once upon a time, there were four little rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy,

 

Cottontail and Peter lived with their mother in a sandbank 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’m going out”.

 

Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella and went through the woods

 

to the bakers, she bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns.

 

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, 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 lettuce

 

and some green beans, and then he ate some radishes and then felt rather

 

sick, he went to look for some parsley, but round the end of the cucumber frame

 

who eat 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 might have gotten 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 the loss and shed big tears, but his sobs were overheard by

 

some friendly sparrows who flew to him in great excitement, and he implored him

 

to exert himself. Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve that he intended to pop on

 

the top of Peter, but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket behind him,

 

and he rushed into the toolshed and jumped into a can; it would have been a beautiful

 

the 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 toolshed,

 

perhaps hidden underneath a flowerpot, he began to turn them over carefully, looking

 

under each.

 

Presently Peters’s knees couldn’t show Mr. McGregor was after him in no time, and he

 

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 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 wonder about going to liberty,

 

Mr. McGregor is not very fast, and looking all around, he found a door in a wall, but it

 

was locked, 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

 

sat staring at some goldfish; 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 has heard about cats from his cousin Little Benjamin Bunny; he went back

 

towards the toolshed, but suddenly quite close to him, he heard the noise of a whole

 

scratch scratch scratch scratch, Peter scattered 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, going along a straight

 

walk behind some blackcurrant 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 shoes for a scarecrow 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

 

of 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 chamomile tea, and she gave a dose of it to Peter, one

 

tablespoonful to be taken at bedtime, but Flopsy Mopsy and Cottontail had bread

 

and milk and blackberries for supper.