THE TALE OF THE FLOPSY BUNNIES
FOR
ALL
LITTLE
FRIENDS
OF
MR.
MCGREGOR
and
PETER
and
BENJAMIN
It
is
said
that
the
effect
of
eating
too
much
lettuce
is
"soporific."
I
have
never
felt
sleepy
after
eating
lettuces;
but
then
I
am
not
a
rabbit.
They
certainly
had
a
very
soporific
effect
upon
the
Flopsy
Bunnies!
When
Benjamin
Bunny
grew
up,
he
married
his
Cousin
Flopsy.
They
had
a
large
family,
and
they
were
very
improvident
and
cheerful.
I
do
not
remember
the
separate
names
of
their
children;
they
were
generally
called
the
"Flopsy
Bunnies."
As
there
was
not
always
quite
enough
to
eat,
Benjamin
used
to
borrow
cabbages
from
Flopsy's
brother,
Peter
Rabbit,
who
kept
a
nursery
garden.
Sometimes
Peter
Rabbit
had
no
cabbages
to
spare.
When
this
happened,
the
Flopsy
Bunnies
went
across
the
field
to
a
rubbish
heap,
in
the
ditch
outside
Mr.
McGregor's
garden.
Mr.
McGregor's
rubbish
heap
was
a
mixture.
There
were
jam
pots
and
paper
bags,
and
mountains
of
chopped
grass
from
the
mowing
machine
(which
always
tasted
oily),
and
some
rotten
vegetable
marrows
and
an
old
boot
or
two.
One
day,
oh
joy!
there
were
a
quantity
of
overgrown
lettuces,
which
had
"shot"
into
flower.
The
Flopsy
Bunnies
simply
stuffed
themselves
with
lettuces.
By
degrees,
one
after
another,
they
were
overcome
with
slumber,
and
lay
down
in
the
mown
grass.
Benjamin
was
was
so
much
overcome
as
his
children.
Before
going
to
sleep
he
was
sufficiently
wide
awake
to
put
a
paper
bag
over
his
head
to
keep
off
the
flies.
The
little
Flopsy
Bunnies
slept
delightfully
in
the
warm
sun.
From
the
lawn
beyond
the
garden
came
the
distant
clacketty
sound
of
the
mowing
machine.
The
bluebottles
buzzed
about
the
wall,
and
a
little
old
mouse
picked
over
the
rubbish
among
the
jam
pots.
(I
can
tell
you
her
name,
she
was
called
Thomasina
Tittlemouse,
a
woodmouse
with
a
long
tail.)
She
rustled
across
the
paper
bag,
and
awakened
Benjamin
Bunny.
The
mouse
apologized
profusely,
and
said
that
she
knew
Peter
Rabbit.
While
she
and
Benjamin
were
talking,
close
under
the
wall,
they
heard
a
heavy
tread
above
their
heads;
and
suddenly
Mr.
McGregor
emptied
out
a
sackful
of
lawn
mowings
right
upon
the
top
of
the
sleeping
Flopsy
Bunnies!
Benjamin
shrank
down
under
his
paper
bag.
The
mouse
hid
in
a
jam
pot.
The
little
rabbits
smiled
sweetly
in
their
sleep
under
the
shower
of
grass;
they
did
not
awake
because
the
lettuces
had
been
so
soporific.
They
dreamt
that
their
mother
Flopsy
was
tucking
them
up
in
a
hay
bed.
Mr.
McGregor
looked
down
after
emptying
his
sack.
He
saw
some
funny
little
brown
tips
of
ears
sticking
up
through
the
lawn
mowings.
He
stared
at
them
for
some
time.
Presently
a
fly
settled
on
one
of
them
and
it
moved.
Mr.
McGregor
climbed
down
on
to
the
rubbish
heap
"One,
two,
three,
four!
five!
six
little
rabbits!"
said
he
as
he
dropped
them
into
his
sack.
The
Flopsy
Bunnies
dreamt
that
their
mother
was
turning
them
over
in
bed.
They
stirred
a
little
in
their
sleep,
but
still
they
did
not
wake
up.
Mr.
McGregor
tied
up
the
sack
and
left
it
on
the
wall.
He
went
to
put
away
the
mowing
machine.
While
he
was
gone,
Mrs.
Flopsy
Bunny
(who
had
remained
at
home)
came
across
the
field.
She
looked
suspiciously
at
the
sack
and
wondered
where
everybody
was?
Then
the
mouse
came
out
of
her
jam
pot,
and
Benjamin
took
the
paper
bag
off
his
head,
and
they
told
the
doleful
tale.
Benjamin
and
Flopsy
were
in
despair,
they
could
not
undo
the
string.
But
Mrs.
Tittlemouse
was
a
resourceful
person.
She
nibbled
a
hole
in
the
bottom
corner
of
the
sack.
The
little
rabbits
were
pulled
out
and
pinched
to
wake
them.
Their
parents
stuffed
the
empty
sack
with
three
rotten
vegetable
marrows,
an
old
blacking
brush
and
two
decayed
turnips.
Then
they
all
hid
under
a
bush
and
watched
for
Mr.
McGregor.
Mr.
McGregor
came
back
and
picked
up
the
sack,
and
carried
it
off.
He
carried
it
hanging
down,
as
if
it
were
rather
heavy.
The
Flopsy
Bunnies
followed
at
a
safe
distance.
They
watched
him
go
into
his
house.
And
then
they
crept
up
to
the
window
to
listen.
Mr.
McGregor
threw
down
the
sack
on
the
stone
floor
in
a
way
that
would
have
been
extremely
painful
to
the
Flopsy
Bunnies,
if
they
had
happened
to
have
been
inside
it.
They
could
hear
him
drag
his
chair
on
the
flags,
and
chuckle.
"One,
two,
three,
four,
five,
six
little
rabbits!"
said
Mr.
McGregor.
"Eh?
What's
that?
What
have
they
been
spoiling
now?"
enquired
Mrs.
McGregor.
"One,
two,
three,
four,
five,
six
little
fat
rabbits!"
repeated
Mr.
McGregor,
counting
on
his
fingers
"one,
two,
three"
"Don't
you
be
silly;
what
do
you
mean,
you
silly
old
man?"
"In
the
sack!
one,
two,
three,
four,
five,
six!"
replied
Mr.
McGregor.
(The
youngest
Flopsy
Bunny
got
upon
the
window
sill.)
Mrs.
McGregor
took
hold
of
the
sack
and
felt
it.
She
said
she
could
feel
six,
but
they
must
be
old
rabbits,
because
they
were
so
hard
and
all
different
shapes.
"Not
fit
to
eat;
but
the
skins
will
do
fine
to
line
my
old
cloak."
"Line
your
old
cloak?"
shouted
Mr.
McGregor
"I
shall
sell
them
and
buy
myself
baccy!"
"Rabbit
tobacco!
I
shall
skin
them
and
cut
off
their
heads."
Mrs.
McGregor
untied
the
sack
and
put
her
hand
inside.
When
she
felt
the
vegetables
she
became
very
very
angry.
She
said
that
Mr.
McGregor
had
"done
it
a
purpose."
And
Mr.
McGregor
was
very
angry
too.
One
of
the
rotten
marrows
came
flying
through
the
kitchen
window,
and
hit
the
youngest
Flopsy
Bunny.
It
was
rather
hurt.
Then
Benjamin
and
Flopsy
thought
that
it
was
time
to
go
home.
So
Mr.
McGregor
did
not
get
his
tobacco,
and
Mrs.
McGregor
did
not
get
her
rabbit
skins.
But
next
Christmas
Thomasina
Tittlemouse
got
a
present
of
enough
rabbit
wool
to
make
herself
a
cloak
and
a
hood,
and
a
handsome
muff
and
a
pair
of
warm
mittens.
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