第1章

SuchasPeterRabbit,etc。

TheOriginalPeterRabbitBooksByBEATRIXPOTTER

ALISTOFTHETITLES

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*TheTaleofPeterRabbitTheTaleofSquirrelNutkinTheTailorofGloucester*TheTaleofBenjaminBunny*TheTaleofMrs。Tiggy-Winkle*TheTaleofMr。JeremyFisherTheTaleofJohnnyTown-Mouse*TheTaleofJemimaPuddle-Duck*TheTaleoftheFlopsyBunniesTheStoryofaFierceBadRabbit*TheTaleofTwoBadMiceTheTaleofTomKittenTheTaleofMrs。Tittlemouse*TheTaleofTimmyTiptoes*TheTaleofMr。Tod*TheTaleofPiglingBland*TheRolyPolyPudding*ThePieandthePatty-pan*GingerandPickles*TheStoryofMissMoppetAppleyDapply\'sNurseryRhymesTheTaleofLittlePigRobinson??

THETALEOF

PETERRABBIT

BY

BEATRIXPOTTER

ONCEuponatimetherewerefourlittleRabbits,andtheirnameswere——

Flopsy,Mopsy,Cotton-tail,andPeter。

TheylivedwiththeirMotherinasand-bank,underneaththerootofaverybigfirtree。

\"NOW,mydears,\"saidoldMrs。Rabbitonemorning,\"youmaygointothefieldsordownthelane,butdon\'tgointoMr。McGregor\'sgarden:

yourFatherhadanaccidentthere;hewasputinapiebyMrs。McGregor。\"

\"NOWrunalong,anddon\'tgetintomischief。Iamgoingout。\"

THENoldMrs。Rabbittookabasketandherumbrella,tothebaker\'s。Sheboughtaloafofbrownbreadandfivecurrantbuns。

FLOPSY,Mopsy,andCottontail,whoweregoodlittlebunnies,wentdownthelanetogatherblackberries;

BUTPeter,whowasverynaughty,ranstraightawaytoMr。McGregor\'sgardenandsqueezedunderthegate!

FIRSTheatesomelettucesandsomeFrenchbeans;

andthenheatesomeradishes;

ANDthen,feelingrathersick,hewenttolookforsomeparsley。

BUTroundtheendofacucumberframe,whomshouldhemeetbutMr。

McGregor!

MR。McGREGORwasonhishandsandkneesplantingoutyoungcabbages,buthejumpedupandranafterPeter,wavingarakeandcallingout,\"Stopthief!\"

PETERwasmostdreadfullyfrightened;herushedalloverthegarden,forhehadforgottenthewaybacktothegate。

Helostoneofhisshoesamongthecabbages,andtheothershoeamongstthepotatoes。

AFTERlosingthem,heranonfourlegsandwentfaster,sothatIthinkhemighthavegotawayaltogetherifhehadnotunfortunatelyrunintoagooseberrynet,andgotcaughtbythelargebuttonsonhisjacket。Itwasabluejacketwithbrassbuttons,quitenew。

PETERgavehimselfupforlost,andshedbigtears;

buthissobswereoverheardbysomefriendlysparrows,whoflewtohimingreatexcitement,andimploredhimtoexerthimself。

MR。McGREGORcameupwithasieve,whichheintendedtopopuponthetopofPeter;butPeterwriggledoutjustintime,leavinghisjacketbehindhim。

ANDrushedintothetoolshed,andjumpedintoacan。

Itwouldhavebeenabeautifulthingtohidein,ifithadnothadsomuchwaterinit。

MR。McGREGORwasquitesurethatPeterwassomewhereinthetoolshed,perhapshiddenunderneathaflower-pot。Hebegantoturnthemovercarefully,lookingundereach。

PresentlyPetersneezed——

\"Kertyschoo!\"Mr。McGregorwasafterhiminnotime,ANDtriedtoputhisfootuponPeter,whojumpedoutofawindow,upsettingthreeplants。ThewindowwastoosmallforMr。McGregor,andhewastiredofrunningafterPeter。Hewentbacktohiswork。

PETERsatdowntorest;

hewasoutofbreathandtremblingwithfright,andhehadnottheleastideawhichwaytogo。Alsohewasverydampwithsittinginthatcan。

Afteratimehebegantowanderabout,goinglippity——

lippity——notveryfast,andlookingallaround。

HEfoundadoorinawall;

butitwaslocked,andtherewasnoroomforafatlittlerabbittosqueezeunderneath。

Anoldmousewasrunninginandoutoverthestonedoorstep,carryingpeasandbeanstoherfamilyinthewood。

Peteraskedherthewaytothegate,butshehadsuchalargepeainhermouththatshecouldnotanswer。Sheonlyshookherheadathim。Peterbegantocry。

THENhetriedtofindhiswaystraightacrossthegarden,buthebecamemoreandmorepuzzled。Presently,hecametoapondwhereMr。

McGregorfilledhiswater-cans。

Awhitecatwasstaringatsomegold-fish;shesatvery,verystill,butnowandthenthetipofhertailtwitchedasifitwerealive。Peterthoughtitbesttogoawaywithoutspeakingtoher;hehadheardaboutcatsfromhiscousin,littleBenjaminBunny。

HEwentbacktowardsthetool-shed,butsuddenly,quiteclosetohim,heheardthenoiseofahoe——scr-r-ritch,scratch,scratch,scritch。Peterscutteredunderneaththebushes。Butpresently,asnothinghappened,hecameout,andclimbeduponawheelbarrow,andpeepedover。ThefirstthinghesawwasMr。

McGregorhoeingonions。HisbackwasturnedtowardsPeter,andbeyondhimwasthegate!

PETERgotdownveryquietlyoffthewheelbarrow,andstartedrunningasfastashecouldgo,alongastraightwalkbehindsomeblack-currantbushes。

Mr。McGregorcaughtsightofhimatthecorner,butPeterdidnotcare。Heslippedunderneaththegate,andwassafeatlastinthewoodoutsidethegarden。

MR。McGREGORhungupthelittlejacketandtheshoesforascare-crowtofrightentheblackbirds。

PETERneverstoppedrunningorlookedbehindhimtillhegothometothebigfir-tree。

Hewassotiredthathefloppeddownuponthenicesoftsandontheflooroftherabbit-hole,andshuthiseyes。

Hismotherwasbusycooking;

shewonderedwhathehaddonewithhisclothes。ItwasthesecondlittlejacketandpairofshoesthatPeterhadlostinafortnight!

IAMsorrytosaythatPeterwasnotverywellduringtheevening。

Hismotherputhimtobed,andmadesomecamomiletea;

andshegaveadoseofittoPeter!

\"Onetable-spoonfultobetakenatbed-time。\"

BUTFlopsy,Mopsy,andCotton-tailhadbreadandmilkandblackberries,forsupper。

THEEND

THETALEOF

BENJAMINBUNNY

FORTHECHILDRENOFSAWREY

FROM

OLDMR。BUNNY

ONEmorningalittlerabbitsatonabank。

Heprickedhisearsandlistenedtothetrit-trot,trit-trotofapony。

Agigwascomingalongtheroad;itwasdrivenbyMr。

McGregor,andbesidehimsatMrs。McGregorinherbestbonnet。

ASsoonastheyhadpassed,littleBenjaminBunnysliddownintotheroad,andsetoff——withahop,skipandajump——tocalluponhisrelations,wholivedinthewoodatthebackofMr。McGregor\'sgarden。

THATwoodwasfullofrabbitholes;andintheneatestsandiestholeofall,cousins——Flopsy,Mopsy,Cotton-tailandPeter。

OldMrs。Rabbitwasawidow;sheearnedherlivingbyknittingrabbit-woolmittensandmuffetees(Ionceboughtapairatabazaar)。Shealsosoldherbs,androsemarytea,andrabbit-tobacco(whichiswhatWEcalllavender)。

LITTLEBenjamindidnotverymuchwanttoseehisAunt。

Hecameroundthebackofthefir-tree,andnearlytumbleduponthetopofhisCousinPeter。

PETERwassittingbyhimself。

Helookedpoorly,andwasdressedinaredcottonpocket-handkerchief。

\"Peter,\"——saidlittleBenjamin,inawhisper——\"whohasgotyourclothes?\"

PETERreplied——\"ThescarecrowinMr。McGregor\'sgarden,\"anddescribedhowhehadbeenchasedaboutthegarden,andhaddroppedhisshoesandcoat。

LittleBenjaminsatdownbesidehiscousin,andassuredhimthatMr。McGregorhadgoneoutinagig,andMrs。McGregoralso;andcertainlyfortheday,becauseshewaswearingherbestbonnet。

PETERsaidhehopedthatitwouldrain。

Atthispoint,oldMrs。

Rabbit\'svoicewasheardinsidetherabbitholecalling——

\"Cotton-tail!Cotton-tail!

fetchsomemorecamomile!\"

Petersaidhethoughthemightfeelbetterifhewentforawalk。

THEYwentawayhandinhand,andgotupontheflattopofthewallatthebottomofthewood。FromheretheylookeddownintoMr。McGregor\'sgarden。Peter\'scoatandshoeswereplainlytobeseenuponthescarecrow,toppedwithanoldtam-o-

shanterofMr。McGregor\'s。

LITTLEBenjaminsaid,\"Itspoilspeople\'sclothestosqueezeunderagate;theproperwaytogetin,istoclimbdownapeartree。\"

Peterfelldownheadfirst;

butitwasofnoconsequence,asthebedbelowwasnewlyrakedandquitesoft。

IThadbeensownwithlettuces。

Theyleftagreatmanyoddlittlefoot-marksalloverthebed,especiallylittleBenjamin,whowaswearingclogs。

LITTLEBenjaminsaidthatthefirstthingtobedonewastogetbackPeter\'sclothes,inorderthattheymightbeabletousethepockethandkerchief。

Theytookthemoffthescarecrow。

Therehadbeenrainduringthenight;therewaswaterintheshoes,andthecoatwassomewhatshrunk。

Benjamintriedonthetam-

o-shanter,butitwastoobigforhim。

THENhesuggestedthattheyshouldfillthepocket-

handkerchiefwithonions,asalittlepresentforhisAunt。

Peterdidnotseemtobeenjoyinghimself;hekepthearingnoises。

BENJAMIN,onthecontrary,wasperfectlyathome,andatealettuceleaf。

HesaidthathewasinthehabitofcomingtothegardenwithhisfathertogetlettucesfortheirSundaydinner。

(ThenameoflittleBenjamin\'spapawasoldMr。BenjaminBunny。)

Thelettucescertainlywereveryfine。

PETERdidnoteatanything;

hesaidheshouldliketogohome。Presentlyhedroppedhalftheonions。

LITTLEBenjaminsaidthatitwasnotpossibletogetbackupthepear-tree,withaloadofvegetables。Heledthewayboldlytowardstheotherendofthegarden。Theywentalongalittlewalkonplanks,underasunnyred-

brickwall。

Themicesatontheirdoor-

stepscrackingcherry-stones,theywinkedatPeterRabbitandlittleBenjaminBunny。

PRESENTLYPeterletthepocket-handkerchiefgoagain。

THEYgotamongstflower-

pots,andframesandtubs;Peterheardnoisesworsethanever,hiseyeswereasbigaslolly-pops!

Hewasasteportwoinfrontofhiscousin,whenhesuddenlystopped。

THISiswhatthoselittlerabbitssawroundthatcorner!

LittleBenjamintookonelook,andthen,inhalfaminutelessthannotime,hehidhimselfandPeterandtheonionsunderneathalargebasket……

THEcatgotupandstretchedherself,andcameandsniffedatthebasket。

Perhapsshelikedthesmellofonions!

Anyway,shesatdownuponthetopofthebasket。

SHEsatthereforFIVEHOURS。

*****

IcannotdrawyouapictureofPeterandBenjaminunderneaththebasket,becauseitwasquitedark,andbecausethesmellofonionswasfearful;

itmadePeterRabbitandlittleBenjamincry。

Thesungotroundbehindthewood,anditwasquitelateintheafternoon;butstillthecatsatuponthebasket。

ATlengththerewasapitter-

patter,pitter-patter,andsomebitsofmortarfellfromthewallabove。

ThecatlookedupandsawoldMr。BenjaminBunnyprancingalongthetopofthewalloftheupperterrace。

Hewassmokingapipeofrabbit-tobacco,andhadalittleswitchinhishand。

Hewaslookingforhisson。

OLDMr。Bunnyhadnoopinionwhateverofcats。

Hetookatremendousjumpoffthetopofthewallontothetopofthecat,andcuffeditoffthebasket,andkickeditintothegarden-house,scratchingoffahandfuloffur。

Thecatwastoomuchsurprisedtoscratchback。

WHENoldMr。Bunnyhaddriventhecatintothegreen-house,helockedthedoor。

ThenhecamebacktothebasketandtookouthissonBenjaminbytheears,andwhippedhimwiththelittleswitch。

ThenhetookouthisnephewPeter。

THENhetookoutthehandkerchiefofonions,andmarchedoutofthegarden。

WhenMr。McGregorreturnedabouthalfanhourlater,heobservedseveralthingswhichperplexedhim。

Itlookedasthoughsomepersonhadbeenwalkingalloverthegardeninapairofclogs——onlythefoot-marksweretooridiculouslylittle!

AlsohecouldnotunderstandhowthecatcouldhavemanagedtoshutherselfupINSIDEthegreen-house,lockingthedoorupontheOUTSIDE。

WHENPetergothome,hismotherforgavehim,becauseshewassogladtoseethathehadfoundhisshoesandcoat。Cotton-tailandPeterfoldedupthepocket-

handkerchief,andoldMrs。

rabbitstrunguptheonionsandhungthemfromthekitchenceiling,withtherabbit-tobacco。

THEEND

THETALEOF

THEFLOPSYBUNNIES

FORALLLITTLEFRIENDS

OF

MR。McGREGOR&PETER&BENJAMIN

ITissaidthattheeffectofeatingtoomuchlettuceis\"soporific。\"

_I_haveneverfeltsleepyaftereatinglettuces;butthen_I_amnotarabbit。

TheycertainlyhadaverysoporificeffectupontheFlopsyBunnies!

WHENBenjaminBunnygrewup,hemarriedhisCousinFlopsy。Theyhadalargefamily,andtheywereveryimprovidentandcheerful。

Idonotremembertheseparatenamesoftheirchildren;

theyweregenerallycalledthe\"FlopsyBunnies。\"

AStherewasnotalwaysquiteenoughtoeat,——

BenjaminusedtoborrowcabbagesfromFlopsy\'sbrother,PeterRabbit,whokeptanurserygarden。

SOMETIMESPeterRabbithadnocabbagestospare。

WHENthishappened,theFlopsyBunnieswentacrossthefieldtoarubbishheap,intheditchoutsideMr。McGregor\'sgarden。

MR。McGREGOR\'Srubbishheapwasamixture。

Therewerejampotsandpaperbags,andmountainsofchoppedgrassfromthemowingmachine(whichalwaystastedoily),andsomerottenvegetablemarrowsandanoldbootortwo。Oneday——ohjoy!——therewereaquantityofovergrownlettuces,whichhad\"shot\"intoflower。

THEFlopsyBunniessimplystuffedlettuces。Bydegrees,oneafteranother,theywereovercomewithslumber,andlaydowninthemowngrass。

Benjaminwasnotsomuchovercomeashischildren。

Beforegoingtosleephewassufficientlywideawaketoputapaperbagoverhisheadtokeepofftheflies。

THElittleFlopsyBunniessleptdelightfullyinthewarmsun。Fromthelawnbeyondthegardencamethedistantclackettysoundofthemowingmachine。Theblue-

bottlesbuzzedaboutthewall,andalittleoldmousepickedovertherubbishamongthejampots。

(Icantellyouhername,shewascalledThomasinaTittlemouse,awoodmousewithalongtail。)

SHErustledacrossthepaperbag,andawakenedBenjaminBunny。

Themouseapologizedprofusely,andsaidthatsheknewPeterRabbit。

WHILEsheandBenjaminweretalking,closeunderthewall,theyheardaheavytreadabovetheirheads;andsuddenlyMr。McGregoremptiedoutasackfuloflawnmowingsrightuponthetopofthesleepingFlopsyBunnies!

Benjaminshrankdownunderhispaperbag。Themousehidinajampot。

THElittlerabbitssmiledsweetlyintheirsleepundertheshowerofgrass;

theydidnotawakebecausethelettuceshadbeensosoporific。

TheydreamtthattheirmotherFlopsywastuckingthemupinahaybed。

Mr。McGregorlookeddownafteremptyinghissack。Hesawsomefunnylittlebrowntipsofearsstickingupthroughthelawnmowings。Hestaredatthemforsometime。

PRESENTLYaflysettledononeofthemanditmoved。

Mr。McGregorclimbeddownontotherubbishheap——

\"One,two,three,four!five!

sixleetlerabbits!\"saidheashedroppedthemintohissack。

TheFlopsyBunniesdreamtthattheirmotherwasturningthemoverinbed。Theystirredalittleintheirsleep,butstilltheydidnotwakeup。

MR。McGREGORtiedupthesackandleftitonthewall。

Hewenttoputawaythemowingmachine。

WHILEhewasgone,Mrs。

FlopsyBunny(whohadremainedathome)cameacrossthefield。

Shelookedsuspiciouslyatthesackandwonderedwhereeverybodywas?

THENthemousecameoutofherjampot,andBenjamintookthepaperbagoffhishead,andtheytoldthedolefultale。

BenjaminandFlopsywereindespair,theycouldnotundothestring。

ButMrs。Tittlemousewasaresourcefulperson。Shenibbledaholeinthebottomcornerofthesack。

THElittlerabbitswerepulledoutandpinchedtowakethem。

Theirparentsstuffedtheemptysackwiththreerottenvegetablemarrows,anoldblacking-brushandtwodecayedturnips。

THENtheyallhidunderabushandwatchedforMr。McGregor。

MR。McGREGORcamebackandpickedupthesack,andcarrieditoff。

Hecarriedithangingdown,asifitwereratherheavy。

TheFlopsyBunniesfollowedatasafedistance。

THEYwatchedhimgointohishouse。

Andthentheycreptuptothewindowtolisten。

MR。McGREGORthrewdownthesackonthestonefloorinawaythatwouldhavebeenextremelypainfultotheFlopsyBunnies,iftheyhadhappenedtohavebeeninsideit。

Theycouldhearhimdraghischairontheflags,andchuckle——

\"One,two,three,four,five,sixleetlerabbits!\"saidMr。

McGregor。

\"EH?What\'sthat?Whathavetheybeenspoilingnow?\"enquiredMrs。

McGregor。

\"One,two,three,four,five,sixleetlefatrabbits!\"repeatedMr。McGregor,countingonhisfingers——\"one,two,three——\"

\"Don\'tyoubesilly;whatdoyoumean,yousillyoldman?\"

\"Inthesack!one,two,three,four,five,six!\"repliedMr。

McGregor。

(TheyoungestFlopsyBunnygotuponthewindow-sill。)

MRS。McGREGORtookholdofthesackandfeltit。Shesaidshecouldfeelsix,buttheymustbeOLD

rabbits,becausetheyweresohardandalldifferentshapes。

\"Notfittoeat;buttheskinswilldofinetolinemyoldcloak。\"

\"Lineyouroldcloak?\"

shoutedMr。McGregor——\"I

shallsellthemandbuymyselfbaccy!\"

\"Rabbittobacco!Ishallskinthemandcutofftheirheads。\"

MRS。McGREGORuntiedthesackandputherhandinside。

Whenshefeltthevegetablesshebecameveryveryangry。

ShesaidthatMr。McGregorhad\"doneitapurpose。\"

ANDMr。McGregorwasveryangrytoo。Oneoftherottenmarrowscameflyingthroughthekitchenwindow,andhittheyoungestFlopsyBunny。

Itwasratherhurt。

THENBenjaminandFlopsythoughtthatitwastimetogohome。

SOMr。McGregordidnotgethistobacco,andMrs。

McGregordidnotgetherrabbitskins。

ButnextChristmasThomasinaTittlemousegotapresentofenoughrabbit-wooltomakeherselfacloakandahood,andahandsomemuffandapairofwarmmittens。

THEEND

INREMEMBRANCEOF

\"SAMMY,\"

THEINTELLIGENTPINK-EYEDREPRESENTATIVE

OF

APERSECUTED(BUTIRREPRESSIBLE)RACE。

ANAFFECTIONATELITTLEFRIEND。

ANDMOSTACCOMPLISHED

THIEF!

THEROLY-POLYPUDDING

ONCEuponatimetherewasanoldcat,calledMrs。TabithaTwitchit,whowasananxiousparent。Sheusedtoloseherkittenscontinually,andwhenevertheywerelosttheywerealwaysinmischief!

Onbakingdayshedeterminedtoshutthemupinacupboard。

ShecaughtMoppetandMittens,butshecouldnotfindTom。

Mrs。Tabithawentupanddownalloverthehouse,mewingforTomKitten。Shelookedinthepantryunderthestaircase,andshesearchedthebestsparebedroomthatwasallcoveredupwithdustsheets。

Shewentrightupstairsandlookedintotheattics,butshecouldnotfindhimanywhere。

Itwasanold,oldhouse,fullofcupboardsandpassages。Someofthewallswerefourfeetthick,andthereusedtobequeernoisesinsidethem,asiftheremightbealittlesecretstaircase。Certainlytherewereoddlittlejaggeddoorwaysinthewainscot,andthingsdisappearedatnight——

especiallycheeseandbacon。