James Baquet When we first meet Winnie-the-Pooh he is bumping downstairs on the back of his head, behind Christopher Robin. He doesn’t know any other way to come down, but he’s sure there is one, if only he could stop bumping long enough to think of it. And so we meet one of the most beloved characters in literature. Although he’s best known these days through Disney films, Winnie-the-Pooh — whose real name is Edward Bear, though he lives in a forest under the name of Sanders —began life as the main character in a children’s story on Christmas Eve in 1925, and in a children’s book the following year. The author, A. A. Milne, based the bear on a “real” stuffed toy that belonged to his son, really named Christopher Robin. The adventures starred a nursery cast of characters, based on other toys, who besides that “silly old Bear” included tiny little Piglet, Pooh’s very timid best friend; the gloomy donkey, Eeyore; stuffy, talkative Owl, who acts like a teacher; Rabbit, a practical sort; and kind-hearted, patient Kanga and her energetic son Roo (who are, of course, kangaroos). In the adventures Pooh uses a balloon to try to get honey (Pooh spells it “HUNNY”) from a tree; eats so much at Rabbit’s house that he gets stuck in the door on the way out; hunts for imagined creatures like woozles and heffalumps; finds Eeyore’s missing tail; and experiences a flood, a kidnapping, and an “expotition” to the North Pole. The group of friends helps bring out Pooh’s character. Piglet is timid, but Pooh is bold, getting himself into all kinds of fixes; Eeyore is gloomy, but Pooh is exuberantly cheerful; Owl is “wise,” but Pooh calls himself “a Bear of Very Little Brain” and says that “long words Bother me.” Rabbit is practical, Pooh is not; and Kanga and Roo are the only “family” in the book — Pooh seems to be a bachelor. So these friends frolic through the Hundred Acre Wood and into another book, “The House at Pooh Corner,” and continue frolicking today. Vocabulary: Which word above means: 1. be successful, get rich 2. a simple-minded person 3. the poor people as a class 4. upset, disturb 5. a dried stalk or stem of hay 6. the desire for wealth 7. peaceful co-existence 8. ends 9. unable to speak 10. attracted to do something wrong | 