THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT
THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT
First published 1902 Frederick Warne & Co., 1902 Written by Beatrix Potter Design & Edited by Jewel Hunter 2023 FA ARTS 335-51: Typography II
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 b
i g fir-tree.
‘ Now my dears,’ said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, ‘ you may go into the fields d ow or n
th
e
la
ne
, but dont go into
Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.’
4
‘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, t down
th
who were good little bunnies, w e n
e lane t
o
ga
t
h er
who was very naughty,
squeezed
under the gate!
e
i
and
rr
ran straight away to Mr. McGregor’s garden,
blackbe
But Peter,
s.
5
First he ate some lettuces
and some French beans; and
then he ate some radishes;
And then, sick,
he went to look for some parsley.
eet
But
ber
he m
roun
cucm
frame, whom should
Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages, but he
6
Mr. McGregor!
but
up and ran after Peter,
ju m pe d
d th
of a
e end
feeling rather
waving a rake and calling out
‘Stop thief!’
G
H
T
E
N E D;
ga .
ay
he
te
bac
and the other shoe among the potatoes.
r ry be e s n into a goo
na t el y ru
he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not
by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new.
tu
After losing them,
ne t,
He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages,
e w
for
th
de , n
ed a
forgo
tt en
gar
sh
er the
k to t
I
he had
R
he ru
F
ll ov
Peter was most dreadfully
for un
7
lost,
gt ear
s bi
big tears big
s bi
tea rs
tear
big bi
Peter gave himself up for and shed g
g te
sb
r s bi g
ig te
s ar
t
tea
ar s
big
a r s bi g ea
t s bi g te
er ; Pet
Mr. M c
t
of
Gre go r
ca
m
t e ar
ch he intende e, whi d to siev pop a h t up wi on up
p to he
8
e
; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows, who flew to him in great ex c it em e n t, and implored him to e x e r t himself.
but Peter wriggled out just in time, leaving his jacket
hidden underneath a flower-pot. tu He began to rn
carefully,
over
looking under each.
Presently Peter sneezed— ‘kert
oo!’
ysch
And tried to put this foot upon Peter, who
jumped
Mr. McGregor was after him in no time.
out of a window, upsetting three plants
plants
shed into the t ool-shed, and jumped into a can. It would have been a beautiful thing to hide
perhaps em
ru
Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the tool-shed,
th
An d
in, if it had not had so much water in it.
pl
an
ts
9
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 t r m l n g with e b i
fright,
and he had not the least idea which way to go. Also he was very damp with sitting in that can.
w it
as locked d there was no room for a an
10
lippity—lippity—
He found a door in a wall; bu t
After a time he began to wander about, going
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
ea
a
ge p e a a r rg e p e a
a
a rg e
a
a r rge p e a l l
a r rg e pp e a
a rge p e a l l a ge p e a
a
l
g e pp e a r a ge e a
r
ea
rg e p e a
l
l
l
l arg
l arg ee p e a l
ea rg la arge p e a
la a rg e pp e a l l
l larg e p a
la a rggee ppee a l l
Peter asked her the way to the r ggee ppee a gate but she had such a a l a r ge p e a l ar e pe a
in her mouth that she could not answer
a ge p e a l a r rge p e a l rge p e a
Peter began to cry.
Then he tried to find his way straight across the garden, but he became
more and more puzzled.
11
now
eM
and then the t ip of her tail
12
if it were a
liv
e.
ver y
e d as
sat v ery ,
ch
, she
it
r-cans.
to a po
cat
his wate e
i te
r
fill ed
r. M c G r
e
go
fis h
t bu ll, s ti
am
ld t some go ing a tar
P r e s e n t l y, h e c
er
A wh
ss
n
h dw
wa
tw
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
s c—scr-r-ritch, rat ch, , h c at r c s scritch. Peter scuttered underneath a wheelbarrow but presently, climbed upon he came out, and as nothing happened
The first thing he saw was Mr. McGregor hoeing onions. His back was turned towards Peter and
over and peeped
beyond him was the gate! 13
Peter got down very quietly off the wheelbarrow; and started r u n n i n g a s f a s t 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
M r.
M k
et
safe at last in the wood outside the garden
shoes
for a scare-crow to
he
cGregor hung up the little jac
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the gate, and was underneath
and t
frighten
Peter never stopped running or looked behind him till he got home to the big fir-tree. He was so tired that he
His mother was busy cooking; she wondered
fl
op ped
down upoon the nice soft sand on the floor of the rabbit-hole and shut his eyes.
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, Cotton-tail, had bread and milk and blackberries for supper.
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