A. A. Milne and his illustrator E. H. Shephard, in creating Winnie the Pooh (1926) and its illustrations, did an OK job, at least in terms of showing bees in a tree cavity. They were less solid on bears and their point of view on bees. Bears, most of all, go after bee larvae. But larvae aren’t cute.
Images from Winnie the Pooh (1926)1)Public domain, https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/67098
But then things got further out of whack.
It was no fault of Shepard or A. A. Milne when certain Disney media started to show Winnie the Pooh trying to get honey from what is either a paper wasp nest or a bee skep hive hanging in a tree. Neither plan will work.
Cover of the 2012 edition of Pooh’s Honey Trouble
They inadvertently hinted at greater truths with the titling of this children’s book (2012 and earlier editions), Pooh’s Honey Trouble. Pooh’s plan here would lead to failure one way or another.
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