Zippy (Rainbow) Zippy (Rainbow) Zippy is a fictional character on the British children's television programme "Rainbow". Zippy is a brownish-orange puppet with a rugby-ball-shaped oval head, blue eyes and a zip for a mouth, hence his name. His voice was first provided by Peter Hawkins and later by Roy Skelton. Violet Philpott and Ronnie Le Drew operated the character, the latter also providing the voice for the 1994 series and "Rainbow Days". It is unclear what kind of creature the character represents; while Bungle is a bear and George a hippopotamus, Zippy bears no obvious resemblance to any real animal. Presenter Geoffrey
The Bear and the Travelers gives his opinion that there is some truth in this fable. The late mediaeval chronicler Philippe de Commynes records that an embassy was sent by King Louis XI of France to the Emperor Frederick III in 1475 with a proposal to divide up the Burgundian territories. The Emperor replied with a story of how three friends obtain credit at an inn by promising to catch a bear and dispose of the skin but are eventually forced to flee; one of them falls to the ground, is sniffed by the bear but then left unharmed. Asked by his friends what the