Winnie the Pooh
In 1887 a man named Harry Coleburn was born in England.
He grewup and loved animals so much
that he wanted to become a vet so when he turned 18 he moved to Canada to go to vet school
When he graduated
he moved to Winnipeg.
Then in 1914 World War One started and Harry
signed up to be in the army.
When people join the army they go to be trained to fight before they can be in the war.
So Harry got on a train
headed for the place in Ontario where he would
start his training.
When the train stopped along the way Harry got off
and saw a trapper with a black bear cub on a leash.
The trapper was looking
for someone to buy the bear cub, who had NO parents.
Since Harry loved animals and was a vet he bought her for $20.
He named her Winnipeg after the city he lived in.
When Harry arrived to do his training with the other men,
Winnipeg got the nickname Winnie.
While Harry was doing his own training, he trained
Winnie with rewards of apples, condensed milk,
and corn syrup.
She slept under his bed and followed him around like a puppy.
She liked to climb tent poles andplay with Harry, and became the soldier’s mascot.
After that Harry and Winnie sailed to England for more training and then
eventually Harry was called away to fight.
He knew the war was NO place for a bear so in
December 1914, Harry brought Winnie to the
London Zoo, planning to pick herup and take her
back to Canada when the war was over.
But the war didn’t end in a few months, it lasted for
4 years.
Whenever Harry got a break from the fight he
went to visit Winnieat the zoo.
Winnie was loved at the zoo because she was the best behaved bear they
had ever seen.
Children were even allowed to feed her from their hands or ride on her back.
When the war finally ended, Harry went back to get Winnie but he realized he couldn’t take her away, she belonged at the zoo
now.
One of the kids who came to London zoowas named
Christopher Robin.
He had a stuffed bear that he named Winnie after the
real bear.
Christopher Robin’s dad wrote books about
Christopher Robin’s
toys, and Winnipeg
the bear became
Winnie the Pooh.
Christopher Robin’s
dad later wrote
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