Pooh always liked a little something at eleven o'clock in the morning, and he was very glad to see Rabbit getting out the plates and mugs. Having a mouthful of something at Rabbit's is very nice indeed, but squeezing back out of the front door again is quite another matter. When Pooh finds himself a Wedged Bear, there's nothing to do but wait until he gets thin again. Oh Bother!
Although Milne wrote mostly plays and novels, the Pooh stories remain his best known work. For those not familiar with the wonderful way of writing of Alan Alexander Milne, I have selected extracts from his Winnie the Pooh stories to give you a quick impression. The first of these is two parts from 'In which Pooh goes visiting and gets into a tight place', the second chapter from 'Winnie-the-Pooh', which was first published on October 14, 1926 by Methuen & Company. Secondly, two parts from 'In which Tigger comes to the Forest and has breakfast' and thirdly, two parts from 'In which it is shown that Tiggers don't climb trees,' chapter two and four from 'The House at Pooh Corner,' published on October 11, 1928.During the first World War, troops from Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada) were being transported to eastern Canada, on their way to Europe, where they were to join the 2nd Canadian Infantry Brigade. When the train stopped at White River, Ontario, a lieutenant called Harry Colebourn bought a small female black bear cub for $20 from a hunter who had killed its mother. He named her 'Winnipeg', after his hometown of Winnipeg, or 'Winnie' for short.
Winnie became the mascot of the Brigade and went to Britain with the unit. When the Brigade was posted to the battlefields of France, Colebourn, now a Captain, took Winnie to the London Zoo for a long loan. He formally presented the London Zoo with Winnie in December 1919 where he became a popular attraction and lived until 1934.
The bear was also very popular with Christopher Robin, son of author A.A. Milne. It was his favourite animal at the...