The Tale of Benjamin Bunny

0:00The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter. One morning, a little rabbit sat on a bank. He pricked his ears and listened to the trick-treat, trick-treat of a pony. A gig was coming down 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 sat 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 nearest, sandiest hole of all, cousins flopsie, mopsie, cotton tail, and Peter. Old Mrs. Rabbit was a widow. She earned her living by knitting rabbit, wool mittens, and muffeties. I once bought a pair at a bizarre. She also sold herbs and rosemary tea and rabbit tobacco, which we would call lavender. Little Benjamin did not very much want to see his aunt.

1:03He came round the back of the furtory and nearly tumble upon the top of his cousin, Peter. Peter was sitting by himself. He looked poorly and was dressed in a red-caughtened pocket hankerchief. Peter said little Benjamin in a whisper. Who has got your clothes? Peter replied, The scare crow in Mr. McGregor's garden. And described how he had been chased about, the garden had dropped his shoes in coat. Little Benjamin sat down beside his cousin, and assured him that Mr. McGregor had gone out in a gig. And Mrs. McGregor also, and certainly for the day, because she was wearing her best bonnet. Peter said he hoped that it would rain. At this point, old Mrs. Rabbit's voice was heard inside the rabbit hole, calling cotton tail, cotton tail, fetch some more camomile. Peter said he thought he might feel better if he went for a walk. They went away hand in hand, and got upon the flat top of the wall

2:06at the bottom of the wood. From here they looked down into Mr. McGregor's garden. Peter's coat and shoes were plainly to be seen on the scare crow, topped with an old tamish enter of Mr. McGregor's. Little Benjamin said it spoils people's clothes to squeeze under a gate. The proper way to get in is to climb down a pear tree. Peter fell down head first, but it was of no consequence, as the bed below was newly raked and quite soft. It had been sewn with lettuces. They left a great many odd little foot marks all over the bed, especially Little Benjamin, who was wearing clogs. Little Benjamin said that the first thing to be done was to get back Peter's clothes in order that they might be able to use the pocket hankerchief. They took them off the scare crow. There had been rain during the night, there was water in the shoes, and the coat was somewhat shrunk. Benjamin tried on the tamish enter, but it was too big for him. Then he suggested that they should fill the pocket hankerchief with onions, as a little present for his aunt.

3:07Peter did not seem to be enjoying himself. He kept hearing noises. Benjamin on the contrary was perfectly at home and he'd let us leave. He said he was in the habit of coming to the garden with his father to get lettuces for their Sunday dinner. The name of Little Benjamin's papal was old Mr. Benjamin bunny. The lettuces certainly were very fine. Peter did not eat anything. He said he should like to go home. Presently, he dropped half the onions. Little Benjamin said it was not possible to get back up the paratory with a load of vegetables. He led the way boldly toward the other end of the garden, and went along a little walk on planks under a sunny red brick wall. The mice sat on their doorsteps cracking cherry stones. They winked to Peter Rabbit and Little Benjamin bunny. Presently, Peter let the pocket hankerchief go again. They got amongst flower pots and frames and tubs. Peter heard noises worse than ever. His eyes were as big as lollipops. He was a step or two in front of his cousin when he suddenly stopped.

4:09This is what those little rabbits saw round that corner. Little Benjamin took one look, and then in half a minute, less than no time, he hid himself and Peter and the onions underneath a large basket. The cat got up and strudged herself and came and sniffed at the basket. Perhaps she liked the smell of the onions. Anyway, she sat upon the top of the basket. She sat there for five hours. I cannot draw you a picture of Peter and Benjamin underneath the basket, because it was quite dark, and because the smell of the onions was fearful. It made Peter Rabbit and Little Benjamin cry. The sun got round behind the wood, and it was quite late in the afternoon, but still the cat sat upon the basket. At length, there was a pitter pattern, pitter pattern, and some bits of mortar fell from the wall above. The cat looked up and saw Old Mr. Benjamin bunny, prancing along the top of the wall of the upper terrace.

5:09He was smoking a pipe of rabbit tobacco and had a little switch in his hand. He was looking for his son. Old Mr. Bunny had no opinion whatever of cats. He took a tremendous jump off the top of the wall, onto the top of the cat, and cuffed it off the basket, and kicked it into the garden house, scratching off a handful of fur. The cat was too much surprised to scratch back. When Old Mr. Bunny had driven the cat into the greenhouse, he locked the door. Then he came back to the basket and took out his son, Benjamin, by the ears, and whipped him with a little switch. Then he took out his nephew, Peter. Then he took out the hanker tip of onions, and marched out of the garden. When Mr. McGregor returned about half an hour later, he observed several things which perplexed him. It looked as though some person had been walking all over the garden in a pair of clogs, only the footmarks were too ridiculously little. Also, he could not understand how the cat could have managed to shut herself up.

6:12Inside the greenhouse, locking the door upon the outside. When Peter got home, his mother forgave him, because she was so glad to see that he had found his shoes in coat. Cottontail and Peter folded up the pocket hanker tip, and Old Mrs. Rabbit strung up the onions and hung them from the kitchen ceiling with a rabbit tobacco. End of the tale of Benjamin Bunny.