THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT

BY BEATRIX POTTER

Once there were four little rabbits. Their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.

They lived with their mother. Their home was a sandy hole under the roots of a big fir tree.

"Now, my dears," said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning. "You may go into the fields or down the lane. But do not go into Mr. McGregor's garden. Your father had an accident there. Mrs. McGregor put him in a pie!"

"Now run along, and don't get into trouble. I am going out."

Old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella. She walked through the woods to the baker's shop. She bought a loaf of brown bread and five buns with currants (small dried fruit) in them.

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail were good little bunnies. They went down the lane to pick blackberries.

But Peter was naughty. He ran straight to Mr. McGregor's garden. He squeezed under the gate!

First, Peter ate some lettuce and some beans. Then he ate some radishes.

Then his tummy felt sick. So he went to look for some parsley to help him feel better.

He walked around a cucumber frame — and there was Mr. McGregor!

Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees, planting little cabbages. But he jumped up and ran after Peter. He waved a rake and shouted, "Stop, thief!"

Peter was very scared. He ran all around the garden. He had forgotten the way back to the gate!

He lost one shoe among the cabbages. He lost the other shoe among the potatoes.

After that, Peter ran on all four legs, which was faster. He might have gotten away — but he ran into a net over the gooseberry bushes! The big buttons on his blue jacket got stuck in the net.

Peter thought he was caught for good, and he cried big tears. Some kind sparrows heard him. They flew over and begged him to keep trying to get free.

Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve (a bowl with tiny holes in it, like a strainer). He wanted to trap Peter under it. But Peter wiggled free just in time — leaving his jacket behind!

Peter ran into the tool-shed. He jumped into a watering can to hide. But the can was full of water, so it wasn't a very good hiding place.

Mr. McGregor was sure Peter was somewhere in the shed. He looked under the flower pots, one by one.

Then Peter sneezed — "Ker-tyschoo!" Mr. McGregor ran right toward the sound.

He tried to step on Peter. But Peter jumped out of a window, knocking over three plants! The window was too small for Mr. McGregor to follow. He was tired of chasing Peter, so he went back to his work.

Peter sat down to rest. He was out of breath and shaking with fright. He had no idea which way to go. He was also very wet from sitting in the can.

After a while, he started to wander around slowly, looking all around him.

He found a door in a wall. But it was locked. There was no space for a chubby little rabbit to squeeze under it.

An old mouse was running back and forth over the stone step. She was carrying peas and beans to her family in the woods. Peter asked her the way to the gate. But her mouth was full of a big pea, so she couldn't answer. She just shook her head. Peter began to cry.

Then he tried to walk straight across the garden. But he got more and more lost. Soon, he came to a pond where Mr. McGregor filled his watering cans. A white cat sat very still, staring at some goldfish. Only the tip of her tail moved now and then. Peter thought it was best not to talk to her. He had heard about cats from his cousin, Benjamin Bunny.

Peter went back toward the tool-shed. Suddenly, close by, he heard a hoe scraping the ground — scritch, scratch, scratch, scritch! Peter hid under some bushes. Nothing happened, so he came back out. He climbed onto a wheelbarrow and peeked over the edge.

He saw Mr. McGregor working in the onions, with his back turned. And past him — Peter could see the gate!

Peter climbed down quietly. Then he ran as fast as he could, along a path behind some blackcurrant bushes.

Mr. McGregor saw him at the corner. But Peter didn't care! He slipped under the gate. At last, he was safe in the woods outside the garden.

Mr. McGregor hung Peter's little jacket and shoes on a scarecrow, to help scare away the blackbirds.

Peter ran all the way home without stopping or looking back. He didn't stop until he reached the big fir tree.

He was so tired that he flopped down on the soft sand in the rabbit hole and closed his eyes. His mother was busy cooking. She wondered what he had done with his clothes! This was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in just two weeks.

I am sorry to say that Peter did not feel well that evening.

His mother put him to bed. She made a cup of chamomile tea, a drink that helps upset tummies. She gave some to Peter.

"One spoonful, at bedtime," she said.

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

THE END