“Yes, you said something like that.”
“But if we obey universal reason we are free and independent. Did I say that, too?”
“Yes. Why are you saying it again now?”
Alberto leaned toward Sophie, looked deep into her eyes, and whispered: “Don’t believe everything you see, Sophie.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just turn the other way, child.”
“Now, I don’t understand what you mean at all.”
“People usually say, I’ll believe that when I see it. But don’t believe what you see, either.”
“You said something like that once before.”
“Yes, about Parmenides.”
“But I still don’t know what you mean.”
“Well, we sat out there on the step, talking. Then that so-called sea serpent began to flap about in the water.”
“Wasn’t it peculiar!”
“Not at all. Then Little Red Ridinghood came to the door. ‘I’m looking for my grandmother’s house.’ What a silly performance! It’s just the major’s tricks, Sophie. Like the banana message and that idiotic thunderstorm.”
“Do you think ... ?”
“But I said I had a plan. As long as we stick to our reason, he can’t trick us. Because in a way we are free. He can let us ‘perceive’ all kinds of things; nothing would surprise me. If he lets the sky go dark or elephants fly, I shall only smile. But seven plus five is twelve. That’s a fact that survives all his comic-strip effects. Philosophy is the opposite of fairy tales.”
Sophie sat for a moment staring at him in amazement.
“Off you go,” he said finally. “I’ll call you for a session on Romanticism. You also need to hear about Hegel and Kierkegaard. But there’s only a week to go before the major arrives at Kjevik airport. Before then, we must manage to free ourselves from his gluey fantasies. I’ll say no more, Sophie. Except that I want you to know I’m working on a wonderful plan for both of us.”
“I’ll be off, then.”
“Wait—we may have forgotten the most important thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The birthday song, Sophie. Hilde is fifteen today.”
“So am I.”
“You are, too, yes. Let’s sing then.”
They both stood up and sang:
“Happy Birthday to You.”
It was half-past four. Sophie ran down to the water’s edge and rowed over to the other side. She pulled the boat up into the rushes and began to hurry through the woods.
When she reached the path, she suddenly noticed something moving between the trees. She wondered if it was Little Red Ridinghood wandering alone through the woods to her grandmother’s, but the figure between the trees was much smaller.
She went nearer. The figure was no bigger than a doll. It was brown and was wearing a red sweater.
Sophie stopped dead in her tracks when she realized it was a teddy bear.
That someone could have left a teddy bear in the forest was in itself no surprise. But this teddy bear was alive, and seemed intensely preoccupied.
“Hi,” said Sophie.
“My name is Winnie-the-Pooh,” said the teddy bear, “and I have unfortunately lost my way in the woods on this otherwise very fine day. I have certainly never seen you before.”
“Maybe I’m the one who has never been here before,” said Sophie. “So for that matter you could still be back home in Hundred Acre Wood.”
“No, that sum is much too hard. Don’t forget I’m only a small bear and I’m not very clever.”
“I have heard of you.”
“And I suppose you are Alice. Christopher Robin told us about you one day. I suppose that’s how we met. You drank so much out of one bottle that you got smaller and smaller. But then you drank out of another bottle and started to grow again. You really have to be careful what you put in your mouth. I ate so much once that I got stuck in a rabbit hole.”
“I am not Alice.”
“It makes no difference who we are. The important thing is that we are. That’s what Owl says, and he is very wise. Seven plus four is twelve, he once said on quite an ordinary sunny day. Both Eeyore and me felt very stupid, ‘cos it’s hard to do sums. It’s much easier to figure out the weather.”
“My name is Sophie.”
“Nice to meet you, Sophie. As I said, I think you must be new around here. But now this little bear has to go ‘cos I’ve got to find Piglet. We are going to a great big garden party for Rabbit and his friends.”
He waved with one paw. Sophie saw now that he was holding a little folded piece of paper in the other.
“What is that you’ve got there?” she asked.
Winnie-the-Pooh produced the paper and said: “This was what made me lose my way.”
“But it’s only a piece of paper.”
“No it’s not only a piece of paper. It’s a letter to Hilde-through-the-Looking-Glass.”
“Oh—I can take that.”
“Are you the girl in the looking glass?”
“No, but. . .”
“A letter must always be delivered personally. Christopher Robin had to teach me that only yesterday.”
“But I know Hilde.”
“Makes no difference. Even if you know a person very well, you should never read their letters.”
“I mean, I can give it to Hilde.”
“That’s quite a different thing. Here you are, Sophie. If I can get rid of this letter, I can probably find Piglet as well. To find Hilde-through-the-Looking-Glassyou must first find a big looking glass. But that is no easy matter round here.”
And with that the little bear handed over the folded paper to Sophie and set off through the woods on his little feet. When he was out of sight, Sophie unfolded the piece of paper and read it:
Dear Hilde, It’s too bad that Alberto didn’t also tell Sophie that Kant advocated the establishment of a “league of nations.” In his treatise Perpetual Peace, he wrote that all countries should unite in a league of the nations, which would assure peaceful coexistence between nations. About 125 years after the appearance of this treatise in 1795, the League of Nations was founded, after the First World War. After the Second World War it was replaced by the United Nations. So you could say that Kant was the father of the UN idea. Kant’s point was that man’s “practical reason” requires the nations to emerge from their wild state of nature which creates wars, and contract to keep the peace. Although the road to the establishment of a league of nations is laborious, it is our duty to work for the “universal and lasting securing of peace.” The establishment of such a league was for Kant a far- distant goal. You could almost say it was philosophy’s ultimate goal. I am in Lebanon at the moment. Love, Dad.
Sophie put the note in her pocket and continued on her way homeward. This was the kind of meeting in the woods Alberto had warned her about. But she couldn’t have let the little teddy wander about in the woods on a never ending hunt for Hilde-through-the-Looking-Glass, could she?
Romanticism
…the path of mystery leads inwards…
Hilde let the heavy ring binder slide into her lap. Then she let it slide further onto the floor.
