Where is Tigger?

“I’m Pooh,” said Pooh. 
“I’m Tigger,” said Tigger. —A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

 

Squeals of delight.

Dad has been reading A.A. Milne’s beloved Winnie the Pooh stories to my younger siblings for the past few weeks, just like he did with me and Jack. Though the tales have been enjoyed by all (even me, listening in as I wash dishes) there has been one fateful question asked every night.

Where is Tigger?

Where is Tigger?

I’ll admit, I didn’t think much of it at first, but it soon became a far greater thing than I expected. Every night I could hear someone ask over the noise of the after-dinner cleanup, demanding to know where that striped bouncing menace was. Every chapter ended in frustration. Tigger just wasn’t in the book. Birdie came up to me and joyfully announced that they had finished Winnie the Pooh, but, “We still haven’t gotten to Tigger!” Soon came The House at Pooh Corner from the library, and behold! There was a striped animal on the cover! Could it be? But alas, once the first chapter was read and good night was said by all, here came Birdie: “Still no Tigger.”

And then there he was.

Before you could say “T-I-Double Guh-Rrr,” a layer of wonder was added to the Hundred-Acre wood. Because it’s not that it wasn’t beautiful before, but there’s something magical about it now that he is there. The wood wasn’t empty without him, but now that he’s here it’s wonderfully full of excitement and adventure. Now people can get lost in the woods and think in sandy pits and climb trees and get bounced on. Now there’s Tigger for heaven’s sakes!

Isn’t it so good to have Tigger around?