In Which Christopher Robin Gives Lexi a Party and We Say GoodBye

-
We have come to the very end of this book, but before we go, we have time for one more story.
-
-
We start this story with Christopher Robin telling Owl he's going to have a party and a special party at that, dedicated to celebrating the remarkable achievements of one Lexi Bear, who showed a tremendous amount of Brain in the last chapter by discovering the Carillon, and by that we mean discovering Nana.
-
-
-
Christopher Robin asks Owl to let all of the animals in the forest know about the party, and so Owl flies off to ask Pooh to do just that.
-
-
The first person Pooh tells, quite fittingly, is the star guest herself, Alexa. Lexi wants to know if there will be little cakes with pink icing sugar at the party, but Pooh is rather too grand to talk about such trifles (or indeed cakes), so she just repeats what Christopher Robin had said and flies off to find Eeyore.
-
Lexi is naturally very excited to find out that there is going to be a party in her honour, although she is a little anxious in case the other animals just think that it is a usual sort of party, rather than a Alexaish sort of party, and what if they don't even know that she invented the Carillon and found Nana practically single-handedly?

-

Meanwhile, Pooh has found Eeyore in her Gloomy Place. Pooh tells Eeyore that she is actually invited to the party, but Eeyore doesn't believe Pooh at first and thinks Pooh is referring to Piglet ("the little fellow with the excited ears"). Pooh insists that she really is inviting Eeyore, but Eeyore still isn't convinced, and thinks that Christopher Robin most likely wanted to invite everyone except Eeyore.
Pooh is a little hot under the collar by now, and absolutely, categorically states that everyone is invited, including Eeyore, and Eeyore finally accepts the invitation, although she still thinks that there has been some kind of mistake, and it will rain anyway.

-

And on to the party! Christopher Robin has set out a long table for all of them to sit at, with Tigger at one end of the table and Christopher Robin in pride of place at the other. All the animals are there, Owl and Eeyore and Piglet and Rabbit and Kanga and Roo.

-

-

-

-
And all Lexi's friends-and-relations spread themselves about on the couch, and waited hopefully in case anybody spoke to them, or dropped anything, or asked them the time.
-
-
-
-

-

-

For little Roo this is the very first party he has ever been to in his life, so he is a little whirlwind of excitement, saying hello to everyone in sight and bouncing up and down.

-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Kanga said to Roo, "Drink up your milk first, dear, and talk afterwards." So Roo, who was drinking his milk, tried to say that he could do both at once...and had to be patted on the back and dried for quite a long time afterwards.
-
The animals all have a good long munch of the party food, and then Christopher Robin gets up to make a speech.
-
All of the animals fall silent at this point...
...except Roo who was just finishing a loud attack of hiccups and trying to look as if it was one of Rabbit's relations.
-
And Christopher Robin starts his speech. He begins by saying that the party is a special party in honour of a special guest who did something special, which they all know about, and that he has a present for this special person.
-
-
Christopher Robin finally manages to find the present he has been searching for, and asks the animals to pass it along to Alexa. Eeyore is taken aback to find out that the present is for Lexi rather than for him.
-
The animals aren't paying any attention to Eeyore though, because Lexi's present is much more exciting. Lexi opens up the present as quickly as possible while trying to leave the string intact, because she might need a bit of string sometime, it could be Useful.
And what is the present? Well, Alexa is so thrilled by it that she almost falls over -- it's a picture frame with lots of different pictures (some marked "L" for Lexi and some marked "LB" for Lexi and Baby!).
-
-
-


-
-
-

Alexa says thank you for her lovely present, while all the other animals are still gasping in wonderment (well, except for Eeyore).

-
-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

And once the party is over and they have all said Thank you for having me, Pooh and Piglet walk home together through the forest.

-
"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"
"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"
"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
"It's the same thing," he said.