I just finished a complete collection of all the Winnie The Pooh stories written by A A Milne. If you can find a copy (there are several compilations about), I highly encourage you to read it. There’s some fantastic stories about the friendships and hardships of Christopher Robin’s animal friends.
One story in particular struck me as slightly disturbing (in a good way). In this story, Kanga and her son Roo arrive in the Hundred Acre Wood. Rabbit doesn’t think too highly of their intrusion, so hatches a plan with his friends to kidnap Roo and hold him hostage in a hidden place until Kanga agrees to move out of the forest!
Well there’s a humorous twist to their plan, and nobody gets hurt. In the end, Kanga and Roo stay and everyone becomes friends. I was so surprised to see such a plot among the animals in this mythical forest. It was interesting to see how even good-natured, lovable, almost-innocent characters can have a dark side. It may make for some good creative fodder for later RPG adventures.
There is another story where a prolonged and heavy rain falls for days, and the forest becomes flooded. Eventually, Christopher Robin and Pooh are on a mission to rescue Piglet before his home gets flooded out. This is an excellent story revealing Pooh’s creativity. Not so bad for a bear with little brain. I’ll spare you the details so you can read it yourself.
The whole series of stories brought forth a mix of emotions: laughter, childish giggling, tears (I wept at the sweet, loving conclusions to some stories), tears again (sadness after the end of the last story), big ear to ear grins of joy. I suggest this collection for anyone with a love of fairy tales.
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