Updated| The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter

Can Benjamin Bunny Help Peter Rabbit get his clothes back! In this lively edition of The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, join Rae Wilson for an energetic reading of Beatrix Potter’s classic story. Perfectly paced for a mid-day break or story time at home, this version is designed to keep listeners entertained.

Note: this episode mentions "smoking" rabbit tobacco (lavender) and there's a bit of a spanking. As always, these stories are performed un-edited and are not revised to represent modern western beliefs, traditions, or philosophies.

While parenting styles and social norms have evolved since these fables were first told, the lessons they teach—about kindness, hard work, and honesty—remain as relevant as ever.

Looking to read along with Rae? Read along with Rae on YouTube. 

Music in this episode is created by:

"Frost Waltz (Alternate)" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

"Fuzzball Parade" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

Welcome to Forget Me Not Fairy Tales. Classic stories for book lovers of all ages. Let's begin. The Tale of Two Bad Mice. Written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. Once upon a time, there was a very beautiful doll's house. It was red brick with white windows, and it had real muslin curtains. And a front door and a chimney. It belonged to two dolls called Lucinda and Jane. At least it belonged to Lucinda, but she never ordered meals. Jane was the cook, but she never did any cooking because the dinner had been bought ready-made in a box full of shavings. There were two red lobsters and a ham, a fish, a pudding, and some pears and oranges. They would not come off the plates, but they were extremely beautiful. One morning, Lucinda and Jane had gone out for a drive in the doll's perambulator. There was no one in the nursery, and it was very quiet. Presently, there was a little scuffling, scratching noise in a corner near the fireplace, where there was a hole under the skirting board. Tom Thumb put out his head for a moment, then popped it in again. Tom Thumb was a mouse. Minute afterwards, Hunkamunka, his wife, put her head out too. And when she saw that there was no one in the nursery, she ventured out on the oil cloth under the coal box. The doll's house stood at the other side of the fireplace. Tom Thumb and Hunkamunk went cautiously across the hearth rug. They pushed the front door. It was not fast. Tom Thumb and Hunkamunk went upstairs and peeped into the dining room. Then they squeaked with joy. Such a lovely dinner was laid out upon the table. There were tin spoons and lead knives and forks and two dolly chairs, all so convenient. Tom Thumb set to work at once to carve the ham. It was a beautiful shiny yellow streaked with red. The knife crumpled up and hurt him. He put his finger in his mouth. It is not boiled enough. It is hard. You have a try, Hunkamunker. Hunkamunker stood up in her chair and chopped at the ham with another lat knife. It's as hard as the hands at the cheesemongers, said Hunkamunk. The ham broke off the plate with a jerk and rolled under the table. Let it alone, said Tom Thumb. Give me some fish, Hunkamunk. Hunkamunker tried every tin spoon in turn. The fish was glued to the dish. Then Tom Thumb lost his temper. He put the ham in the middle of the floor and hit it with the tongs and with the shovel. Bang, bang, smash, smash. The ham flew all into pieces. For underneath the shiny paint, it was made of nothing but plaster. Then there was no end to the rage and disappointment of Tom Thumb and Hunkamunk. They broke up the pudding, the lobsters, the pears, and the oranges. As the fish would not come off the plate, they put it into the red, hot, crinkly paper fire in the kitchen. But it would not burn either. Tom Thumb went up the kitchen chimney and looked out at the top. There was no soot. While Tom Thumb was up the chimney, Hunkamunka had another disappointment. She found some tiny canisters upon the dresser, labeled rice, coffee, sago. But when she turned them upside down, there was nothing inside except red and blue beads. Then those mice set to work to do all the mischief they could, especially Tom Thumb. He took Jane's clothes out of the closet of drawers in her bedroom, and he threw them out of the top floor window. But Hunkamunk had a frugal mind. After pulling half the feathers out of Lucinda's bolster, she remembered that she herself was in want of a feather bed. With Tom Thumb's assistance, she carried the bolster downstairs and across the hearth rug. It was difficult to squeeze the bolster into the mouse hole, but they managed it somehow. Then Hunkamunker went back and fetched a chair, a bookcase, a birdcage, and several small odds and ends. The bookcase and the birdcage refused to go into the mouse hole. Hunkamunk left them behind the coal box and went to fetch a cradle. Hunkamunk was just returning with another chair when suddenly there was a noise of talking outside upon the landing. The mice rushed back to their hole, and the dolls came into the nursery. What a sight met the eyes of Jane and Lucinda! Lucinda sat upon the upset kitchen stove and stared. Jane leant against the kitchen dresser and smiled, but neither of them made any remark. The bookcase and the birdcage were rescued from under the coal box. Pahunkamunka has got the cradle and some of Lucinda's clothes. She also has some useful pots and pans and several other things. The little girls that the doll's house belonged to said, I will get a doll dressed like a policeman. But the nurse said, I will set a mouse trap. So that is the story of the two bat mice. But they were not so very, very naughty after all. Because Tom Thumb paid for everything he broke. He found a crooked sixpence under the hearth rug, and upon Christmas Eve, he and Hunkamonka stuffed it into one of the stockings of Lucinda and Jane. And very early every morning before anybody is awake, Hunkamonka comes with her dustpan and her broom to sweep the dolly's house. The End I hope you like this story. Stories contain many morals. One lesson from this story is things like people are not always as they appear. Someone who may look happy might be feeling a little blue. Someone who seems mean or bad may be really nice. Nice people, when they know they've made a mistake or let their anger get to them, they will find a way to apologize and make things right.