Part Four
The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne, with decorations by E.H. Shepard
Tiggers Don’t Climb Trees
We all have had the childhood wish to fly, but at least I hope we get to an age when we realise it is impossible. Tigger hasn’t realised this yet.
If you remember from the second story in Milne’s book, Tigger has arrived and is now living with Kanga and Roo in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Sending Tigger and Roo off into the woods, Kanga is a mother who couldn’t imagine the trouble the two could get up to amongst the trees, the honey bees and the birds. Upon approaching three tall pine trees, Tigger really believes that he can get to the top, just like Owl. It isn’t until Tigger and Roo get halfway up the tree that Tigger realises he can climb up, but climbing back down is so much harder.
Note: Image originally posted on Pinterest. I found it via a Google search for “Tigger don’t Climb Trees” (Eiljah, J 2026).
For the same reason, we always tell people: if they are high above the ground, don’t look down.
“…Tigger’s can’t climb downwards, because their tails get in the way, only just remembered” (PAGE 66 Tigger).
I do remember the Walt Disney movie cutting to Tigger’s tail wrapping around the tree trunk, not a tree branch, as the book says. The movie also had the book’s Narrator character cut in and, in this case, sort out the situation. Offering encouragement, the Narrator of the storybook manages to get Tigger to let go of the tree truck. As he does, the actual book gets tilted to the side and returns to the right way up. Tigger falls into a mound of snow.
Kanga and Rabbit are standing under the trees with Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore and Christaphor Robbin. That isn’t in the book. Also, I think Milne would have said if the action was taking place in the middle of a blizzard (the book doesn’t mention that).
Could I be getting mixed up? It is possible, and if that’s the case, I am sorry.
Elijah, J. (2026). Pinterest. Tiggers don’t climb trees. They bounce ’em. I’ll show you. So he sat on Tigger’s back, and they climbed on. Suddenly, Tigger realised… Available at: uk.pinterest.com/pin/418342252882513424/ [Accessed 1st April 2026].