The Great Big Treasury of Beatrix Potter






THE TALE OF MR. TOD

               [For William Francis of Ulva—Someday!]

               I have made many books about
               well-behaved people. Now, for a
               change, I am going to make a story
               about two disagreeable people,
               called Tommy Brock and Mr. Tod.

               Nobody could call Mr. Tod
               "nice." The rabbits could not bear
               him; they could smell him half a
               mile off. He was of a wandering
               habit and he had foxy whiskers;
               they never knew where he would be
               next.

               One day he was living in a stick-
               house in the coppice [grove], causing
               terror to the family of old Mr.
               Benjamin Bouncer. Next day he
               moved into a pollard willow near
               the lake, frightening the wild ducks
               and the water rats.

               In winter and early spring he
               might generally be found in an
               earth amongst the rocks at the top
               of Bull Banks, under Oatmeal Crag.

               He had half a dozen houses, but
               he was seldom at home.

               The houses were not always
               empty when Mr. Tod moved OUT;
               because sometimes Tommy Brock
               moved IN; (without asking leave).

               Tommy Brock was a short bristly
               fat waddling person with a grin; he
               grinned all over his face. He was
               not nice in his habits. He ate wasp
               nests and frogs and worms; and he
               waddled about by moonlight, digging
               things up.

               His clothes were very dirty; and
               as he slept in the daytime, he
               always went to bed in his boots.
               And the bed which he went to bed
               in was generally Mr. Tod's.

               Now Tommy Brock did occasionally
               eat rabbit pie; but it was only
               very little young ones occasionally,
               when other food was really scarce.
               He was friendly with old Mr.
               Bouncer; they agreed in disliking
               the wicked otters and Mr. Tod; they
               often talked over that painful subject.

               Old Mr. Bouncer was stricken in
               years. He sat in the spring sunshine
               outside the burrow, in a muffler;
               smoking a pipe of rabbit tobacco.

               He lived with his son Benjamin
               Bunny and his daughter-in-law
               Flopsy, who had a young family.
               Old Mr. Bouncer was in charge of
               the family that afternoon, because
               Benjamin and Flopsy had gone out.

               The little rabbit babies were just
               old enough to open their blue eyes
               and kick. They lay in a fluffy bed of
               rabbit wool and hay, in a shallow
               burrow, separate from the main
               rabbit hole. To tell the truth—old
               Mr. Bouncer had forgotten them.

               He sat in the sun, and conversed
               cordially with Tommy Brock, who
               was passing through the wood with
               a sack and a little spud which he
               used for digging, and some mole
               traps. He complained bitterly
               about the scarcity of pheasants'
               eggs, and accused Mr. Tod of
               poaching them. And the otters had
               cleared off all the frogs while he
               was asleep in winter—"I have not
               had a good square meal for a fort-
               night, I am living on pig-nuts. I
               shall have to turn vegetarian and
               eat my own tail!" said Tommy
               Brock.

               It was not much of a joke, but it
               tickled old Mr. Bouncer; because
               Tommy Brock was so fat and
               stumpy and grinning.

               So old Mr. Bouncer laughed; and
               pressed Tommy Brock to come inside,
               to taste a slice of seed cake
               and "a glass of my daughter Flopsy's
               cowslip wine." Tommy Brock
               squeezed himself into the rabbit
               hole with alacrity.

               Then old Mr. Bouncer smoked
               another pipe, and gave Tommy
               Brock a cabbage leaf cigar which
               was so very strong that it made
               Tommy Brock grin more than ever;
               and the smoke filled the burrow.
               Old Mr. Bouncer coughed and
               laughed; and Tommy Brock puffed
               and grinned.

               And Mr. Bouncer laughed and
               coughed, and shut his eyes because
               of the cabbage smoke ..........

               When Flopsy and Benjamin came
               back old Mr. Bouncer woke up.
               Tommy Brock and all the young
               rabbit babies had disappeared!

               Mr. Bouncer would not confess
               that he had admitted anybody into
               the rabbit hole. But the smell of
               badger was undeniable; and there
               were round heavy footmarks in the
               sand. He was in disgrace; Flopsy
               wrung her ears, and slapped him.

               Benjamin Bunny set off at once
               after Tommy Brock.

               There was not much difficulty in
               tracking him; he had left his foot-
               mark and gone slowly up the winding
               footpath through the wood. Here he
               had rooted up the moss and wood
               sorrel. There he had dug quite a
               deep hole for dog darnel; and had
               set a mole trap. A little stream
               crossed the way. Benjamin skipped
               lightly over dry-foot; the badger's
               heavy steps showed plainly in the mud.

               The path led to a part of the
               thicket where the trees had been
               cleared; there were leafy oak
               stumps, and a sea of blue hyacinths
               —but the smell that made Benjamin
               stop was NOT the smell of flowers!

               Mr. Tod's stick house was before
               him; and, for once, Mr. Tod was at
               home. There was not only a foxy
               flavor in proof of it—there was
               smoke coming out of the broken
               pail that served as a chimney.

               Benjamin Bunny sat up, staring,
               his whiskers twitched. Inside the
               stick house somebody dropped a
               plate, and said something. Benjamin
               stamped his foot, and bolted.

               He never stopped till he came to
               the other side of the wood. Apparently
               Tommy Brock had turned the
               same way. Upon the top of the wall
               there were again the marks of

               badger; and some ravellings of a
               sack had caught on a briar.

               Benjamin climbed over the wall,
               into a meadow. He found another
               mole trap newly set; he was still
               upon the track of Tommy Brock. It
               was getting late in the afternoon.
               Other rabbits were coming out to
               enjoy the evening air. One of them
               in a blue coat, by himself, was busily
               hunting for dandelions.—
               "Cousin Peter! Peter Rabbit, Peter
               Rabbit!" shouted Benjamin Bunny.

               The blue coated rabbit sat up
               with pricked ears—"Whatever is
               the matter, Cousin Benjamin? Is it
               a cat? or John Stoat Ferret?"

               "No, no, no! He's bagged my
               family—Tommy Brock—in a sack
               —have you seen him?"

               "Tommy Brock? how many,
               Cousin Benjamin?"

               "Seven, Cousin Peter, and all of
               them twins! Did he come this way?
               Please tell me quick!"

               "Yes, yes; not ten minutes since
               ... he said they were CATERPILLARS;
               I did think they were kicking rather
               hard, for caterpillars."

               "Which way? which way has he
               gone, Cousin Peter?"

               "He had a sack with something
               live in it; I watched him set a mole
               trap. Let me use my mind, Cousin
               Benjamin; tell me from the beginning,"
               Benjamin did so.

               "My Uncle Bouncer has displayed
               a lamentable want of discretion for
               his years;" said Peter reflectively,
               "but there are two hopeful
               circumstances. Your family is alive and
               kicking; and Tommy Brock has had
               refreshments. He will probably go
               to sleep, and keep them for breakfast."
               "Which way?" "Cousin Benjamin,
               compose yourself. I know
               very well which way. Because Mr.
               Tod was at home in the stick house
               he has gone to Mr. Tod's other
               house, at the top of Bull Banks. I
               partly know, because he offered to
               leave any message at Sister Cottontail's;
               he said he would be passing."
               (Cottontail had married a black
               rabbit, and gone to live on the hill.)

               Peter hid his dandelions, and
               accompanied the afflicted parent,
               who was all of atwitter. They
               crossed several fields and began to
               climb the hill; the tracks of Tommy
               Brock were plainly to be seen. He
               seemed to have put down the sack
               every dozen yards, to rest.

               "He must be very puffed; we are
               close behind him, by the scent.
               What a nasty person!" said Peter.

               The sunshine was still warm and
               slanting on the hill pastures. Half
               way up, Cottontail was sitting in
               her doorway, with four or five half-
               grown little rabbits playing about
               her; one black and the others
               brown.

               Cottontail had seen Tommy
               Brock passing in the distance.
               Asked whether her husband was at
               home she replied that Tommy
               Brock had rested twice while she
               watched him.

               He had nodded, and pointed to
               the sack, and seemed doubled up
               with laughing.—"Come away,
               Peter; he will be cooking them;
               come quicker!" said Benjamin
               Bunny.

               They climbed up and up;—"He
               was at home; I saw his black ears
               peeping out of the hole." "They live
               too near the rocks to quarrel with
               their neighbors. Come on, Cousin
               Benjamin!"

               When they came near the wood
               at the top of Bull Banks, they went
               cautiously. The trees grew amongst
               heaped up rocks; and there,
               beneath a crag, Mr. Tod had made
               one of his homes. It was at the top
               of a steep bank; the rocks and
               bushes overhung it. The rabbits
               crept up carefully, listening and
               peeping.

               This house was something between
               a cave, a prison, and a tumbledown
               pigsty. There was a strong
               door, which was shut and locked.

               The setting sun made the window
               panes glow like red flame; but
               the kitchen fire was not alight. It
               was neatly laid with dry sticks, as
               the rabbits could see, when they
               peeped through the window.

               Benjamin sighed with relief.

               But there were preparations
               upon the kitchen table which made
               him shudder. There was an immense
               empty pie dish of blue willow
               pattern, and a large carving
               knife and fork, and a chopper.

               At the other end of the table was
               a partly unfolded tablecloth, a
               plate, a tumbler, a knife and fork,
               salt cellar, mustard and a chair—
               in short, preparations for one
               person's supper.

               No person was to be seen, and
               no young rabbits. The kitchen was
               empty and silent; the clock had run
               down. Peter and Benjamin flattened
               their noses against the window,
               and stared into the dusk.

               Then they scrambled round the
               rocks to the other side of the house.
               It was damp and smelly, and over-
               grown with thorns and briars.

               The rabbits shivered in their
               shoes.

               "Oh my poor rabbit babies!
               What a dreadful place; I shall never
               see them again!" sighed Benjamin.

               They crept up to the bedroom
               window. It was closed and bolted
               like the kitchen. But there were
               signs that this window had been
               recently open; the cobwebs were
               disturbed, and there were fresh dirty
               footmarks upon the windowsill.

               The room inside was so dark that
               at first they could make out nothing;
               but they could hear a noise—a
               slow deep regular snoring grunt.
               And as their eyes became accustomed
               to the darkness, they perceived
               that somebody was asleep
               on Mr. Tod's bed, curled up under
               the blanket.—"He has gone to bed
               in his boots," whispered Peter.

               Benjamin, who was all of atwitter,
               pulled Peter off the windowsill.
               Tommy Brock's snores continued,
               grunty and regular from Mr.
               Tod's bed. Nothing could be seen of
               the young family.

               The sun had set; an owl began to
               hoot in the wood. There were many
               unpleasant things lying about that
               had much better have been buried;
               rabbit bones and skulls, and chickens'
               legs and other horrors. It was
               a shocking place, and very dark.

               They went back to the front of
               the house, and tried in every way to
               move the bolt of the kitchen window.
               They tried to push up a rusty
               nail between the window sashes;
               but it was of no use, especially
               without a light.

               They sat side by side outside the
               window, whispering and listening.

               In half an hour the moon rose
               over the wood. It shone full and
               clear and cold, upon the house,
               amongst the rocks, and in at the
               kitchen window. But alas, no little
               rabbit babies were to be seen! The
               moonbeams twinkled on the carving
               knife and the pie dish, and
               made a path of brightness across
               the dirty floor.

               The light showed a little door in
               a wall beside the kitchen fireplace
               —a little iron door belonging to a
               brick oven of that old-fashioned
               sort that used to be heated with
               faggots of wood.

               And presently at the same moment
               Peter and Benjamin noticed
               that whenever they shook the window
               the little door opposite shook
               in answer. The young family were
               alive; shut up in the oven!

               Benjamin was so excited that it
               was a mercy he did not awake
               Tommy Brock, whose snores continued
               solemnly in Mr. Tod's bed.

               But there really was not very
               much comfort in the discovery.
               They could not open the window;
               and although the young family was
               alive the little rabbits were quite
               incapable of letting themselves out;
               they were not old enough to crawl.

               After much whispering, Peter
               and Benjamin decided to dig a tunnel.
               They began to burrow a yard
               or two lower down the bank. They
               hoped that they might be able to
               work between the large stones
               under the house; the kitchen floor
               was so dirty that it was impossible
               to say whether it was made of earth
               or flags.

               They dug and dug for hours.
               They could not tunnel straight on
               account of stones; but by the end of
               the night they were under the
               kitchen floor. Benjamin was on his
               back scratching upwards. Peter's
               claws were worn down; he was
               outside the tunnel, shuffling sand
               away. He called out that it was
               morning—sunrise; and that the
               jays were making a noise down
               below in the woods.

               Benjamin Bunny came out of the
               dark tunnel shaking the sand from
               his ears; he cleaned his face with
               his paws. Every minute the sun
               shone warmer on the top of the
               hill. In the valley there was a sea of
               white mist, with golden tops of
               trees showing through.

               Again from the fields down
               below in the mist there came the
               angry cry of a jay, followed by the
               sharp yelping bark of a fox!

               Then those two rabbits lost their
               heads completely. They did the
               most foolish thing that they could
               have done. They rushed into their
               short new tunnel, and hid themselves
               at the top end of it, under
               Mr. Tod's kitchen floor.

               Mr. Tod was coming up Bull
               Banks, and he was in the very worst
               of tempers. First he had been upset
               by breaking the plate. It was his
               own fault; but it was a china plate,
               the last of the dinner service that
               had belonged to his grandmother,
               old Vixen Tod. Then the midges
               had been very bad. And he had
               failed to catch a hen pheasant on
               her nest; and it had contained only
               five eggs, two of them addled. Mr.
               Tod had had an unsatisfactory
               night.

               As usual, when out of humor, he
               determined to move house. First he
               tried the pollard willow, but it was
               damp; and the otters had left a
               dead fish near it. Mr. Tod likes
               nobody's leavings but his own.

               He made his way up the hill; his
               temper was not improved by noticing
               unmistakable marks of badger.
               No one else grubs up the moss so
               wantonly as Tommy Brock.

               Mr. Tod slapped his stick upon
               the earth and fumed; he guessed
               where Tommy Brock had gone to.
               He was further annoyed by the jay
               bird which followed him persistently.
               It flew from tree to tree and
               scolded, warning every rabbit
               within hearing that either a cat or
               a fox was coming up the plantation.
               Once when it flew screaming
               over his head Mr. Tod snapped at
               it, and barked.

               He approached his house very
               carefully, with a large rusty key. He
               sniffed and his whiskers bristled.

               The house was locked up, but Mr.
               Tod had his doubts whether it was
               empty. He turned the rusty key in
               the lock; the rabbits below could
               hear it. Mr. Tod opened the door
               cautiously and went in.

               The sight that met Mr. Tod's eyes
               in Mr. Tod's kitchen made Mr. Tod
               furious. There was Mr. Tod's chair,
               and Mr. Tod's pie dish, and his
               knife and fork and mustard and
               salt cellar, and his tablecloth, that
               he had left folded up in the dresser
               —all set out for supper (or breakfast)
               —without doubt for that
               odious Tommy Brock.

               There was a smell of fresh earth
               and dirty badger, which fortunately
               overpowered all smell of
               rabbit.

               But what absorbed Mr. Tod's
               attention was a noise, a deep slow
               regular snoring grunting noise,
               coming from his own bed.

               He peeped through the hinges of
               the half-open bedroom door. Then
               he turned and came out of the
               house in a hurry. His whiskers bristled
               and his coat collar stood on
               end with rage.

               For the next twenty minutes Mr.
               Tod kept creeping cautiously into
               the house, and retreating hurriedly
               out again. By degrees he ventured
               further in—right into the bed-
               room. When he was outside the
               house, he scratched up the earth
               with fury. But when he was inside
               —he did not like the look of
               Tommy Brock's teeth.

               He was lying on his back with his
               mouth open, grinning from ear to
               ear. He snored peacefully and
               regularly; but one eye was not
               perfectly shut.

               Mr. Tod came in and out of the
               bedroom. Twice he brought in his
               walking stick, and once he brought
               in the coal scuttle. But he thought
               better of it, and took them away.

               When he came back after removing
               the coal scuttle, Tommy Brock
               was lying a little more sideways;
               but he seemed even sounder asleep.
               He was an incurably indolent person;
               he was not in the least afraid
               of Mr. Tod; he was simply too lazy
               and comfortable to move.

               Mr. Tod came back yet again
               into the bedroom with a clothes
               line. He stood a minute watching
               Tommy Brock and listening attentively
               to the snores. They were very
               loud indeed, but seemed quite natural.

               Mr. Tod turned his back towards
               the bed, and undid the window. It
               creaked; he turned round with a
               jump. Tommy Brock, who had
               opened one eye—shut it hastily.
               The snores continued.

               Mr. Tod's proceedings were
               peculiar, and rather difficult (because
               the bed was between the window
               and the door of the bedroom). He
               opened the window a little way,
               and pushed out the greater part of
               the clothes line on to the window-
               sill. The rest of the line, with a hook
               at the end, remained in his hand.

               Tommy Brock snored conscientiously.
               Mr. Tod stood and looked
               at him for a minute; then he left
               the room again.

               Tommy Brock opened both eyes,
               and looked at the rope and grinned.
               There was a noise outside the window.
               Tommy Brock shut his eyes in
               a hurry.

               Mr. Tod had gone out at the
               front door, and round to the back
               of the house. On the way, he stumbled
               over the rabbit burrow. If he
               had had any idea who was inside it
               he would have pulled them out
               quickly.

               His foot went through the tunnel
               nearly upon the top of Peter Rabbit
               and Benjamin; but, fortunately, he
               thought that it was some more of
               Tommy Brock's work.

               He took up the coil of line from
               the sill, listened for a moment, and
               then tied the rope to a tree.

               Tommy Brock watched him with
               one eye, through the window. He
               was puzzled.

               Mr. Tod fetched a large heavy
               pailful of water from the spring,
               and staggered with it through the
               kitchen into his bedroom.

               Tommy Brock snored industriously,
               with rather a snort.

               Mr. Tod put down the pail beside
               the bed, took up the end of rope
               with the hook—hesitated, and
               looked at Tommy Brock. The
               snores were almost apoplectic; but
               the grin was not quite so big.

               Mr. Tod gingerly mounted a
               chair by the head of the bedstead.
               His legs were dangerously near to
               Tommy Brock's teeth.

               He reached up and put the end
               of rope, with the hook, over the
               head of the tester bed, where the
               curtains ought to hang.

               (Mr. Tod's curtains were folded
               up, and put away, owing to the
               house being unoccupied. So was
               the counterpane. Tommy Brock
               was covered with a blanket only.)
               Mr. Tod standing on the unsteady
               chair looked down upon him attentively;
               he really was a first prize
               sound sleeper!

               It seemed as though nothing
               would waken him—not even the
               flapping rope across the bed.

               Mr. Tod descended safely from
               the chair, and endeavored to get up
               again with the pail of water. He
               intended to hang it from the hook,
               dangling over the head of Tommy
               Brock, in order to make a sort of
               shower-bath, worked by a string,
               through the window.

               But, naturally, being a thin-
               legged person (though vindictive
               and sandy whiskered)—he was
               quite unable to lift the heavy
               weight to the level of the hook and
               rope. He very nearly overbalanced
               himself.

               The snores became more and
               more apoplectic. One of Tommy
               Brock's hind legs twitched under
               the blanket, but still he slept on
               peacefully.

               Mr. Tod and the pail descended
               from the chair without accident.
               After considerable thought, he
               emptied the water into a wash
               basin and jug. The empty pail was
               not too heavy for him; he slung it
               up wobbling over the head of
               Tommy Brock.

               Surely there never was such a
               sleeper! Mr. Tod got up and down,
               down and up on the chair.

               As he could not lift the whole
               pailful of water at once he fetched
               a milk jug and ladled quarts of
               water into the pail by degrees. The
               pail got fuller and fuller, and
               swung like a pendulum. Occasionally
               a drop splashed over; but still
               Tommy Brock snored regularly and
               never moved,—except in one eye.

               At last Mr. Tod's preparations
               were complete. The pail was full of
               water; the rope was tightly strained
               over the top of the bed, and across
               the windowsill to the tree outside.

               "It will make a great mess in my
               bedroom; but I could never sleep in
               that bed again without a spring
               cleaning of some sort," said Mr.
               Tod.
               Mr. Tod took a last look at the
               badger and softly left the room. He
               went out of the house, shutting the
               front door. The rabbits heard his
               footsteps over the tunnel.

               He ran round behind the house,
               intending to undo the rope in order
               to let fall the pailful of water upon
               Tommy Brock—

               "I will wake him up with an
               unpleasant surprise," said Mr. Tod.

               The moment he had gone,
               Tommy Brock got up in a hurry; he
               rolled Mr. Tod's dressing-gown into
               a bundle, put it into the bed beneath
               the pail of water instead of
               himself, and left the room also—
               grinning immensely.

               He went into the kitchen, lighted
               the fire and boiled the kettle; for
               the moment he did not trouble
               himself to cook the baby rabbits.
               When Mr. Tod got to the tree, he
               found that the weight and strain
               had dragged the knot so tight that
               it was past untying. He was obliged
               to gnaw it with his teeth. He
               chewed and gnawed for more than
               twenty minutes. At last the rope
               gave way with such a sudden jerk
               that it nearly pulled his teeth out,
               and quite knocked him over backwards.

               Inside the house there was a
               great crash and splash, and the
               noise of a pail rolling over and over.

               But no screams. Mr. Tod was
               mystified; he sat quite still, and
               listened attentively. Then he peeped
               in at the window. The water was
               dripping from the bed, the pail had
               rolled into a corner.

               In the middle of the bed, under
               the blanket, was a wet SOMETHING
               —much flattened in the middle,
               where the pail had caught it (as it
               were across the tummy). Its head
               was covered by the wet blanket,
               and it was NOT SNORING ANY LONGER.

               There was nothing stirring, and
               no sound except the drip, drop,
               drop, drip, of water trickling from
               the mattress.
               Mr. Tod watched it for half an
               hour; his eyes glistened.

               Then he cut a caper, and became
               so bold that he even tapped at the
               window; but the bundle never
               moved.

               Yes—there was no doubt about
               it—it had turned out even better
               than he had planned; the pail had
               hit poor old Tommy Brock, and
               killed him dead!

               "I will bury that nasty person in
               the hole which he has dug. I will
               bring my bedding out, and dry it in
               the sun," said Mr. Tod.

               "I will wash the tablecloth and
               spread it on the grass in the sun to
               bleach. And the blanket must be
               hung up in the wind; and the bed
               must be thoroughly disinfected,
               and aired with a warming-pan;
               and warmed with a hot water bottle."

               "I will get soft soap, and monkey
               soap, and all sorts of soap; and
               soda and scrubbing brushes; and
               persian powder; and carbolic to
               remove the smell. I must have a
               disinfecting. Perhaps I may have to
               burn sulphur."

               He hurried round the house to
               get a shovel from the kitchen—
               "First I will arrange the hole—then
               I will drag out that person in the
               blanket. . . ."

               He opened the door. . . .

               Tommy Brock was sitting at Mr.
               Tod's kitchen table, pouring out tea
               from Mr. Tod's teapot into Mr.
               Tod's teacup. He was quite dry
               himself and grinning; and he threw
               the cup of scalding tea all over Mr.
               Tod.

               Then Mr. Tod rushed upon
               Tommy Brock, and Tommy Brock
               grappled with Mr. Tod amongst
               the broken crockery, and there
               was a terrific battle all over the
               kitchen. To the rabbits underneath
               it sounded as if the floor would give
               way at each crash of falling furniture.

               They crept out of their tunnel,
               and hung about amongst the rocks
               and bushes, listening anxiously.

               Inside the house the racket was
               fearful. The rabbit babies in the
               oven woke up trembling; perhaps it
               was fortunate they were shut up inside.

               Everything was upset except the
               kitchen table.

               And everything was broken,
               except the mantelpiece and the
               kitchen fender. The crockery was
               smashed to atoms.

               The chairs were broken, and the
               window, and the clock fell with a
               crash, and there were handfuls of
               Mr. Tod's sandy whiskers.

               The vases fell off the mantelpiece,
               the cannisters fell off the
               shelf; the kettle fell off the hob.
               Tommy Brock put his foot in a jar
               of raspberry jam.
               And the boiling water out of the
               kettle fell upon the tail of Mr. Tod.

               When the kettle fell, Tommy
               Brock, who was still grinning,
               happened to be uppermost; and he
               rolled Mr. Tod over and over like a
               log, out at the door.

               Then the snarling and worrying
               went on outside; and they rolled
               over the bank, and down hill,
               bumping over the rocks. There will
               never be any love lost between
               Tommy Brock and Mr. Tod.

               As soon as the coast was clear,
               Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny
               came out of the bushes.

               "Now for it! Run in, Cousin
               Benjamin! Run in and get them! while
               I watch the door."

               But Benjamin was frightened—

               "Oh; oh! they are coming back!"

               "No they are not."

               "Yes they are!"

               "What dreadful bad language! I
               think they have fallen down the
               stone quarry."

               Still Benjamin hesitated, and
               Peter kept pushing him—

               "Be quick, it's all right. Shut the
               oven door, Cousin Benjamin, so
               that he won't miss them."

               Decidedly there were lively
               doings in Mr. Tod's kitchen!

               At home in the rabbit hole,
               things had not been quite comfortable.

               After quarreling at supper,
               Flopsy and old Mr. Bouncer had
               passed a sleepless night, and
               quarrelled again at breakfast. Old Mr.
               Bouncer could no longer deny that
               he had invited company into the
               rabbit hole; but he refused to reply
               to the questions and reproaches of
               Flopsy. The day passed heavily.

               Old Mr. Bouncer, very sulky, was
               huddled up in a corner, barricaded
               with a chair. Flopsy had taken
               away his pipe and hidden the tobacco.
               She had been having a complete
               turn out and spring cleaning,
               to relieve her feelings. She had just
               finished. Old Mr. Bouncer, behind
               his chair, was wondering anxiously
               what she would do next.

               In Mr. Tod's kitchen, amidst the
               wreckage, Benjamin Bunny picked
               his way to the oven nervously,
               through a thick cloud of dust. He
               opened the oven door, felt inside,
               and found something warm and
               wriggling. He lifted it out carefully,
               and rejoined Peter Rabbit.

               "I've got them! Can we get away?
               Shall we hide, Cousin Peter?"

               Peter pricked his ears; distant
               sounds of fighting still echoed in
               the wood.

               Five minutes afterwards two
               breathless rabbits came scuttering
               away down Bull Banks, half carrying,
               half dragging a sack between
               them, bumpetty bump over the
               grass. They reached home safely,
               and burst into the rabbit hole.

               Great was old Mr. Bouncer's relief
               and Flopsy's joy when Peter and
               Benjamin arrived in triumph with
               the young family. The rabbit babies
               were rather tumbled and very hungry;
               they were fed and put to bed.
               They soon recovered.

               A new long pipe and a fresh supply
               of rabbit tobacco was presented
               to Mr. Bouncer. He was rather
               upon his dignity; but he accepted.

               Old Mr. Bouncer was forgiven,
               and they all had dinner. Then Peter
               and Benjamin told their story—but
               they had not waited long enough to
               be able to tell the end of the battle

               Tod.




All books are sourced from Project Gutenberg