| 1 | THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT BY BEATRIX POTTER |
| 2 | Once upon a time there were four little Rabbits , and their names were — Flopsy , Mopsy , Cotton - tail , and Peter . |
| 3 | They lived with their Mother in a sand - bank , underneath the root of a very big fir - tree . |
| 4 | ‘ Now my dears , ’ said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning , ‘ you may go into the fields or down the lane , but do n't go into Mr. McGregor 's garden : your Father had an accident there ; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor . ’ |
| 5 | ‘ Now run along , and do n't get into mischief . |
| 6 | I am going out . ’ |
| 7 | Then old Mrs. Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella , and went through the wood to the baker 's . |
| 8 | She bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns . |
| 9 | Flopsy , Mopsy , and Cotton - tail , who were good little bunnies , went down the lane to gather blackberries : |
| 10 | But Peter , who was very naughty , ran straight away to Mr. McGregor 's garden , and squeezed under the gate ! |
| 11 | First he ate some lettuces and some French beans ; and then he ate some radishes ; And then , feeling rather sick , he went to look for some parsley . |
| 12 | But round the end of a cucumber frame , whom should he meet but Mr. McGregor ! |
| 13 | Mr. McGregor was on his hands and knees planting out young cabbages , but he jumped up and ran after Peter , waving a rake and calling out , ‘ Stop thief ! ’ |
| 14 | Peter was most dreadfully frightened ; he rushed all over the garden , for he had forgotten the way back to the gate . |
| 15 | He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages , and the other shoe amongst the potatoes . |
| 16 | After losing them , he ran on four legs and went faster , so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net , and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket . |
| 17 | It was a blue jacket with brass buttons , quite new . |
| 18 | Peter gave himself up for lost , and shed big tears ; but his sobs were overheard by some friendly sparrows , who flew to him in great excitement , and implored him to exert himself . |
| 19 | Mr. McGregor came up with a sieve , which he intended to pop upon the top of Peter ; but Peter wriggled out just in time , leaving his jacket behind him . And rushed into the tool - shed , and jumped into a can . |
| 20 | It would have been a beautiful thing to hide in , if it had not had so much water in it . |
| 21 | Mr. McGregor was quite sure that Peter was somewhere in the tool - shed , perhaps hidden underneath a flower - pot . |
| 22 | He began to turn them over carefully , looking under each . |
| 23 | Presently Peter sneezed — ‘ Kertyschoo ! ’ |
| 24 | Mr. McGregor was after him in no time . And tried to put his foot upon Peter , who jumped out of a window , upsetting three plants . |
| 25 | The window was too small for Mr. McGregor , and he was tired of running after Peter . |
| 26 | He went back to his work . |
| 27 | Peter sat down to rest ; he was out of breath trembling with fright , and he had not the least idea which way to go . |
| 28 | Also he was very damp with sitting in that can . |
| 29 | After a time he began to wander about , going lippity — lippity — not very fast , and looking all round . |
| 30 | He found a door in a wall ; but it was locked , and there was no room for a fat little rabbit to squeeze underneath . |
| 31 | An old mouse was running in and out over the stone doorstep , carrying peas and beans to her family in the wood . |
| 32 | Peter asked her the way to the gate , but she had such a large pea in her mouth that she could not answer . |
| 33 | She only shook her head at him . |
| 34 | Peter began to cry . |
| 35 | Then he tried to find his way straight across the garden , but he became more and more puzzled . |
| 36 | Presently , he came to a pond where Mr. McGregor filled his water - cans . |
| 37 | A white cat was staring at some gold - fish , she sat very , very still , but now and then the tip of her tail twitched as if it were alive . |
| 38 | Peter thought it best to go away without speaking to her ; he had heard about cats from his cousin , little Benjamin Bunny . |
| 39 | He went back towards the tool - shed , but suddenly , quite close to him , he heard the noise of a hoe — scr - r - ritch , scratch , scratch , scritch . |
| 40 | Peter scuttered underneath the bushes . |
| 41 | But presently , as nothing happened , he came out , and climbed upon a wheelbarrow and peeped over . |
| 42 | The first thing he saw was Mr. McGregor hoeing onions . |
| 43 | His back was turned towards Peter , and beyond him was the gate ! |
| 44 | Peter got down very quietly off the wheelbarrow ; and started running as fast as he could go , along a straight walk behind some black - currant bushes . |
| 45 | Mr. McGregor caught sight of him at the corner , but Peter did not care . |
| 46 | He slipped underneath the gate , and was safe at last in the wood outside the garden . |
| 47 | Mr. McGregor hung up the little jacket and the shoes for a scare - crow to frighten the blackbirds . |
| 48 | Peter never stopped running or looked behind him till he got home to the big fir - tree . |
| 49 | He was so tired that he flopped down upon the nice soft sand on the floor of the rabbit - hole and shut his eyes . |
| 50 | His mother was busy cooking ; she wondered what he had done with his clothes . |
| 51 | It was the second little jacket and pair of shoes that Peter had lost in a fortnight ! |
| 52 | I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening . |
| 53 | His mother put him to bed , and made some camomile tea ; and she gave a dose of it to Peter ! |
| 54 | ‘ One table - spoonful to be taken at bed - time . ’ |
| 55 | But Flopsy , Mopsy , and Cotton - tail had bread and milk and blackberries for supper . |
| 56 | THE END |