Monday 25 April 2011

DE-TAILING

Here's an Easter greeting I received (can this really be true?) forty-one years ago!

A drawing by Ernest H Shepard – illustrator of A A Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh and Christopher Robin books – depicting my favourite character, Eeyore the old grey donkey and the tail that was lost and regained...

"Oh, Eeyore!"


True the line is a little shaky, but Shepard was 90 years old at the time and it was over forty years since he had drawn his original pictures of Eeyore, Pooh and the other denizens of the 100 Aker Wood.
"What's happened to your tail?" [Pooh] said in surprise.

"What has happened to it?" said Eeyore.

"It isn't there!"

"Are you sure?"

"Well, either a tail is there or it isn't there. You can't make a mistake about it, and yours isn't there!"

"Then what is?"

"Nothing."

"That Accounts for a Good Deal," said Eeyore gloomily. "It Explains Everything. No Wonder."

"You must have left it somewhere," said Winnie-the-Pooh.

"Somebody must have taken it," said Eeyore. "How Like Them," he added after a long silence.

7 comments:

scb said...

Your favourite character is Eeyore, too?

Oh, how my eyes widened when I scrolled down and saw the signature on those sketches. What a treasure! Thank you for sharing!

docnad said...

What a charming drawing, Brian. Thanks for sharing it!

Boll Weavil said...

Your collection of original material is history itself - gem after gem keeps appearing !Amazing stuff !

Andy Latham said...

Aww what lovely drawings. Incidentally, are any UK dwellers aware that the new Winnie the Pooh movie is playing? I haven't seen a single advert anywhere and it's such a lovely film.

Boll Weavil said...

Have seen it advertised Andy. Hopefully will get there soon :-)

Andy Latham said...

I'm glad there is one person who has seen an advert Boll!

What am I saying? I'm asking for more adverts on the TV? I think I need a slap!

Annie said...

That is fabulous! I loved seeing those drawings! Thank you.