Illustration by Ernest H. Shepard
Winnie the Pooh Day
Jan 18
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"The wonderful thing about tiggers
Is tiggers are wonderful things
Their tops are made out of rubber
Their bottoms are made out of springs
They're bouncy, trouncy, flouncy, pouncy
Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun
But the most wonderful thing about tiggers
Is I'm the only one!"
~ "The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers", Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day, 1968
You know how to spell Tigger, don't you? "T-I-double-guh-err. Winnie the Pooh Day marks the birthday of author A. A. Milne, whose beloved stories of Pooh, Christopher Robin, Tigger and friends first appeared in 1926 with Tigger first appearing in the 1928 sequel, "The House at Pooh Corner." Tigger is introduced when he arrives at Pooh's doorstep in the middle of the night and quickly involves the rest of the characters in searching for a food that Tigger can eat for breakfast! Despite Tigger's claims to like "everything", he does not like honey, acorns, thistles, or most of the contents of motherly Kanga's larder. Tigger discovers that what he really likes best is extract of malt, which Kanga has on hand because she gives it to her baby, Roo, as "strengthening medicine." If you were ever a fan of "Horlicks" or "Ovaltine" or Malted Milk candies or malted milkshakes, you will recognize the distinctive flavour, created by germinating then fermenting barley to convert the grain starches into sugar! You know how to spell Tigger, don't you? "T-I-double-guh-err." Recipe included: Malted Chocolate Chip-Pecan Cookies 🐆
The Tigger Bounce
Winnie the Pooh, A. A. Milne's famous creation (whose birthday is now celebrated as Winnie the Pooh Day), first appeared in October 1926, together with friends Piglet, Tigger and Eeyore. All of them were based on toys owned by the author’s son, who also featured in the famous stories as Christopher Robin.
Tigger is a fictional tiger character originally introduced in The House at Pooh Corner, the sequel to Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne. Like other Pooh characters, Tigger is based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed toy animals. Tigger appears in the Disney cartoon versions of Winnie the Pooh and has also appeared in his own film.
He is known for his distinctive orange and black stripes, large eyes, a long chin, a springy tail, and his love of bouncing. As he says himself, "Bouncing is what Tiggers do best." Tigger never refers to himself as a tiger, but as a "Tigger". Although he often refers to himself in the third person plural (e.g. "Tiggers don't like honey!"), he maintains that he is "the only one".
For a look at some of the original stuffed animals which inspired the stories, click Tigger!
Or for a recipe which fussy eater and "extract-of-malt" fan Tigger might approve, Malted Chocolate Chip-Pecan Cookies, try here. Note: "pas de basques" make a good Tigger bounce to compensate for any malted treats.
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
