It is doubtful that A.A. Milne had read the Transcendental writing of Henry David Thoreau when he wrote and published Winnie-the-Pooh. Thoreau, like Pooh, lived alone in the woods with friends near to him but not overwhelmingly close. Thoreau lived frugally eating what he gained by his own hand, building his own shelter, and walking about in nature studying the patterns of life and gaining insight.