Piglet: How do you spell love?
Pooh: You don’t spell it, you feel it.
The world is celebrating 100 years of Winnie-the-Pooh, the fictional, anthropomorphic teddy bear who has touched the hearts of generations of children and adults through books and cartoons. But who is Winnie-the-Pooh? What is the story behind the friendly bear who became a beloved character in children’s literature? Let’s take a closer look.
Winnie-the-Pooh, also known as Edward Bear or Pooh Bear, is a fictional character who first appeared in a collection of children’s stories published on 14 October 1926 by author AA Milne and illustrator EH Shepard. However, the character had appeared earlier in a children’s story commissioned by London’s Evening News for Christmas Eve in 1925.
The name was inspired by a real bear at London Zoo. However, the character’s connection to the real bear began with Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, who named his toy bear Winnie after the animal. Meanwhile, EH Shepard used his own son’s toy bear, ‘Growler’, as a reference for his illustrations.
Milne began writing stories for his son, Christopher Robin, who inspired the character of the same name. The stories featured the boy and his collection of toys, including his beloved teddy bear. Winnie-the-Pooh was the first book in the series, followed by The House at Pooh Corner in 1928.
In 1961, the Walt Disney Company acquired certain rights to the Winnie-the-Pooh stories from the estate of AA Milne and the licensing agent Stephen Slesinger, Inc. Disney subsequently developed its own adaptations of the stories, using the unhyphenated name ‘Winnie the Pooh’.
Winnie-the-Pooh is best known as a kind-hearted bear with an enduring love for ‘hunny’, his word for honey. He lives in the Hundred Acre Wood, a fictional setting inspired by Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, England. The other beloved characters include Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Kanga, Roo, Owl and Christopher Robin.
In an interview with CBS Evening News about her book Finding Winnie, author Lindsay Mattick recounts the real story behind the bear that inspired the fictional character. Mattick’s great-grandfather, Harry Colebourn, was the soldier who brought the original bear cub to London Zoo.
In 1914, Colebourn, a Canadian army veterinarian travelling to join his military unit, stopped at a railway station in Canada. There, he encountered a hunter selling a female bear cub for $20. According to the account, the hunter had killed the cub’s mother. Moved by the cub’s plight, Colebourn bought her and named her Winnie, after his hometown of Winnipeg.
Colebourn took Winnie with him as he travelled. She eventually became the mascot of his army unit. When he had to leave for military service overseas, he entrusted Winnie to London Zoo, where she was later donated permanently.
Winnie became a popular attraction at the zoo, particularly among children, who were drawn to her gentle nature. Among them was Christopher Robin Milne, who became so fond of the bear that he named his own stuffed toy after her. The name ‘Pooh’ was added later, inspired by a swan that Christopher Robin had encountered.
The first chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh offers a whimsical explanation for the name ‘Pooh’:
“But his arms were so stiff … they stayed up straight in the air for more than a week, and whenever a fly came and settled on his nose, he had to blow it off. And I think – but I am not sure – that that is why he is always called Pooh.”
As we revisit this beloved bear, perhaps we can look beyond the cuteness and timeless quotes to reflect on the real animal behind the character. In a world often shaped by human greed, Winnie’s story reminds us of the kindness and compassion that can emerge from an unexpected encounter between a human and an animal.