Fic: Doctor Pooh: A Castrovalva Interlude
Title: Doctor Pooh: A Castrovalva Interlude
Verse: Doctor Who/Winnie the Pooh
Characters: The Fifth Doctor, Piglet, Pooh Bear, Christopher Robin
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,146
Summary: Sometimes we need a little help to get where we’re going. This began as a cracky idea when 4you_blue_jway & I were watching the Castrovalva DVD with commentary. The serial was filmed in Ashdown Forest, the “real life” Hundred Acre Wood, and we thought it would be cute if poor, confused Five encountered the inhabitants of the Wood. This story is set after Five is separated from Tegan & Nyssa and before he is captured by the Castrovalvans. Written as a children’s story in the spirit of A. A. Milne, with adorable illustrations by 4you_blue_jway .
It was a peaceful day in the Hundred Acre Wood. The silence was disturbed only by the happy tweeting of the birds as they flew under the sunshine, and the gentle rustle of the trees as a breeze passed through their leaves. It was as near to perfect a day as the inhabitants of the Wood could recall, though if asked, any of them (except poor gloomy Eeyore) would say that nearly every day here was more perfect than the last. You might say that here in the Wood, a perfect day was perfectly ordinary.
But ordinary days - even perfect ones - have a habit of becoming extraordinary when you least suspect it. Today was one of those days. There was nothing in the air to mark this day as unusual; not even the outward appearance of the stranger who had just crossed the borders of the Wood was very strange, save perhaps the look on his face. The tall man in the pale coat wore the look of a lost little boy, his blue eyes darting about the clearing as he came to the edge of the trees. Like most visitors to this place, he could not help but smile at the pretty scene, despite the worry in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” a small, squeaky voice said, causing the man to start.
The stranger looked ‘round, seeking the source of this interruption. It took some time, for the creature who spoke was very small indeed, but at length he was spotted. There in the branch of a nearby tree was a small piglet in a dark green jumper. The man did not seem to find a talking piglet to be out of the ordinary. He came over to the tree with a small smile on his face. Although he was tall, the stranger still had to tilt his head to look up at the piglet. He wondered to himself how such a small creature could manage to climb so high.
“Hello,” said the man cheerfully. “What are you doing all the way up there?”
Piglet peered down at the man from his perch on the branch. “I was looking for haycorns, sir. But I appear to be stuck.”
The man nodded, measuring the distance to the ground with his eyes. It would indeed be a long way to fall for such a small creature. “Would you like me to help you down?”
Piglet nodded, looking rather anxious. Perhaps he had been in the tree too long. “Y-yes please. If you would be so kind.”
Carefully, the stranger reached up and plucked Piglet from the tree branch, setting him in the soft bracken below.
“I am much obliged to you. How did you come to be in our wood,” he asked politely; Piglet didn’t think it a rude sort of question, for strangers were rare in the Hundred Acre Wood. The man frowned at the question, screwing up his face the way Pooh Bear did when he was trying to remember something very important.
“I’m not sure,” said the man sadly. “I think I’m looking for my friends. They’re in a place called Castrovalva but I seem to have gotten lost.”
“I don’t know where that is,” said Piglet. “But we could ask Pooh Bear. He knows the Wood well.”
And so Piglet and the stranger set off to find Pooh, Piglet sitting on the man’s shoulder (because there was plenty of room for him there and they could move much faster, with Piglet whispering directions in his ear).
Pooh was not at home, but they found him beyond the Six Pine Trees on one of his Thinking Walks. Pooh did not know where Castrovalva was either, but the man was cheered when Pooh suggested they go see Christopher Robin, who also lived in the Wood and was the smartest of them all. He even had a Map of the Wood he drew himself. If Castrovalva was near by, Pooh reasoned, it was certain to be on the Map.
Christopher Robin, a small blonde boy with uneven socks, was outside of his tree-house when the trio arrived. Although he did not normally like having Grown-Ups in his Wood, he decided he liked the stranger right away, for the man did not talk down to him and had a kind smile. He gladly retrieved his Map from his house, but the place the man was looking for was not marked anywhere.
“It must be very far away,” said Christopher Robin.
The man looked disheartened, but Christopher Robin had an idea. “If we climb the tree, maybe we can see beyond the edge of the Wood.” Christopher Robin lived in the biggest tree in the Wood, though, being only a small boy, he had never climbed to the top before. It wouldn’t be very hard for the man to do, as he was much bigger than all of them. Pooh decided to come along, for he was a very good climber and had gone to the top of the Bee Tree many times looking for honey.
The man’s long pale coat was not very suitable to climb in, and mindful of not wanting to ruin it, he laid it carefully on a large tree root and began to move up through the branches.
The top of the tree offered the perfect view of the Wood; Pooh Bear and the man could see far beyond the borders - and off in the distance, at the top of a very rocky cliff, was a white city shining in the sunlight. The man smiled happily - surely that was what he had been looking for.
On the ground once more, he helped Christopher Robin (who loved discovering new places) mark his Map with an arrow pointing in the direction of the city, for the map was too small to plot it exactly.
The man’s trainer had come untied during his climb, and Christopher Robin proudly taught him a rhyme (involving bunny ears that would surely have offended his friend Rabbit, who was rather vain about his own) and showed him how to loop the laces about each other into something like a bow. Properly prepared for his journey, the man donned his pale coat once more and set off with his small companions, who had decided to accompany him to the borders of the Wood.
It was a happy party that walked through the Woods, and the man obligingly carried Piglet on his shoulder once more. They parted company where the trees grew thicker, the man saying goodbye to each of them in turn, touching Pooh on the nose, ruffling Christopher Robin’s blonde hair (so like his own), and finally shaking Piglet’s tiny hand with great solemnity.
“I shall never forget your kindness,” he said with a smile, and with a final wave, turned from his new friends and set off through the trees.
Verse: Doctor Who/Winnie the Pooh
Characters: The Fifth Doctor, Piglet, Pooh Bear, Christopher Robin
Rating: G
Word Count: 1,146
Summary: Sometimes we need a little help to get where we’re going. This began as a cracky idea when 4you_blue_jway & I were watching the Castrovalva DVD with commentary. The serial was filmed in Ashdown Forest, the “real life” Hundred Acre Wood, and we thought it would be cute if poor, confused Five encountered the inhabitants of the Wood. This story is set after Five is separated from Tegan & Nyssa and before he is captured by the Castrovalvans. Written as a children’s story in the spirit of A. A. Milne, with adorable illustrations by 4you_blue_jway .
It was a peaceful day in the Hundred Acre Wood. The silence was disturbed only by the happy tweeting of the birds as they flew under the sunshine, and the gentle rustle of the trees as a breeze passed through their leaves. It was as near to perfect a day as the inhabitants of the Wood could recall, though if asked, any of them (except poor gloomy Eeyore) would say that nearly every day here was more perfect than the last. You might say that here in the Wood, a perfect day was perfectly ordinary.
But ordinary days - even perfect ones - have a habit of becoming extraordinary when you least suspect it. Today was one of those days. There was nothing in the air to mark this day as unusual; not even the outward appearance of the stranger who had just crossed the borders of the Wood was very strange, save perhaps the look on his face. The tall man in the pale coat wore the look of a lost little boy, his blue eyes darting about the clearing as he came to the edge of the trees. Like most visitors to this place, he could not help but smile at the pretty scene, despite the worry in his eyes.
“Excuse me,” a small, squeaky voice said, causing the man to start.
The stranger looked ‘round, seeking the source of this interruption. It took some time, for the creature who spoke was very small indeed, but at length he was spotted. There in the branch of a nearby tree was a small piglet in a dark green jumper. The man did not seem to find a talking piglet to be out of the ordinary. He came over to the tree with a small smile on his face. Although he was tall, the stranger still had to tilt his head to look up at the piglet. He wondered to himself how such a small creature could manage to climb so high.
“Hello,” said the man cheerfully. “What are you doing all the way up there?”
Piglet peered down at the man from his perch on the branch. “I was looking for haycorns, sir. But I appear to be stuck.”
The man nodded, measuring the distance to the ground with his eyes. It would indeed be a long way to fall for such a small creature. “Would you like me to help you down?”
Piglet nodded, looking rather anxious. Perhaps he had been in the tree too long. “Y-yes please. If you would be so kind.”
Carefully, the stranger reached up and plucked Piglet from the tree branch, setting him in the soft bracken below.
“I am much obliged to you. How did you come to be in our wood,” he asked politely; Piglet didn’t think it a rude sort of question, for strangers were rare in the Hundred Acre Wood. The man frowned at the question, screwing up his face the way Pooh Bear did when he was trying to remember something very important.
“I’m not sure,” said the man sadly. “I think I’m looking for my friends. They’re in a place called Castrovalva but I seem to have gotten lost.”
“I don’t know where that is,” said Piglet. “But we could ask Pooh Bear. He knows the Wood well.”
And so Piglet and the stranger set off to find Pooh, Piglet sitting on the man’s shoulder (because there was plenty of room for him there and they could move much faster, with Piglet whispering directions in his ear).
Pooh was not at home, but they found him beyond the Six Pine Trees on one of his Thinking Walks. Pooh did not know where Castrovalva was either, but the man was cheered when Pooh suggested they go see Christopher Robin, who also lived in the Wood and was the smartest of them all. He even had a Map of the Wood he drew himself. If Castrovalva was near by, Pooh reasoned, it was certain to be on the Map.
Christopher Robin, a small blonde boy with uneven socks, was outside of his tree-house when the trio arrived. Although he did not normally like having Grown-Ups in his Wood, he decided he liked the stranger right away, for the man did not talk down to him and had a kind smile. He gladly retrieved his Map from his house, but the place the man was looking for was not marked anywhere.
“It must be very far away,” said Christopher Robin.
The man looked disheartened, but Christopher Robin had an idea. “If we climb the tree, maybe we can see beyond the edge of the Wood.” Christopher Robin lived in the biggest tree in the Wood, though, being only a small boy, he had never climbed to the top before. It wouldn’t be very hard for the man to do, as he was much bigger than all of them. Pooh decided to come along, for he was a very good climber and had gone to the top of the Bee Tree many times looking for honey.
The man’s long pale coat was not very suitable to climb in, and mindful of not wanting to ruin it, he laid it carefully on a large tree root and began to move up through the branches.
The top of the tree offered the perfect view of the Wood; Pooh Bear and the man could see far beyond the borders - and off in the distance, at the top of a very rocky cliff, was a white city shining in the sunlight. The man smiled happily - surely that was what he had been looking for.
On the ground once more, he helped Christopher Robin (who loved discovering new places) mark his Map with an arrow pointing in the direction of the city, for the map was too small to plot it exactly.
The man’s trainer had come untied during his climb, and Christopher Robin proudly taught him a rhyme (involving bunny ears that would surely have offended his friend Rabbit, who was rather vain about his own) and showed him how to loop the laces about each other into something like a bow. Properly prepared for his journey, the man donned his pale coat once more and set off with his small companions, who had decided to accompany him to the borders of the Wood.
It was a happy party that walked through the Woods, and the man obligingly carried Piglet on his shoulder once more. They parted company where the trees grew thicker, the man saying goodbye to each of them in turn, touching Pooh on the nose, ruffling Christopher Robin’s blonde hair (so like his own), and finally shaking Piglet’s tiny hand with great solemnity.
“I shall never forget your kindness,” he said with a smile, and with a final wave, turned from his new friends and set off through the trees.