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✦ A Classic Poem ✦

Puppy and I

A poem by A. A. Milne, from When We Were Very Young, 1924

A child meets a man, a horse, a woman, and some rabbits on the road, and each is going down to the village. Then along comes a puppy with a much better plan.

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✦ The Poem ✦

Puppy and I

by A. A. Milne, from When We Were Very Young (1924). Public domain in the United States.

I met a man as I went walking; We got talking, Man and I. “Where are you going to, Man?” I said (I said to the Man as he went by). “Down to the village, to get some bread. Will you come with me?” “No, not I.”

I met a Horse as I went walking; We got talking, Horse and I. “Where are you going to, Horse, to-day?” (I said to the Horse as he went by). “Down to the village to get some hay. Will you come with me?” “No, not I.”

I met a Woman as I went walking; We got talking, Woman and I. “Where are you going to, Woman, so early?” (I said to the Woman as she went by). “Down to the village to get some barley. Will you come with me?” “No, not I.”

I met some Rabbits as I went walking; We got talking, Rabbits and I. “Where are you going in your brown fur coats?” (I said to the Rabbits as they went by. “Down to the village to get some oats. Will you come with us?” “No, not I.”

I met a Puppy as I went walking; We got talking, Puppy and I. “Where are you going this nice fine day?” (I said to the Puppy as he went by). “Up in the hills to roll and play.” “I’ll come with you, Puppy,” said I.

✦ About the Poem ✦

The Best Invitation

A. A. Milne (1882–1956) wrote When We Were Very Young in 1924 for his son, Christopher Robin, two years before Winnie-the-Pooh. The book was an instant success, and its poems, illustrated by E. H. Shepard, are still read aloud in nurseries a hundred years later.

The poem repeats the same pattern four times, so little listeners can join in with “No, not I.” Then the fifth meeting breaks the pattern: everyone else is going down to the village on errands, but the puppy is going up into the hills to play, and that is the one invitation the child accepts.

✦ Talk About It ✦

Questions to Share

  • What was each traveler going to the village to get?
  • Why did the child go with the puppy and not the others?
  • Who would you like to meet on a walk, and where would you go together?

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