Piglet (Winnie-the-Pooh)

In the books

Piglet is introduced in the text from Chapter III of Winnie-the-Pooh, although he is shown earlier in one of the illustrations for Chapter II. He also appears in Chapters V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, and X, as well as every chapter of The House at Pooh Corner. Piglet is best friends with Pooh and is also especially close to Christopher Robin and the rest of the main characters.


Like most of the characters, Piglet was based on one of Christopher Robin Milne's stuffed animals. In the original colour versions of Ernest H. Shepard's illustrations in the Winnie‑the‑Pooh books, Piglet has pale pink skin and a green jumper. He is smaller than most animals, being only slightly taller than Roo. His voice is described as "squeaky".


Piglet's adventures in the first book include hunting Woozles, attempting to capture Heffalumps, giving Eeyore a birthday balloon (popped), impersonating Roo in an attempt to trick Kanga, joining the Expotition to the North Pole, and being trapped by a flood. In the second book, he helps build a house for Eeyore, meets Tigger, finds Small while trapped in a gravel pit, plays Poohsticks, gets lost in the mist, and helps rescue Pooh and Owl after they are trapped in Owl's fallen house. For that last feat, Piglet is the subject of a seven-verse "Respectful Pooh Song" that Pooh composes for him.


Piglet himself can read and write, at least well enough for short notes. In the illustrations for The House at Pooh Corner, it appears that Piglet spells his own name "Piglit", although it is rendered as "Piglet" in the actual text even when describing his signature. In one chapter, Piglet is referred to as "Henry Pootel" by Christopher Robin, who claimed to not recognise Piglet after he was thoroughly cleaned by Kanga. Eeyore likes to refer to him as "Little Piglet".


Piglet's favourite food is acorns (or as the book often spells it, "haycorns"). At one point he plants one just outside his house, in hopes of someday having a handy supply. He lives in a house in a beech tree in the Hundred Acre Wood, next to a sign which says "TRESPASSERS W". An illustration shows that the sign is broken off after the "W." According to Piglet, that is "short for Trespassers Will, which is short for Trespassers William", which was the name of his grandfather (this was a parody of the usual sign "Trespassers will be prosecuted"). Later in The House at Pooh Corner, Eeyore mistakenly offers Piglet's house as a new home for Owl, after Owl's house had blown down. Piglet nobly agrees to let Owl have the house, at which point Pooh asks Piglet to live with him and Piglet accepts.