by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 02, 2010

Did you know Beatrix Potter wrote a sequel to Peter Rabbit?

Peter's family gets a visit from their cousin, Benjamin Bunny, in "The Tale of Benjamin Bunny." There's Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, and some new details about Peter's mother. ("Old Mrs. Rabbit was a widow; she earned her living by knitting rabbit-wool mittens..." ) But Benjamin came to see his friend Peter, and shares he an important secret he'd learned that morning. Mr. McGregor had driven his carriage into town that morning, and since Mrs. McGregor was wearing her best bonnet, they'll both be gone for the day!

It was Mr. McGregor that caught Peter in his garden, and Peter lost his fine blue jacket while making his escape. Now Peter dresses himself in a humble red handkerchief, since his fine blue coat has been turned into Mr. McGregor's scarecrow. But Benjamin and Peter return to "the scene of the crime," where Peter finally gets reunited with the jacket from his famous fairy tale. And he discovers that...it's shrunk! And that there's rain water in Peter's shoe (which dangle from the scarecrow).

All the details offer a sobering look at the angst which haunts a guilty rabbit. ("Peter did not seem to be enjoying himself; he kept hearing noises.") Benjamin Bunny brags that he often visits Mr. McGregor's garden for his freshly-grown lettuce, eats another fresh lettuce leaf, and suggests they steal onions to give to Peter's mother. ("Peter did not eat anything; he said he should like to go home...") They wrap the onions in the red pocket handkerchief, but nervous Peter keeps dropping them. And then suddenly the two rabbits spot Mr. McGregor's cat!

The two rabbits hide under an upside-down basket - but the cat then curls up on top of it. There they remain trapped for five hours, until they're suddenly rescued by the father of Benjamin Bunny.  And then "Old Mr. Bunny" whips his son with a switch, to punish him for his dangerous exploits. But Peter Rabbit returns home to his mother, who is delighted to receive his gift of onions - and to see Peter's recovered his blue jacket!

There's a surprising amount of tension in the story, which comes from Beatrix Potter's skill as a story-teller. She describes all the details of the garden adventure, while dropping enough clues that this bunny raid is dangerous. She gives children the fun of watching animals behaving badly, and then suffering dire consequences.  But mostly she savors the fun of telling yet another story about happy, child-like animals.

"One morning a little rabbit sat on a bank. He pricked his ears and listened to the trit-trot, trit-trot of a pony..."

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