The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh The story behind "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh" began during the First World War. A lieutenant by the name Harry Colebourn bought a small black female club from a hunter, who had killed its mother, in White River, Ontario for $20. He named her after his hometown of Winnipeg and called the bear Winnie for short. She became the unit's mascot and traveled to England with the Brigade. When Colebourn was then stationed in France, he decided to give Winnie to the London Zoo. From the time she was donated in December of 1919, Winnie became a popular attraction at the zoo until 1934. It was this bear that captured the heart of a young boy named Christopher Robin. He visited her often in the London Zoo and would sometimes spend time with her in her cage. Even today visitors can see pictures of the real Christopher Robin feeding condensed milk to the real Winnie at the zoo. The young boy even renamed his teddy bear Winnie. Pooh was the name of a swan that lived nearby. A.A. Milne began to write stories about his son, Winnie the Pooh, and his friends who lived together in the "100 Acre Wood". The most of the other characters in the tale were based on stuffed animals belonging to his son. However, the characters of Rabbit and Owl were based upon animals that lived in the countryside near Milne's home. It is also this area that the 100-acre wood is based on. "The Wrong Sort of Bees" was printed in London Evening News in 1925 and became Pooh's first published story. The tale was so popular Milne wrote several books and poems about Pooh over the next three years. Young and old alike have come to treasure the Pooh books that have been translated into over 40 languages. In 1979 Christopher Robin rennovated and reopened The Pooh Sticks Bridge in Ashdown Forest, where the Milne family cottage is located. 67,000 visitors a year come to toss twigs into the stream below the bridge. « Back