Peter Rabbit and Nineteen Other Tales

By Beatrix Porter

This collection includes 21 picture books with over 550 illustrations.: The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, The Tale of Mr. Tod, The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, The Tale of Ginger and Pickles, The Story of Miss Moppet, The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher, The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes, The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, The Tale of Johnny Town Mouse, The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, The Tale of Tom Kitten, The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit, the Tailor of Gloucester, and Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes.. According to Wikipedia: "Helen Beatrix Potter (28 July 1866 – 22 December 1943) was an English author, illustrator, mycologist and conservationist best known for children's books featuring anthropomorphic characters such as in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Born into a privileged household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets and spent holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developing a love of landscape, flora and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Her parents discouraged her intellectual development as a young woman, but her study and watercolors of fungi led to her being widely respected in the field of mycology. In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Potter began writing and illustrating children's books full time. With proceeds from the books, she became financially independent of her parents and was eventually able to buy Hill Top Farm in the Lake District. She extended the property with other purchases over time. In her forties, she married William Heelis, a local solicitor, became a sheep breeder and farmer while continuing to write and illustrate books for children. She published twenty-three books."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Seltzer Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2018
• ISBN: 9781455404193

Book preview

PETER RABBIT AND 19 OTHER TALES BY BEATRIX POTTER

illustrated by the author

Published by Seltzer Books

established in 1974, now offering over 14,000  books

feedback welcome: [e-mail]

Books for young children available from Seltzer Books:

Peter Rabbit and 19 Other Tales by Beatrix Potter

A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson

15 Classic Picture Books by Randolph Caldecott

The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real by Margery Williams

'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Moore

11 Children's Books by Thornton Burgess

Water Babies by Charles Kingsley

The Tale of Peter Rabbit

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny

The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies

The Tale of Mr. Tod

The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle

The Tale of Ginger and Pickles

The Story of Miss Moppet

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes

The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-pan

The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

The Tale of Two Bad Mice

The Tale of Johnny Town Mouse

The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse

The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or the Roly Poly Pudding

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin

The Tale of Tom Kitten

The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit

The Tailor of Gloucester

Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes

THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT BY BEATRIX POTTER

First published 1902

Frederick Warne & Co., 1902

Printed and bound in Great Britain by William Clowes Limited, Beccles and London

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 round.

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

________________

THE TALE OF BENJAMIN BUNNY BY BEATRIX POTTER

AUTHOR OF THE TAIL OF PETER RABBIT, &C.

FREDERICK WARNE & CO., INC., NEW YORK

Copyright, 1904 BY FREDERICK WARNE & Co.

FOR THE CHILDREN OF SAWREY FROM OLD MR. BUNNY

One morning a little rabbit sat on a bank.

He pricked his ears and listened to the trit-trot, trit-trot of a pony.

A gig was coming along the road; it was driven by Mr. McGregor, and beside him sat Mrs. McGregor in her best bonnet.

 As soon as they had passed, little Benjamin Bunny slid down into the road, and set off—with a hop, skip, and a jump—to call upon his relations, who lived in the wood at the back of Mr. McGregor's garden.

 That wood was full of rabbit holes; and in the neatest, sandiest hole of all lived Benjamin's aunt and his cousins—Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail, and Peter.

Old Mrs. Rabbit was a widow; she earned her living by knitting rabbit-wool mittens and muffatees (I once bought a pair at a bazaar). She also sold herbs, and rosemary tea, and rabbit-tobacco (which is what we call lavender).

 Little Benjamin did not very much want to see