the 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 truck trip truck of a pony a gig was coming along 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 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 ho
les and in the neatest sandiest hole of all live benjamin's aunt and his cousins flopsy mopsy cottontail and peter old mrs rabbit was a widow she earned her living by knitting rabbit wool mittens and muffities i once bought a parrot 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 he came round the back of the fir tree and nearly tumbled upon the top of his cousin peter peter was sitting by hims
elf he looked poorly and was dressed in a red cotton pocket handkerchief peter said little benjamin in a whisper who's got your clothes peter replied the scarecrow in mr mcgregor's garden and described how he had been chased about the garden and had dropped his shoes and coat 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 th
is point old mrs rabbit's voice was heard inside the rabbit hole calling cotton tail cotton tail fetch some more chamomile 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 at 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 upon the scarecrow topped with an old tama chanter of mr mcgregor's little benjamin said it spoils people's clothes to s
queeze 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 handkerchief they took them off the scarecro
w there had been rain during the night there was water in the shoes and the coat was somewhat shrunk benjamin tried on the tamashanta but it was too big for him then he suggested that they should fill the pocket handkerchief with onions as a little present for his aunt peter did not seem to be enjoying himself he kept hearing noises benjamin on the contrary was perfectly at home and ate a lettuce leaf he said that he was in the habit of coming to the garden with his father to get lettuces for th
eir sunday dinner the name of little benjamin's papa 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 that it was not possible to get back up the pear tree with a load of vegetables he led the way boldly towards the other end of the garden they went along a little walk on planks under a sunny red brick wall the mice sat on their doorsteps cracking cherry stones th
ey winked at peter rabbit and little benjamin bunny presently peter let the pocket handkerchief 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 this is what those little rabbits saw around 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 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 i cannot draw you a picture of peter and benjamin underneath the basket because it was quite dark because the smell of 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 cats sat upon the basket at length there was a pita pat
ter pitta patter 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 he 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 greenhouse scratching off a handful of fur the cat was t
oo 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 the little switch 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 foot marks 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 an old mrs rabbit strung up the onions and hung them from the kitchen ceiling with the bunches of herbs and the rabbit tobacco the e
nd you
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