Wojtek the Soldier Bear: Soldiers Adopted a Bear Cub… and He Joined the Army
Part of: Animal Heroes & Amazing Trees
In 1942, Polish soldiers in Iran adopted a hungry bear cub. Pets were not allowed on British ships, so they made him a private. At Monte Cassino, the soldiers said he carried boxes of ammunition. Learn five B1 words and 'be allowed to + verb' with this true story.
Coming 19 December 2026, 3:00 pm New York time
Transcript
Tap a time to jump to that moment. Highlighted words have a meaning: tap them. Words in bold show today's grammar.
In 1942, Polish soldiers in Iran met a young boy with a hungry bear cub in a sack.
They gave the boy some food and a pocket knife, and took the bear with them.
Two years later, that bear was carrying boxes in a battle.
This is the story of Wojtek the soldier bear.
Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.
. When you a child or an animal, you take it into your home and care for it as your own.
The soldiers the little bear.
. When you with someone, you hold them and try to push them to the ground, often as a game.
Wojtek loved to with the soldiers.
. A is a soldier with the lowest position in the army.
The soldiers made Wojtek a .
. is the bullets and shells that guns fire.
Wojtek carried heavy boxes of .
. A is a person's position in the army, for example or .
Wojtek also got a higher : .
Now, one pattern: be allowed to, plus a verb.
It says that the rules let someone do something.
The rules said he could travel with them.
He was allowed to travel with the soldiers.
Ready? Let's begin.
In the spring of 1942, Polish soldiers were crossing Iran after hard years far from home.
Near the town of Hamadan, they met a young boy with a little brown bear cub in a sack.
The soldiers gave the boy some food, chocolate and a pocket knife.
The soldiers the little bear.
He was too young to eat or drink well, so they fed him milk from an old vodka bottle.
They called him Wojtek, from an old Polish name meaning happy warrior.
He moved with them through Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Egypt.
On cold nights, he was allowed to sleep in the soldiers' tents.
Wojtek copied the men.
He learned to salute, and he drank coffee in the mornings.
Wojtek loved to with the soldiers.
By 1944, he weighed about ninety kilograms.
In 1944, the soldiers had to sail to Italy on British ships.
But pets were not allowed to travel on these ships.
How could a bear go to war?
The soldiers made Wojtek a .
He got his own name, number and food on the list.
Now he was allowed to travel with the soldiers.
Their company's job was to bring to the big guns.
In May 1944, the Polish soldiers fought in a huge battle at Monte Cassino.
Day and night, the men carried heavy boxes of shells to the guns.
Then, the soldiers said, they saw something amazing.
Wojtek stood up on his back legs and held out his arms.
Wojtek carried heavy boxes of , just like the men.
Each box weighed about forty-five kilograms, and they said he never dropped one.
After the battle, the company chose a new badge: a bear carrying a big shell.
Wojtek also got a higher : .
Wojtek was now Wojtek.
After the war, the company moved to Scotland.
In 1947, Wojtek went to live at Edinburgh Zoo.
Old soldiers often came to visit him.
When they spoke Polish to him, he still looked up happily.
Wojtek died in 1963, at the age of twenty-one.
Today, there are statues of the soldier bear in Edinburgh, in Poland and even at Monte Cassino.
Let's review. The soldiers the little bear.
Wojtek loved to with the soldiers.
The soldiers made Wojtek a .
Wojtek carried heavy boxes of .
Wojtek also got a higher : .
And remember: he was allowed to travel with the soldiers.
Wojtek's story teaches us: in hard times, friendship keeps us going, and everyone can help to carry the load.
Want more interesting lessons? Go to brightlivesenglish.com. Please subscribe and learn with us.
Step 3
Words from the story
Say the word, guess its meaning, then flip the card. Keep the ones you know, and practise the rest again.
Great work, you know every word in this story. Now try the quiz below.
adopt verb
to take a child or an animal into your home and care for it as your own (past: adopted)
“The soldiers adopted the little bear.”
wrestle verb
to hold someone and try to push them to the ground, often as a game or a sport
“Wojtek loved to wrestle with the soldiers.”
private noun
a soldier with the lowest position in the army
“The soldiers made Wojtek a private.”
ammunition noun
the bullets and shells that guns fire
“Wojtek carried heavy boxes of ammunition.”
rank noun
a person's position in the army, for example private or corporal
“Wojtek also got a higher rank: corporal.”
corporal noun
a soldier with a rank just above a private
“Private Wojtek was now Corporal Wojtek.”
mascot noun
an animal or a thing that a group keeps because they think it brings good luck
“Wojtek was the mascot of his company.”
supply truck noun
a truck that carries food, fuel or ammunition to soldiers
“The men loaded the boxes onto supply trucks.”
Grammar in the story
be allowed to + verb
We use it for: to say that the rules let someone do something (not allowed to = the rules say no)
- The rules said he could travel with them. → He was allowed to travel with the soldiers.
- The rules said no pets on the ships. → Pets were not allowed to travel on the ships.
From the story
- He was allowed to travel with the soldiers.
- Students are not allowed to use phones in the exam.
Find it in the story 5 times
Your turn
Now he was allowed with the soldiers.
In 1944, pets allowed to travel on British ships.
When I was a child, I allowed to stay up late.
Step 4
Story Challenge
10 quick rounds: choose, fill the gap, build the sentence and match the words. Answer in a row to build a streak and earn bonus points.
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Take it further
Before you watch: Have you ever heard of an animal in an army? What jobs do you think an animal could do for soldiers?
After you watch: Write three sentences with be allowed to / not allowed to. For example: At my school, we weren’t allowed to use phones in class. My little brother is allowed to stay up until nine. Dogs are not allowed to go into the supermarket.
Think about it: The soldiers had lost their homes, but they took care of a little bear. How can caring for someone else help us in hard times?
Did you know? Wojtek was a Syrian brown bear. Before he joined the soldiers, he spent a few months at a refugee camp near Tehran with a young Polish woman, Irena. His company was the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the 2nd Polish Corps. When he died in 1963, he weighed nearly 500 kg. There are statues of him in Edinburgh, Kraków, Sopot, Szczecin and at Cassino.
Image credits (via Wikimedia Commons):
- Photo: Wojtek with a Polish soldier, Iran, 1942 — “Polish Soldier in Iran wojtek”, public domain
- Photo: Wojtek with a soldier, 1942 (Imperial War Museum) — “Wojtek the bear”, public domain
- Photo: Wojtek wrestling with a soldier, Middle East — “Troops of the Polish 22 Transport Artillery Company watch as one of their comrades play wrestles with Wojtek their mascot bear”, public domain
- Photo: Wojtek wrestling, Middle East (2) — “Polish 22 Transport Artillery Company watch as one of their comrades play wrestles with Wojtek their mascot bear during their service in the Middle East.”, public domain
- Drawing: the company badge — “Wojtek soldier bear”, Cassubia1238, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Photo: Wojtek with soldiers — “Wojtek, the soldier bear”, CC0
- Photo: Wojtek in Scotland after the war — “Wojtek at Winfield Aerodrome on Sunwick Farm, near Hutton in Berwickshire after the war”, public domain
- Photo: the Wojtek statue, Edinburgh — “2018-09-17 Scotland- Edinburgh Wojtek”, Piotr Rokita, CC BY 2.0
- Photo: the Wojtek statue, Edinburgh (2) — “Polish Bear Statue - Edinburgh”, Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
- Illustration: all other pictures are AI-generated illustrations (artistic interpretations, not real photos).
