When the weather is so nice, but you have to study for exams...

Christopher Robin's approach might be just the thing

May 23, 2025

from A A Milne, The House at Pooh Corner

Christopher Robin came down from the Forest to the bridge, feeling all sunny and careless, and just as if twice nineteen didn't matter a bit, as it didn't on such a happy afternoon, and he thought that if he stood on the bottom rail of the bridge, and leant over, and watched the river slipping slowly away beneath him, then he would suddenly know everything that there was to be known, and he would be able to tell Pooh, who wasn't quite sure about some of it.

The original stuffed animals that inspired A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories, on display at the New York Public Library (photo Kirsten E Shepherd)

About the author

A.A. Milne (1882-1956) was the author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books and several volumes of poetry for children, including When We Were Very Young (1924).

What we love…

Milne’s stories and poems are full of pithy insights and wisdom such as this. Christopher Robin should be hard at work memorizing his times tables, but he skips along down to the river to enjoy the sunny day with his friends. Milne doesn’t leave it at that, though; he shows that giving in to this temptation to take a break from studying and enjoy nature and companionship opens up a different kind of knowledge. The lovely finishing line gently mocking Pooh for being a bear of very little brain keeps it all from being sentimental.

To read alongside…

While you’re taking your much-needed break from study, or whatever else you would rather not be doing, why not check out our earlier A.A. Milne newsletter featuring his poem ‘Disobedience.’ Definitely a favourite theme of his…!

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