They're tattered and worn but loved a lot. The original Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Tigger, Eeyore, Kanga and Piglet have spent the past 10 years in a glass case at a New York City library. They've been away from their corner of Britain for more than 50 years.
Last week Gwyneth Dunwoody, a British lawmaker, demanded their return. "I saw them recently, and they look very unhappy indeed," she said. "We want our Winnie-the-Pooh back!"
Oh, bother! How did Pooh get into this mess? In the 1920s a British boy named Christopher Robin Milne owned the toys. His dad, A.A. Milne, wrote the famous Pooh stories. The U.S. publisher of Milne's books gave the toys to the library.
On Thursday, New York's Mayor Rudolph Giuliani visited Pooh's corner at the library. "They've been very happy here," he said. Even a bear of little brain can tell that the toys won't be leaving town anytime soon!