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The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
by Beatrix Potter


     One morning a little rabbit sat on a bank.
     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 his Aunt.
     "Peter," said little Benjamin, in a whisper, "who has got your clothes?"
     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!"
     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."
     It had been sown with lettuces.
     They left a great many odd little footmarks 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-handkerchief.
     Benjamin tried on the tam-o'-shanter, but it was too big for him.
     The lettuces certainly were very fine.
     Presently Peter let the pocket-handkerchief go again.
     This is what those little rabbits saw round that corner!
     The cat got up and stretched herself, and came and sniffed at the basket.
     Perhaps she liked the smell of onions!
     Anyway, she sat down upon the top of the basket.
     She sat there for five hours.
     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 on to the top of the cat, and cuffed it off the basket, and kicked it into the greenhouse, 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 took out his nephew Peter.
     Then he took out the handkerchief 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 inside 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 and coat. Cotton-tail and Peter folded up the pocket-handkerchief, and old Mrs. Rabbit strung up the onions and hung them from the kitchen ceiling, with the bunches of herbs and the rabbit-tobacco.

This text and illustrations are from Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
London, Frederick Warne & Co., Inc. (1904, 1932).