BEATRIX POTTER loved the countryside and she spent much of her otherwise conventional Victorian childhood drawing and studying animals. Her passion for the natural world lay behind the creation of her famous series of little books. A particular source of inspiration was the English Lake District where she lived for the last thirty years of her life as a farmer and land conservationist, working with the National Trust.
The Story of Miss Moppet, together with The Story of A Fierce Bad Rabbit, were books intended especially for very young children and they were originally published in a pull-out concertina format. They were subsequently reissued as standard books however, since the long strip of pictures became damaged too easily.
www.peterrabbit.com
THIS IS A PUSSY called Miss Moppet, she thinks she has heard a mouse!
THIS is the Mouse peeping out behind the cupboard, and making fun of Miss Moppet. He is not afraid of a kitten.
THIS is Miss Moppet jumping just too late; she misses the Mouse and hits her own head.
SHE thinks it is a very hard cupboard!
THE Mouse watches Miss Moppet from the top of the cupboard.
MISS MOPPET ties up her head in a duster, and sits before the fire.
THE Mouse thinks she is looking very ill. He comes sliding down the bell-pull.
MISS MOPPET looks worse and worse. The Mouse comes a little nearer.
MISS MOPPET holds her poor head in her paws, and looks at him through a hole in the duster. The Mouse comes very close.
AND then all of a sudden — Miss Moppet jumps upon the Mouse!
AND because the Mouse has teased Miss Moppet — Miss Moppet thinks she will tease the Mouse; which is not at all nice of Miss Moppet.
SHE ties him up in the duster, and tosses it about like a ball.
BUT she forgot about that hole in the duster; and when she untied it — there was no Mouse!
HE has wriggled out and run away; and he is dancing a jig on the top of the cupboard!
THE END
FREDERICK WARNE
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand,
London WC2R 0RL, England
Website: www.peterrabbit.com
First published by Frederick Warne 1906
This electronic edition first published 2010
New reproductions copyright ©Frederick Warne & Co., 2002
Original copyright in text and illustrations ©Frederick Warne & Co., 1906
Frederick Warne & Co. is the owner of all rights, copyrights and trademarks in the Beatrix Potter character names and illustrations.
All rights reserved
ISBN: 978-0-72-326580-1
Table of Contents
This original, authorised version has been lovingly recreated electronically for the first time, with reproductions of Potter’s unmistakeable artwork optimised for use on colour devices such as the iPad.
This, along with The Tale of The Fierce Bad Rabbit, was intended for very young children. It recounts the tale of a pussy cat, Miss Moppet, chasing a mouse. It turns out to be a bit of a battle of wits, and who do you think will win?
The Story of Miss Moppet is number 21 in Beatrix Potter’s series of 23 little books, the titles of which are as follows:
1 The Tale of Peter Rabbit
2 The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
3 The Tailor of Gloucester
4 The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
5 The Tale of Two Bad Mice
6 The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
7 The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher
8 The Tale of Tom Kitten
9 The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
10 The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies
11…