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A warm, imaginative storytelling podcast for kids and parents. Narrated by former children's library programmer Nathan Stone, it brings beloved classics like The Velveteen Rabbit and Winnie-the-Pooh to life, creating screen-free family moments perfect for bedtime, classrooms, and daycares.
00:02
Welcome to the Bedtime Storybook. I'm Nathan, and I've got some wonderful, timeless tales to share with you. These stories have been around for a long time. They've been enjoyed by children, parents, grandparents, maybe even great-grandparents. That's part of what makes them so special. I started reading these stories for my daughter.
00:29
But tales like these are even better when told to all who would hear them. After all, stories are nothing if they're not shared. So cozy up, snuggle in, and let's begin.
00:53
Today we head back to the Hundred Acre Woods to Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin, and their woodland friends. In today's story, Pooh and his good friend Piglet are on the hunt for woozles. What is a woozle, I hear you say? Well, it's certainly not a weasel, and I'm pretty sure it has no relation to a weasel. I hope that helps.
01:43
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 Piglet what it meant, he said that it was his grandfather's name, and it had been in the family for a long time. Christopher Robin said you couldn't be called Trespassers W,
02:13
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 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.
02:40
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 around in a circle, thinking of something else. Hello! said Piglet. What are you doing? Hunting, said Pooh. Hunting what? Tracking something, said Winnie the Pooh very mysteriously. Tracking what?
03:09
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 squeal of excitement. Pooh, do you think it's a woozle? It may be.
03:39
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 seems to be two animals now. This whatever-it-was
04:08
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?
04:20
Piglet scratched his ear in a nice sort of way. He 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 spinny of large trees just here, and it seemed as if the two woozles, if that's what they were,
04:48
had been going around this spinny. So round this spinny 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,
05:17
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 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!
05:47
piglet. Do you think it's another woozle? No, said Pooh, because it makes different marks. It is either two woozles and one as it might be whistle, or two as it might be whistles, 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.
06:16
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?
06:46
Look at their tracks. Three, as it were, woozles and one, as it was, whistle. Another woozle has joined them. And so it seemed to be. There were 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.
07:15
I think that I have just remembered something. I have just remembered something that I forgot to do yesterday and shan't be able to do tomorrow. So I suppose I really ought to get back and do it now." We'll do it this afternoon, I'll come with you," said Pooh. It's not the sort of thing you can do in an 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. oh
07:45
said Winnie the Pooh, looking at the sun. Between, as I was saying, the hours of 12 and 12.5. 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. Goodbye.
08:13
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 spinny twice by yourself, and then Piglet ran after you and you went around 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.
08:42
in the most thoughtful way he could. Then he lifted his paw into one of the tracks. 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.
09:13
Anyhow, he said, it's nearly lunchtime. So he went home for it.
09:40
No woozles for poo and piglet. But at least Christopher Robin saved poo from going around and around in a circle all day. Now I'd like to share with you a couple of fun poems by the author of Winnie the Pooh, uh A. Milne. This first poem is called Sneezles, and it's all about our friend Christopher Robin, sick in bed with a cold.
10:17
Christopher Robin had weasels and sneezels. They bundled him into his bed. They gave him what goes with a cold in the nose and some more for a cold in the head. They wondered if weasels could turn into measles, if sneezels would turn into mumps. They examined his chest for a rash and the rest of his body for swellings and lumps. They sent for some doctors in sneezels and weasels to tell them what ought to be done.
10:46
All sorts of conditions of famous physicians came hurrying round at a run. They all made a note of the state of his throat. They asked if he suffered from thirst.
10:58
They asked if the Sneezles came after the Weezles. Or if the first Sneezle came first. They said, if you Teezel a Sneezle or Weezle, a Meezle may easily grow.
11:11
But humor or please all the weasel or sneeze-el, the measle will certainly go. They expounded the riesels for sneeze-els and weasels, the manner of measles when new. They said if he freezes in draps and in breezes, then for thees-els may even ensue. Christopher Robin got up in the morning, the sneeze-els had vanished away, and the look in his eye seemed to say to the sky, now how to amuse them today?
11:43
Sometimes the only thing more remarkable than how a bad cold can make us feel is how quickly we can get over it. Our next poem is titled At the Zoo. There are always strange and wonderful creatures to see at the zoo. And this poem mentions many of them.
12:03
There are lions and roaring tigers, and enormous camels and things. There are bifilo-buffalo-bizons, and great big bear with wings. There's a sort of tiny Potamus, and a tiny Noceros too, but I gave buns to the elephant when I went down to the zoo. There are badgers and bidgers and bodgers, and a superintendent's house. There are masses of goats and a polar, and different kinds of mouse. And I think there's sort of something.
12:33
which is called a wallaboo, but I gave buns to the elephant when I went down to the zoo. If you try to talk to the bison, he never quite understands. You can't shake hands with a mingo. He doesn't like shaking hands. And lions and roaring tigers hate saying, how do you do? But I gave buns to the elephant when I go down to the zoo.
12:58
That brings us to the end of today's program. Thank you for joining me, and I look forward to next time.
13:39
And this has been a Haunted Mouse Production. Cut that out.