Winnie the Pooh, the Bear of Very Little Brain, created 80 years ago by AA Milne, has triumphantly crashed a new cultural barrier, being translated for the first time into Yiddish.

The stories, usually more appreciated by parents than children, have already been translated into 31 languages - including Latin - and have survived a makeover by Walt Disney.

But the honey-loving bear's charms have hitherto left Orthodox Jews cold.

That may now change with his emergence as Vini Der Pu, given to a shout of " Oy Gevalt! " on discovering a new supply of krakh - honey - up a tree or chatting with his friends Kristofer Robin, and with Khazerl (Piglet), Kangus (Kanga), Iyas (Eeyore) and Kinigl (Rabbit).

Even EH Shepard's illustrations have had a transformation. The famous map of Pooh's locality now has the hundert-akordiker Vald and the pu-pastke far hefalumpn instead of the wood where owl lives and the hefalump trap.

The translation, by a New York academic, Leonard Wolf, is faithful but has certain discreet modifications. Pooh's song Cottleston Pie, for instance, has become Varshever, varshever, varshever tort which roughly translated means Warsaw cake.

More striking still are the poems: Do kumen mir hant in hant/Kristofer Robin un ikh Zog, az s'iz dir a khidesh? ( Here we come, hand in hand, Christopher Robin and me tell me what's happening?)

Martin Kaye of the British distributors Kuperard, based in Finchley, north London - which will be marketing the books in the next few weeks - said: "I guess people who would speak Yiddish are not the sort who would be interested in Winnie the Pooh normally but maybe it's the sort of thing you might give Yiddish-speaking parents or aunts and uncles for a joke."