The Tale of Benjamin Bunny

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
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 trit trot trit trot of
a pony. A gig was coming down the road. It
was driven by mister mc gregor, and beside him sat
Missus mc gregor in her best bonnet. As soon as

(00:21):
they had passed, Little Benjamin Bunny slid down into the
road and sat off with a hop, skip and a
jump to call upon his relations, who lived in the
wood at the back of mister McGregor's garden. That wood
was full of rabbit holes, and in the nearest sandiest
hole of all cousins Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton Tail, and Peter. Old.

(00:44):
Missus Rabbit was a widow. She earned her living by
knitting rabbit wool mittens and muffette's. I once bought a
pair at a bazaar. She also sold herbs and rosemary tea,
and a rabbit tobacco which we would call lavender. Little
Benjamin did not very much want to see his aunt.
He came round the back of the fir tree and

(01:05):
nearly tumbled upon the top of his cousin Peter. Peter
was sitting by himself. He looked poorly and was dressed
in a red cotton pocket handkerchief. Peter said, Little Benjamin
in a whisper, who has got your clothes? Peter replied
the scare crow in mister McGregor's garden and described how

(01:28):
he had been chased about the garden, had dropped his
shoes and coat. Little Benjamin sat down beside his cousin
and assured him that mister McGregor had gone out in
a gig, and Missus McGregor also and certainly for the day,
because she was wearing her best bonnet. Peter said he
hoped that it would rain. At this point, old Missus

(01:48):
Rabbit's voice was heard inside the rabbit hole, calling cotton tail,
cotton tail, fetch some more camemeal. 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 mister McGregor's garden. Peter's

(02:12):
coat and shoes were plainly to be seen on the scarecrow,
topped with an old tam O shanter of mister McGregor's.
Little Benjamin said it spoils people's clothes to squeeze 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

(02:34):
was newly raked and quite soft. It had been sewn
with lettuces. They left a great many odd little footmarks
all over the bed, especially little Benjamin, who was wearing cloths.
And 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 scarecrow. There had been rain during

(02:54):
the night, there was water in the shoes, and the
coat was somewhat shrunk. Benjamin tried on the tim 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 let us leave. He

(03:15):
said he was in the habit of coming to the
garden with his father to get lettuces for their Sunday dinner.
The name of Little Benjamin's papa was old mister 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 it was not
possible to get back up the pear tree with a

(03:37):
load of vegetables. He led the way boldly toward the
other end of the garden, and went along a little
walk on planks under a sunny red brick wall. The
mice sat on their doorsteps, cracking cherry stones. They winked
at Peter Rabbit and Little Benjamin Bunny. Presently Peter let
the pocket handkerchief go again. They got amongst flower pots

(03:58):
and frames and tuck. 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 round
that corner. Little Benjamin took one look, and then in
half a minute less than no time, he hid himself

(04:19):
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 the onions. Anyway,
she sat 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

(04:41):
quite dark, and because the smell of the 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 cat sat upon the basket.
At length, there was atter, pitter patter, and some bits
of mortar fell from the wall above. The cat looked

(05:03):
up and saw old mister 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 mister Bunny had no opinion whatever of cats. He
took a tremendous jump off the top of the wall
on to the top of the cat, and cuffed it

(05:24):
off the basket and kicked it into the garden house,
scratching off a handful of fur. The cat was too
much surprised to scratch back. When old mister Bunny had
driven the cat into the green house, 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.

(05:46):
Then he took out the handkerchief of onions and marched
out of the garden. When mister 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 them a garden and a pair of clogs, only
the footmarks were too ridiculously little. Also, he could not

(06:07):
understand how the cat could have managed to shut herself
up inside the green house, 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, cottontail, and Peter folded up the pocket handkerchief,
and old missus Rabbit strung up the onions and hung

(06:29):
them from the kitchen ceiling with a rabbit tobacco and
of the tail of Benjamin Bunny