‘I’ve had it,’ said Eeyore.

Pooh had now splashed across the stream to Eeyore, and Piglet was sitting a little way off, his head in his paws, snuffling to himself.

‘It’s a Useful Pot,’ said Pooh. ‘Here it is. And it’s got “A Very Happy Birthday with love from Pooh” written on it. That’s what all that writing is. And it’s for putting things in. There!’

When Eeyore saw the pot, he became quite excited.

‘Why!’ he said. ‘I believe my Balloon will just go into that Pot!’

‘Oh, no, Eeyore,’ said Pooh. ‘Balloons are much too big to go into Pots. What you do with a balloon is, you hold the balloon—’

‘Not mine,’ said Eeyore proudly. ‘Look, Piglet!’ And as Piglet looked sorrowfully round, Eeyore picked the balloon up with his teeth, and placed it carefully in the pot; picked it out and put it on the ground; and then picked it up again and put it carefully back.

‘So it does!’ said Pooh. ‘It goes in!’

‘So it does!’ said Piglet. ‘And it comes out!’

‘Doesn’t it?’ said Eeyore. ‘It goes in and out like anything.’

‘I’m very glad,’ said Pooh happily, ‘that I thought of giving you a Useful Pot to put things in.’

‘I’m very glad,’ said Piglet happily, ‘that I thought of giving you Something to put in a Useful Pot.’

But Eeyore wasn’t listening. He was taking the balloon out, and putting it back again, as happy as could be. …

‘And didn’t I give him anything?’ asked Christopher Robin sadly.

‘Of course you did,’ I said. ‘You gave him – don’t you remember – a little – a little—’

‘I gave him a box of paints to paint things with.’

‘That was it.’

‘Why didn’t I give it to him in the morning?’

‘You were so busy getting his party ready for him. He had a cake with icing on the top, and three candles, and his name in pink sugar, and—’

‘Yes, I remember,’ said Christopher Robin.