Actually, the bear that inspired A.A. Milne to write the Winnie-the-Pooh stories was named after the Canadian city of Winnipeg!
Winnie-the-Pooh is a character in two children’s books – Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner – written by A.A.Milne in the 1920s.
In 1914, Harry Colebourn was a lieutenant in the Canadian army on his way to a training camp when he stopped in the town of White River, Ontario. There, he found an orphaned bear cub whose mother had been shot and killed by a hunter. Lt. Colebourn paid $20 for the cub and named her Winnie, after his hometown Winnipeg. The cub became the unofficial mascot of Lt. Colebourn’s regiment and she travelled with the regiment to England.
Lt. Colebourn had to leave Winnie behind in England when his regiment was sent to France during WWI. Winnie stayed at the London Zoo and became a popular attraction. When Lt. Colebourn finished his service in the war, he donated Winnie to the Zoo, where she lived until she died in 1934.
A.A. Milne often used to take his son Christopher Robin to the zoo, where they saw Winnie. Christopher Robin loved the bear so much he named his teddy bear after her and added ‘pooh’ to the name. A.A. Milne’s two books about Winnie-the-Pooh were inspired by Christopher Robin and his collection of stuffed animals!
This is a big deal in Canada! Not only was this story featured in a commercial (see the video at the top of this post), but the CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) also made a movie about it called “A Bear Named Winnie.”
Vocabulary:
an orphan
= a child with no parents (the parents have died)
a bear cub
= a baby bear or a young bear
a mascot
= a person, animal or object that is used to represent a team or other group and bring good luck!
a regiment
= a military unit, a very large group of soldiers
a big deal
= very important
Sources:
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/06/14/man-winnie-the-pooh-plaque-missing.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Colebourn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh
Melanie is a TESL-certified English teacher. She lives near Toronto, Canada. Through her blog, videos, podcasts, and social media, she helps thousands of people around the world improve their English. She makes English a little less confusing and a little more fun! She also helps people understand Canadian and American culture. She believes that natural interaction with a native speaker helps people practice what they have learned and builds their confidence with English!
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