TH TAEL OF
PEETER RABIT

BI

BEATRIX POTTER

FREDERICK WARNE

FREDERICK WARNE

Furst publisht 1902

Frederick Warne & Co., 1902

Printing and bound in Graet Britain bi William Clowes Limited, Beccles and London

Wunss upon a tiem thaer wer foer litl Rabits, and thaer naems wer—

Flopsy,
Mopsy,
Coton-tael,
and Peeter.

Thae livd with thaer Muther in a sand-bank, underneeth th root of a verry big fur-tree.

'Now mi dears,' sed oeld Mrs. Rabit wun morning, 'U mae go into th feelds or doun th laen, but don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden: yuur Faather had an aksident thaer; he wuz puut in a pie bi Mrs. McGregor.'

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

Then oeld Mrs. Rabit tuuk a basket and her umbrela, and went thru th wuud to th baeker's. She baut a loef of broun bred and fiev curant buns.

Flopsy, Mopsy, and Coton-tael, hoo wer guud litl bunnies, went doun th laen to gather blakberrys:

But Peeter, hoo wuz verry nauty, ran straet awae to Mr. McGregor's garden, and sqeezd under th gaet!

Furst he aet sum letises and sum French beens; and then he aet sum radishes;

And then, feeling rather sik, he went to luuk for sum parsly.

But round th end of a cuecumber fraem, hoom shuud he meet but Mr. McGregor!

Mr. McGregor wuz on his hands and nees planting out yung cabejes, but he jumpt up and ran after Peeter, waeving a raek and out, 'Stop theef!'

Peeter wuz moest dredfuly frietend; he rusht all oever th garden, for he had forgoten th wae bak to th gaet.

He lost wun of his shoos amung th cabejes, and th uther shoo amungs th potaetoes.

After loozing them, he ran on foer legs and went faster, so that I think he miet hav got awae aultogether if he had not unforchunatly run into a goosberry net, and got caut bi th larj butons on his jaket. It wuz a bloo jaket with bras butons, qiet nue.

Peeter gaev himself up for lost, and shed big teers; but his sobs wer oeverhurd bi sum frendly sparroes, hoo floo to him in graet exsietment, and implord him to exurt himself.

Mr. McGregor caem up with a sieve, which he intended to pop upon th top of Peeter; but Peeter rigld out just in tiem, leeving his jaket behiend him.

And rusht into th tool-shed, and jumpt into a can. It wuud hav bin a buetiful thing to hied in, if it had not had so much wauter in it.

Mr. McGregor wuz qiet shuur that Peeter wuz sumwhaer in th tool-shed, perhaps hiden underneeth a flower-pot. He began to turn them oever caerfuly, luuking under eech.

Prezently Peeter sneezd—'Kertyschoo!' Mr. McGregor wuz after him in no tiem.

And tried to puut his fuut upon Peeter, hoo jumpt out of a windo, upseting three plants. Th windo wuz too smaul for Mr. McGregor, and he wuz tierd of runing after Peeter. He went bak to his wurk.

Peeter sat doun to rest; he wuz out of breth and trembling with friet, and he had not th leest iedeea which wae to go. Aulso he wuz verry damp with siting in that can.

After a tiem he began to waander about, going lippity—lippity—not verry fast, and luuking all round.

He found a dor in a waul; but it wuz lokt, and thaer wuz no room for a fat litl rabit to sqeez underneeth.

An oeld mous wuz runing in and out oever th stoen dorstep, carrying pees and beens to her family in th wuud. Peeter askt her th wae to th gaet, but she had such a larj pee in her mouth that she cuud not anser. She oenly shuuk her hed at him. Peeter began to cri.

Then he tried to fiend his wae straet acros th garden, but he becaem mor and mor puzld. Prezently, he caem to a pond whaer Mr. McGregor fild his wauter-cans. A whiet cat wuz staering at sum goeld-fish, she sat verry, verry stil, but now and then th tip of her tael twitched as if it wer aliev. Peeter thaut it best to go awae without speeking to her; he had hurd about cats from his cuzin, litl Benjamin Buny.

He went bak tords' th tool-shed, but sudenly, qiet cloez to him, he hurd th noiz of a hoe—scr-r-ritch, scrach, scrach, scritch. Peeter scuttered underneeth th buushes. But prezently, as nuthing hapend, he caem out, and cliemd upon a wheelbarro and peept oever. Th furst thing he saw wuz Mr. McGregor hoeing unyons. His bak wuz turnd tords' Peeter, and beyond him wuz th gaet!

Peeter got doun verry qieetly off th wheelbarro; and started runing as fast as he cuud go, along a straet wauk behiend sum blak-curant buushes.

Mr. McGregor caut siet of him at th corner, but Peeter did not caer. He slipt underneeth th gaet, and wuz saef at last in th wuud outsied th garden.

Mr. McGregor hung up th litl jaket and th shoos for a scaer-cro to frieten th blakburds.

Peeter never stopt runing or luukt behiend him til he got hoem to th big fur-tree.

He wuz so tierd that he flopt doun upon th niess soft sand on th flor of th rabit-hoel and shut his ies. His muther wuz bizy cuuking; she wunderd whut he had dun with his cloeths. It wuz th second litl jaket and paer of shoos that Peeter had lost in a fortniet!

I am sorry to sae that Peeter wuz not verry wel duuring th eevning.

His muther puut him to bed, and maed sum camomile tee; and she gaev a doess of it to Peeter!

'Wun taebl-spoonful to be taeken at bed-tiem.'

But Flopsy, Mopsy, and Coton-tael had bred and milk and blakberrys for super.

TH END