The Tale of Benjamin Bunny

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter




When Mr. McGregor and his wife leave home in their gig, Benjamin Bunny and his cousin Peter Rabbit venture into Mr. McGregor's garden to retrieve the clothes Peter lost there in The Tale of Peter Rabbit. They find the blue jacket and brown shoes on a scarecrow, but Peter is apprehensive about lingering in the garden because of his previous experience. Benjamin delays their departure by gathering onions, which he wraps in Peter's handkerchief, hoping to give them to his aunt, Peter's mother. He then takes a casual stroll around the garden, followed by an increasingly nervous Peter.




Rounding a corner, they see a cat and hide under a basket, but the cat then sits on top of the basket for five hours, trapping the pair. Old Mr. Bunny (Benjamin's father, Peter's maternal uncle, and Old Mrs. Bunny's brother) enters the garden. He smokes a pipe and holds a little switch. He knocks the cat off of the basket and locks her in the greenhouse, then he rescues Benjamin and Peter. However, he also punishes the rabbits for going to Mr. McGregor's garden by whipping them with the switch.




Once he gets home, Peter gives the onions to his mother, who forgives his adventure because he has managed to recover his lost jacket and shoes. Then he and Cottontail fold up the pocket-handkerchief and their mother strings the onions and rabbit tobacco from the ceiling.




Following his return to the garden, Mr. McGregor is puzzled by the ridiculously small footprints, the scarecrow's missing clothes, and the cat locked in the greenhouse.