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Winnie-the-Pooh
In the Winnie-the-Pooh books, Piglet is Pooh’s best friend and frequent companion. He’s kind and loving, but also shy and cowardly, in part because he’s a “Very Small Animal.” As a result, the other animals sometimes mistreat him—but Pooh frequently defends him and teaches him to stand up for himself. At the end of The House at Pooh Corner, when Owl’s house blows down, Piglet is the only one small enough to squeeze out the mailbox and go get help. Pooh’s encouragement convinces Piglet to believe in himself and try things that he didn’t think he could do otherwise. In fact, Pooh’s relationship with Piglet shows how Taoists can use compassion and care (or Tz’u) to help others grow and find wisdom. For Hoff, whereas Pooh represents a Taoist sage who has achieved wisdom, Piglet represents a disciple in the early stages of acquiring it.
Piglet Quotes in The Tao of Pooh
The The Tao of Pooh quotes below are all either spoken by Piglet or refer to Piglet. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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That Sort of Bear Quotes
The two Fearless Rescues just mentioned bring us to one of the most important terms of Taoism: Tz’u, which can be translated as “caring” or “compassion” and which is based upon the character for heart. In the sixty-seventh chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Lao-tse named it as his “first treasure,” and then wrote, “From caring comes courage.” We might add that from it also comes wisdom. It’s rather significant, we think, that those who have no compassion have no wisdom. Knowledge, yes; cleverness, maybe; wisdom, no. A clever mind is not a heart. Knowledge doesn’t really care. Wisdom does.
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Piglet Character Timeline in The Tao of Pooh
The timeline below shows where the character Piglet appears in The Tao of Pooh. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Foreword
...Pooh says that the first thing he thinks about in the morning is breakfast, while Piglet says he always thinks about whatever exciting adventures he’ll go on that day. “It’s the...
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The Tao of Who?
In another passage, Rabbit tries to lead Pooh and Piglet home, but keeps coming back to the same sand pit. Pooh tells Rabbit that maybe...
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...replies that nothing matters. His attitude is sometimes darkly funny. In another passage, Pooh and Piglet visit Eeyore to make sure his house is okay after a storm. Eeyore responds by...
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...asks him to explain it. Concerned, Pooh insists that “I didn’t do it.” He blames Piglet, then they both blame Rabbit, who says he also hasn’t seen the Uncarved Block. Pooh...
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Pooh embodies a fundamental Taoist secret: “Life is Fun.” After all, Pooh and Piglet have plenty of fun when they check on Eeyore’s house and wish Rabbit “a Very...
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Spelling Tuesday
...“it’s the second day of the week.” He thinks the next day is “Thirdsday.” But Piglet says that it’s today, and Pooh says that today is his favorite day of all....
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...Eeyore spells the letter “A” with sticks and declares that he’s better than Pooh and Piglet because he’s capital-E “Educated.” But he’s surprised when Rabbit knows “A,” and he bitterly kicks...
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Cottleston Pie
...swim, and climb trees—but then gets stuck in a tree and has to yell to Piglet and Pooh for help. Tigger tells Hoff that he’s learned his lesson and is off...
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...them. When people work with their weaknesses, they can turn them into strengths. (For example, Piglet escaped from Owl’s ruined house because he was small enough to fit through the letterbox.)
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...illustrate his point, Hoff recalls the scene in the Winnie-the-Pooh books in which Pooh and Piglet set out to catch a Heffalump (a mystical creature they’ve never seen). Pooh decides to...
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...“Unbounce yourself.” This is a reference to another passage in the Pooh books: after Rabbit, Piglet, and Roo rescue Eeyore from the river, Eeyore claims that someone (Tigger) “BOUNCED” him into...
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The Pooh Way
...with them. It’s like the scene in The House at Pooh Corner in which Pooh, Piglet, Rabbit, and Roo find Eeyore floating down the river, waiting to be rescued. Pooh and...
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...ego, cleverness, and knowledge try to “mak[e] pegs fit where they don’t belong.” For instance, Piglet gets stuck trying to open a pickle jar, but Pooh easily pops it open by...
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...the Very Small Beetle. Rabbit organizes and directs everyone but Pooh, who accidentally steps on Piglet, wonders what’s going on, and then accidentally finds the beetle. In Wu Wei (the Pooh...
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Pooh and Piglet’s birthday party for Eeyore is another example of how things tend to work out the...
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...instead of deciding whom to visit, Pooh wanders around and comes to his answer naturally: Piglet. By following his instincts, Pooh lives a stress-free life.
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That Sort of Bear
...This chapter is about “enjoying life and being Special.” In the Pooh books, Rabbit takes Piglet and Pooh on an adventure. Piglet and Pooh worry that they’ll be useless on the...
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...attention to what was around him and using it for its true purpose. Similarly, when Piglet gets stuck in a flood, he worries that he “can’t do anything” until he remembers...
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...people can have knowledge and cleverness, but not true wisdom. Pooh once saves Roo and Piglet because of his Tz’u. On a different eventful day, Piglet and Pooh visit Owl, whose...
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After Piglet rescues Pooh and Owl, Pooh sings a song about Piglet’s bravery, and Piglet is flattered....
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...can inspire thousands of others in an army. This is why Pooh sings “ho! for Piglet, ho!” (and for himself, too). After Pooh’s song, Christopher Robin explains that their party is...
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