Wedding Countdown: Misquoting Winnie the Pooh

Five sleeps until W-Day, when I trade in the bachelor life for bliss. This afternoon, I was finalising the reading my Mum will present at the ceremony, selecting the most relevant passages from the Winnie the Pooh books. I knew I wanted a Winnie the Pooh reading ever since I knew I wanted to get married. He has been a constant companion throughout my life and I continue to follow his ‘teachings’.

Mum and I have been debating which passage to use for a few weeks now, but today a decision had to be made. I used Google to speed up the process and to see whether there were any popular passages used for wedding readings. What I discovered was the huge number of misquotes attributed to the great bear. In fact, the most often attributed quote I came across – and apparently a regular reading at weddings – was never uttered in any of the Winnie the Pooh texts.

“If you live to be 100, I want to live to be 100 minus one day, so I never have to live without you. --- Winnie the Pooh”

Rubbish. He never said it. Yet websites, blogs, fan pages and more continually attribute this quote to Pooh, without any direct reference to the original source material.

There is a vaguely similar passage in the final chapter of the second book, ‘The House at Pooh Corner’.

"Pooh, promise you won't forget about me, ever. Not even when I'm a hundred."

Pooh thought for a little.

"How old shall I be then?”

"Ninety-nine."

Pooh nodded.

"I promise," he said.”

Yes, the sentiment is the same, but there is no way the two quotes can be related.

Classic Versus Modern Pooh

There has always been great confusion for many casual Pooh fans over what should be considered the source material. For many, Winnie the Pooh is a Disney character first and foremost, like Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck. This is terribly wrong, but it has led to the original texts falling out of common knowledge in favour of Disney storybooks and educational picture books. These have transformed the once sublime creation beloved by young and old into a schmaltzy, brightly-coloured nursery accessory.

That’s right, if you aren’t already aware – and I am still amazed at how many self-confessed Pooh fans are not - Winnie the Pooh has official texts, originally published between 1924 and 1928, with every other permutation being mere adaptations or shallow retellings. When quoting Pooh or discussing the literary merits of the character, these texts are the only ones that should be included, in much the same way it would be wrong to put your DVD of ‘Troy’ next to your copy of ‘The Iliad’. You may think I’m overstating the importance of A. A. Milne’s original works, but the gulf between them and what followed is that large.

The original texts are;

• ‘When We Were Very Young’ – 1924 (a collection of verses, one of which introduces us to Winnie the Pooh for the first time)
• ‘Winnie the Pooh’ – published in 1926
• ‘Now we Are Six’ – published in 1927 (a collection of verses, some of which feature Christopher Robin and Pooh)
• ‘The House at Pooh Corner’ – published in 1928

The original Pooh tales are held in such high regard that they have been translated into Latin, used to illustrate complex theories of philosophy and religion, and even adapted as a guide for business management.

Disney Steals the Magic

For decades, these were the only versions of the character that children knew, accompanied by the brilliant illustrations of EH Shepherd. In 1961, Disney acquired the rights to the books to create animated features. The first, ‘Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree’ was released in 1966. The 1968 follow-up 'The Blustery Day' won an Oscar for best animated short. One of the most faithful adaptations Disney ever did, it still took licenses with the character.

Over the ensuing decades, Disney marketed their new, red-jacketed, version of Pooh relentlessly. Since then, the original masterpieces have become overshadowed by the Disney revamp. Children are more familiar with ‘The Heffalump Movie’ than with the stories on which the characters are based. Hundreds of Pooh books have been released that contain none of the words of Milne or the illustrations of Shepherd, cashing in on the backs of their creations.

Don’t Quote Me…

Because there is a deep-rooted misunderstanding of the source material for Pooh, misquotes are common. Greetings cards with entirely new messages written by an anonymous copywriter are suddenly held up as pearls of Pooh wisdom. Commercial tie-in books, such as ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’s Little Book of Wisdom’, contain entirely new passages while creating the impression they are quoted from the original texts.

This all saddens me. It means people are being distracted from some of the best children’s books ever written. None of the movies, calendars, modern story books, greetings cards or other paraphernalia match up to the beauty and depth contained within the original tales.

So back to the original quote that sparked this rant. I have yet to discover its true source. It may be from a greeting card, or maybe from one of the plethora of knock-off books. Wherever it is from, it is no more a quote from Winnie the Pooh than one of Brad Pitt’s lines can be called a quote from Homer.