Remember Peter Rabbit? Well, here’s a story about the children of his cousin, Benjamin Bunny. If you’re familiar with Beatrix Potter’s gentle watercolours in muted tones of green and brown, then you’ll know you’re in for a treat.

This is my rather tardy contribution to patiche’s Memories are dear w/o. Please check out the other entries; I’ll include the list of illustrious writers at the end.

The tale of the Flopsy Bunnies by Beatrix Potter is one of a number of rabbit stories she wrote. When I remember my mother making up stories to send me to sleep, it always seemed to feature a rabbit nibbling a field of carrots, then a field of cabbages or something similar. Of course, heavily borrowed from Beatrix Potter’s tales. And I can remember one very wet day when I was about four carefully arranging all the Beatrix Potter books we had on the window-sill. So, my memories of rabbits with distinct personalities are indeed dear, and I am now in the process of introducing my daughter to McGregor and his rabbit tormentors.

The story

Benjamin Bunny and his wife Flopsy had a large family who were known collectively as the “Flopsy Bunnies”. Benjamin had problems feeding his family and they went foraging in Mr. McGregor’s rubbish heap when they got desperate. One day the little bunnies found some overgrown lettuces and gorged on them, falling asleep quite stuffed. When Mr. McGregor comes to empty a sackful of lawn mowings, they land right on top of the sleeping rabbits, but since their ears are sticking up Mr. McGregor puts them in a sack.

All is not yet lost, however, and with the help of a resourceful field mouse called Thomasina Tittlemouse who nibbles a hole in the sack, the little bunnies escape the ignominy of being baked in a pie. Benjamin and Flopsy fill the sack up with rubbish and Mr. McGregor triumphantly carries off what he thinks are baby rabbits to sell. However, Mrs. McGregor thinks her husband is silly and is none too pleased when she finds the rubbish in the sack. A rotten marrow flies out of the window and hits the youngest Flopsy Bunny, so all the rabbits go home. Next Christmas, Thomasina Tittlemouse gets a present of enough rabbit-wool to make herself a cloak.

As you can see, the story is a simple one; the book was first published in 1909. To me, it’s the very simplicity of Beatrix Potter’s stories that give them a timeless charm. Something about the unhurried country ways of creatures and human characters belong to an age long gone and yet the tales have stood the test of time.

The illustrations

Of course, half of the appeal of Beatrix Potter’s stories has to be found in the illustrations which are delightful. You can imagine how cute six little over-stuffed rabbits lying asleep in the sun appear. The natural details are carefully drawn from life and the movements of the bunnies faithfully reproduced.

In this 1987 edition, modern printing techniques have been used to reproduce the original artwork from photography, and the delicate brushwork has been restored from fuzzier reprints.

My impressions

I think it’s no accident that this and other Beatrix Potter tales have been reprinted over 100 times and translated into many foreign languages. What some modern children may find difficult initially is the somewhat archaic language, but I would recommend that an adult reads it first of all to the child. Any child from two upwards should appreciate this book; no upper limit is necessary, since once experienced there is always a pull to reread and enjoy.

Please take a look at the other contributions to this excellent write-off :

The host : patiche
lisa_j
mom2daniel
ginzo
char.mike
gaelkm
briandalsmom
modernmarvel
lynus
skbreese
beckish
patricknjacob
lorace
donnie013
robynkoz

Thanks for a chance to indulge in a little nostalgia!



Recommended: Yes