Anyways, Piglet saw many, many guests that night, but one stuck out to him in particular. (Yes, Piglet is a boy, not a girl). The guest's name was Eli. He was about three years old, and this little dude was stylin'! He had on grey plaid shorts, a light blue polo, and a grey "old man" hat, the Driver's hat. But outside of his clothes... oh my gosh, Eli was one of the cutest kids I'd ever seen in my life. White hair, big blue eyes, and the biggest smile I'd ever seen.
When Piglet made it to Eli's table, Eli wasn't too sure what to make of him. Eli's cousin ran right up to Piglet and shoved the autograph books into Piglet's hand. Piglet signed and handed it back with a hug. Eli toddled over to Piglet, autograph book clutched tightly against his chest. I remember the book looking so big compared to him. Piglet stuck out his "hand" and motioned for Eli to pet him; Piglet is super soft, and this often will comfort a guest who is unsure of him. Eli put his hand on Piglet's, and grinned. "Piggie soft!" he giggled. Piglet nodded enthusiastically, glad to be winning the little guy over. Eli just continued to laugh and laugh. He handed me his autograph book, and Piglet signed it. He was going to give it back to Eli, but paused because Eli's chubby, three year old hands were stroking Piglet's puffy cheeks. Precious, absolutely precious. Eli hugged Piglet tightly, and Piglet had to go see other guests (darn it because he did NOT want to leave little Eli!)
At the end of the night when the restaurant closes, we do a thing called Celebration. Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and of course, Piglet march in a big circle with all the kids who are left, while the Winnie the Pooh song plays. Well I have no idea why, but ALWAYS the kids tend to flock to Pooh and/or Tigger. Eeyore and Piglet end up awkwardly marching alone. This time was no different. The announcer told the kids to go to Pooh and his pals for a little parade! And Tigger ended up with a bunch of kids, and they were all holding hands and bouncing together. It was such cute thing to see. Piglet doesn't bounce, so he couldn't really join in. So he just kinda stood there.
But then he felt a little pat on his leg. He looked down to see Eli grinning up at him. "Hi, Piggie!" My heart flooded with love, as I knelt down and gave him a hug. Piglet grabbed his tiny hand, and motioned to him that they were going to march around the room together. The song started and Piglet led him around the room. Eli hadn't quite figured out marching; he tried, bless his heart, but he couldn't get his knees and feet to mimic Piglet's. But Piglet didn't mind... not one bit. Piglet took Eli around the room, making sure his parents had a good view. His mom was actually crying, as Eli went by and waved.
The parade ended, and it was time to leave. Piglet gave Eli a good-bye hug just as Piglet's attendant came up to him and grabbed his hand to lead him away. Piglet was walking to the exit, but heard Eli calling "Wait, Piggie, wait! Gotta give you one last kiss, Piggie!"
Of course, despite the attendants protest, Piglet turned around and half-jogged back to Eli. He knelt down and enveloped the small boy in his arms. Eli planted a kiss on Piglet's nose. Then he pointed at Piglet and said "I love you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much!" And stretched out his arms, making his chest puff out. Piglet pointed at himself, made a heart in the air, pointed at Eli, and stretched out his arms: I love you thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis much. Eli understood. He smiled and waved to Piglet.
Once Piglet was back inside, the attendant said to him, "Man, Piglet, Tigger got all the kids! You only had one!"
Piglet answered, "That's all I needed."
What a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing. I've always liked Piglet myself. And I knew he's a boy. It's not his fault that his voice just never changed.
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