The world’s favourite bear

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” — Christopher Robin to Pooh (AA Milne — Winnie the Pooh)

“But I’m a bear of very little brain,” said Pooh as soon as he saw me. “Why would you want to meet me?” “But you aren’t,” I insisted. “You’re actually wise.” “Really?” wondered Pooh. “That must all have been Christopher Robin or Owl. They were very wise.” I shook my head and smiled at him.

“So, why is your fur yellow? Aren’t bears brown or black?” I asked. Pooh looked thoughtful. “Maybe because I love honey so much? But my forebear wasn’t yellow, you know. He was a Canadian black bear cub who was brought to England by a soldier who was also a veterinarian. He was quite a smart bear — not like me. Unfortunately, the soldier had to leave him at London Zoo when he went to fight in the war in France. And that’s where Mr Milne and his son, Christopher, met him. They liked him so much that Christopher named his teddy bear (me) after him and then Mr Milne wrote down all my adventures in his books. Actually, Pooh was not a part of my name but it somehow got tagged on. Christopher had lots of other animals too and they all went on adventures with me.” “Yes, the New York public library has all of them in a bullet proof case and so many people visit to view them,” I added.

“Tell me, do you like honey more than anything else in the entire world?” Pooh thought that one over for a minute before giving me a tentative “yes”. “Maybe friends are just as important,” he said. “After all, a day without a friend is like a pot without a single drop of honey left inside.” I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do you have a favourite adventure?” I asked. Pooh is the only bear I know who thinks so much. Every question seemed to be worthy of deep thought! “I loved all my adventures. As long as you have friends to share them, they’re always special. I remember the very first one very clearly. It had two of my favourite things — honey and Christopher Robin.” “You mean the balloon one?” “Yes, I thought I heard bees busily making honey up in a tree. Since I couldn’t climb the tree, I used Christopher Robin’s balloon to fly up. I thought I could pretend to be a cloud and the bees wouldn’t notice me. They were so suspicious! I realised then, that these were not honey bees and there wasn’t any honey to be got. But now, I couldn’t get down. Christopher Robin, as I told you, was clever though. He popped the balloon with his gun and I slowly floated down to earth. It was such a lovely feeling to float like a feather even though I was always a bit on the ‘round’ side. I was too big to get out of Rabbit’s front door one time and got my head stuck in a jar another time. That’s why I like hugs.” said Pooh, “A hug, is always the right size!”

“In spite of living in a corner of a big forest, you and your friends always met, didn’t you? Sometimes I don’t get to meet my friends for whole weeks!” “You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes,” Pooh told me. He was right. You have to make the first move now and then.

“There are so many pieces of Pooh wisdom that people keep quoting nowadays. The stories have been translated into more than 50 languages. And you have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame!” Pooh’s yellow cheeks blushed red. “That’s because of the movies I starred in, isn’t it?” I nodded. “Disney bought all the rights to the books. You also have a day dedicated to you — January 18, which was Mr Milne’s birthday. You’re so, so famous!” I exclaimed.

Pooh looked embarrassed and he rubbed his nose. “Let’s not talk anymore. Let’s play Poohsticks.” “Ok,” I said, “let’s find a bridge.” And if you want to join us and you don’t know how to play, find a video online and that’ll show you.