Potter, Beatrix, 1866-1943 . The Tale of Peter Rabbit 

THE TALE OF
PETER RABBIT
BY
BEATRIX POTTER

   ONCE upon a time there 
were four little Rabbits, 
and their names were -- 
            Flopsy, 
        Mopsy, 
      Cotton-tail, 
  and Peter. 

   They lived with their Mother 
in a sand-bank, underneath the 
root of a very big fir tree. 

   ``NOW, my dears,'' said old 
Mrs. Rabbit one morning, 
``you may go into the fields 
or down the lane, but don't go 
into Mr. McGregor's garden: 
your Father had an accident 
there; he was put in a pie by 
Mrs. McGregor.'' 

   ``NOW run along, and don't 
get into mischief. I am 
going out.''

   THEN old Mrs. Rabbit took 
a basket and her umbrella, 
and went through the 
wood to the baker's. She 
bought a loaf of brown bread 
and five currant buns. 

   FLOPSY, Mopsy, and Cotton-
tail, who were good 
little bunnies, went down the 
lane to gather blackberries; 

   BUT Peter, who was very 
naughty, ran straight 
away to Mr. McGregor's 
garden, and squeezed under 
the gate! 

   FIRST he ate some lettuces 
and some French beans; 
and then he ate some radishes; 

   AND then, feeling rather 
sick, he went to look for 
some parsley. 

   BUT round the end of a 
cucumber frame, whom 
should he meet but Mr. 
McGregor!

   MR. McGREGOR was on 
his hands and knees 
planting out young cabbages, 
but he jumped up and ran after 
Peter, waving a rake and calling 
out, ``Stop thief!'' 

   PETER was most dreadfully 
frightened; he rushed all 
over the garden, for he had 
forgotten the way back to the 
gate. 

   He lost one of his shoes 
among the cabbages, and the 
other shoe amongst the potatoes. 

   AFTER losing them, he ran 
on four legs and went 
faster, so that I think he might 
have got away altogether if he 
had not unfortunately run into 
a gooseberry net, and got 
caught by the large buttons on 
his jacket. It was a blue jacket 
with brass buttons, quite new. 

   PETER gave himself up for 
lost, and shed big tears; 
but his sobs were overheard by 
some friendly sparrows, who 
flew to him in great excitement, 
and implored him to 
exert himself. 

   MR. McGREGOR came up 
with a sieve, which he 
intended to pop upon the top 
of Peter; but Peter wriggled 
out just in time, leaving his 
jacket behind him. 

   AND rushed into the tool-
shed, and jumped into a 
can. It would have been a 
beautiful thing to hide in, if it 
had not had so much water 
in it. 

   MR. McGREGOR was 
quite sure that Peter 
was somewhere in the tool-
shed, perhaps hidden underneath 
a flower-pot. He began 
to turn them over carefully, 
looking under each. 

   Presently Peter sneezed -- 
``Kertyschoo!'' Mr. McGregor 
was after him in no time, 

   AND tried to put his foot 
upon Peter, who jumped 
out of a window, upsetting 
three plants. The window was 
too small for Mr. McGregor, 
and he was tired of running 
after Peter. He went back to 
his work. 

   PETER sat down to rest; 
he was out of breath and 
trembling with fright, and he 
had not the least idea which 
way to go. Also he was very 
damp with sitting in that can. 

   After a time he began to 
wander about, going lippity -- 
lippity -- not very fast, and 
looking all around. 

   HE found a door in a wall; 
but it was locked, and 
there was no room for a fat 
little rabbit to squeeze 
underneath. 

   An old mouse was running 
in and out over the stone doorstep, 
carrying peas and beans 
to her family in the wood. 
Peter asked her the way to the 
gate, but she had such a large 
pea in her mouth that she could 
not answer. She only shook 
her head at him. Peter began 
to cry. 

   THEN he tried to find his 
way straight across the 
garden, but he became more 
and more puzzled. Presently, 
he came to a pond where Mr. 
McGregor filled his water-cans. 
A white cat was staring at 
some gold-fish; she sat very, 
very still, but now and then 
the tip of her tail twitched as 
if it were alive. Peter thought 
it best to go away without 
speaking to her; he had heard 
about cats from his cousin, 
little Benjamin Bunny. 

   HE went back towards the 
tool-shed, but suddenly, 
quite close to him, he heard 
the noise of a hoe -- scr-r-ritch, 
scratch, scratch, scritch. Peter 
scuttered underneath the 
bushes. But presently, as 
nothing happened, he came 
out, and climbed upon a wheelbarrow, 
and peeped over. The 
first thing he saw was Mr. 
McGregor hoeing onions. His 
back was turned towards 
Peter, and beyond him was 
the gate! 

   PETER got down very 
quietly off the wheelbarrow, 
and started running 
as fast as he could go, along 
a straight walk behind some 
black-currant bushes. 

   Mr. McGregor caught sight 
of him at the corner, but Peter 
did not care. He slipped underneath 
the gate, and was safe at 
last in the wood outside the 
garden. 

   MR. McGREGOR hung up 
the little jacket and the 
shoes for a scare-crow to 
frighten the blackbirds. 

PETER never stopped running 
or looked behind 
him till he got home to the 
big fir-tree. 

   He was so tired that he 
flopped down upon the nice 
soft sand on the floor of the 
rabbit-hole, and shut his eyes. 
His mother was busy cooking; 
she wondered what he had 
done with his clothes. It was 
the second little jacket and 
pair of shoes that Peter had 
lost in a fortnight! 

   I AM sorry to say that Peter 
was not very well during 
the evening. 

   His mother put him to bed, 
and made some camomile tea; 
and she gave a dose of it to 
Peter! 

   ``One table-spoonful to be 
taken at bed-time.'' 

   BUT Flopsy, Mopsy, and 
Cotton-tail had bread 
and milk and blackberries, 
for supper.

THE END