Today I learned the real history of one of my favorite children's book characters. I am referring to the renowned "Winnie-the-Pooh". Now, many folks know that there was a real child, Christopher Robin, who was the son of author A.A. Milne. As a youngster, Christopher Robin, had a stuffed bear, which he named Edward. His father, told his young son stories about the bear. These stories eventually became a series of books and poems about the bear, his fiend Piglet, Owl, Eyeore (a donkey), Kanga and her baby Roo.
However, today I learned how Edward, became Pooh. Around 1914, Henry Colbourn, a Canadian Veterinarian, happened upon a bear cub that was being sold at the Ontario train station. He bought the bear to save it and ended up taking it with him to England, as he trained for World War I. He named the female bear cub, Winnipeg (Winnie), who became quite a favorite with the Canadian soldiers. She loved being around people. When the soldiers eventually went to battle in France, Colbourn left Winnie, temporarily, at the London Zoo. Winnie was a great favorite with the Zoo goers, including young Christopher Robin and his father.
The little boy changed his toy's name to Winnie, and the stories and poems became famous books. Winnie did not return to Canada, after the war, she stayed at her forever home, the London Zoo.
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Holy Lord: Thank you for surprising us. Big blessings can come in small packages. Joys are abundant, if we take time to smell the HUNNY.
*Google the words to my favorite A.A. Milne poem..."Lines and Squares"
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