A ceramic honey pot tipped on its side with honey flowing into a small hexagonal dish on a sky-blue background.

Original artwork, not a still

Winnie the Pooh ‧ 1926

Winnie the Pooh

The only reason for being a bee that I know of is making honey. And the only reason for making honey is so as I can eat it.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The speaker gives bees a purpose, then makes that purpose serve his own appetite. Honey-making leads straight to honey-eating, as though the whole arrangement exists for his benefit. The humour comes from the confident simplicity of that thoroughly self-centred explanation.

Context reviewed

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