was saying, the hours of twelve and twelve five. So, really, dear
old Pooh, if you'll excuse me-- What's that."
Pooh looked up at the sky, and then, as he heard the whistle again, he looked up
into the branches of a big oak-tree, and then he saw a friend of his.
"It's Christopher Robin," he said.
"Ah, then you'll be all right," said Piglet.
"You'll be quite safe with him. Good-bye," and he trotted off home as quickly as
he could, very glad to be Out of All Danger again.
Christopher Robin came slowly down his tree.
"Silly old Bear," he said, "what were you doing? First you went round the
spinney twice by yourself, and then Piglet ran after you and you went round
again together, and then you were just going round a fourth time"
"Wait a moment," said Winnie-the-Pooh, holding up his paw.
He sat down and thought, in the most thoughtful way he could think. Then he
fitted his paw into one of the Tracks . . . and then he scratched his nose
twice, and stood up.
"Yes," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
"I see now," said Winnie-the-Pooh.
"I have been Foolish and Deluded," said he, "and I am a Bear of No Brain at
All."
"You're the Best Bear in All the World," said Christopher Robin soothingly.
"Am I?" said Pooh hopefully. And then he brightened up suddenly.
"Anyhow," he said, "it is nearly Luncheon Time."
So he went home for it.

Stylové roviny

The Coopered Ken

The ease with which Pierce and his fellow conspirators obtained the first two keys gave them a sense of

confidence that was soon to prove false. Almost immediately after obtaining Fowler's key, they ran into

difficulties from an unexpected quarter: the South Eastern Railway changed its routine for the dispatcher's

offices in London Bridge Station.

The gang employed Miss Miriam to watch the routine of the offices, and in late December, 1854, she

returned with bad news. At a meeting in Pierces house, she told both Pierce and Agar that the railway

company had hired a jack who now guarded the premises at night.

Since they had been planning to break in at night, this was sour news indeed. But according to Agar,

Pierce covered his disappointment quickly. "What's his rig?" he asked.

"He comes on duty at lock-up each night, at seven sharp," Miss Miriam said.

"And what manner of fellow is he?"

"He's a ream escop," she replied, meaning a real policeman. "He's forty or so; square-rigged, fat. But I'll

wager he doesn't sleep on the job, and he's no lushington."

"Is he armed?"

"He is," she said, nodding.

"Where's he lurk, then?" Agar said.

"Right at the door. Sits up at the top of the steps by the door, and does not move at all. He has a small

paper bag at his side, which I think is his supper." Miss Miriam could not be sure of that, because she

dared not remain watching the station office too late in the day for fear of arousing suspicion.

"Crikey," Agar said in disgust. "Sits right by the door? He's coopered that ken."

"I wonder why they put on a night guard," Pierce said.

"Maybe they knew we were giving it the yack," Agar said, for they had kept the office under

surveillance, off and on, for a period of months, and someone might have noticed.

Pierce sighed.

"No gammon now," Agar said.

"There's always a gammon," Pierce said.

"It's coopered for sure," Agar said.

"Not coopered," Pierce said, "just a little more difficult is all."

"How you going to knock it over, then?" Agar said.

"At the dinner hour," he said.

"In broad daylight?" Agar said, aghast.

"Why not?" Pierce said.

  Kapitola 20 / Spálená rána

  Snadnost, s jakou Pierce a jeho kumpáni získali první dva klíče, jim dodala sebedůvěry, která se brzy ukázala falešnou. Takřka vzápětí po získání Fowlerova klíče narazili na potíže z nečekané strany: Jihovýchodní dráha pozměnila zaběhnutý řád své výpravny na nádraží London Bridge.

  Tlupa vysílala slečnu Miriam pozorovat denní běh kanceláří, a ta koncem prosince 1854 přinesla špatnou zprávu. Na schůzce v Piercově domě Piercovi a Agarovi oznámila, že si železniční společnost najala strnada, který teď střeží její místnosti přes celou noc.

  To byla mrzutá zpráva, poněvadž měli v plánu vloupat se tam v noci. Ale podle Agara se Pierce s tímhle zklamáním rychle vypořádal. "Jak drží služby?" zeptal se.

  "Přichází každý večer, když zavírají, přesně v sedm," řekla slečna Miriam.

  "Co je to za chlápka?"

  "Klabnej pudil," odpověděla, čímž měla na mysli, že si nezadá s poctivým policistou. "Je mu kolem čtyřicítky, slušňácky olepený, tlustý. Ale vsadím se, že ve službě nespí a zpiťar to taky není."

  "Je ozbrojený?"

  "Je," přikývla.

  "Kde se vometá?" řekl Agar.

  "Sedí hned u dveří. Na schodech přede dveřma do kanceláře a celou noc se odtud nehne. Na prahu má papírový pytlík, myslím, že si v něm nosí večeři." Jistá si tím slečna Miriam ale nebyla, neboť se neodvážila zůstat na nádraží dlouho do noci, bylo by to nápadné.

  "Kristova noho," řekl znechuceně Agar. "Hned za dveřma? To nám teda spálil ránu."

  "Zajímalo by mě, proč najali nočního hlídače," řekl Pierce.

  "Třeba zmerčili, že tam hážem voko," řekl Agar, protože několik měsíců střídavě sledovali provoz kanceláře a někdo si jich mohl všimnout.

  Pierce si povzdychl.

  "A máme po ftákách," řekl Agar.

  "Nějaké řešení se vždycky najde," řekl Pierce.

  "Poznám spálenou ránu," řekl Agar.

  "Není spálená," řekl Pierce, "bude to jen trochu těžší, nic víc."

  "Jak byste se tam chtěl vbourat?" zeptal se Agar.

  "Přes oběd," zněla odpověď.

  "Na bělo?" zděsil se Agar při představě, že by měli riskovat vloupání za bílého dne.

  "Proč ne?" řekl Pierce.