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THE TALE OF JOHNNY TOWN-MOUSE

By BEATRIX POTTER

Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c.

Frederick Warne & Co., Inc.
New York

1918




TO AESOP IN THE SHADOWS




Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard. Timmy Willie was born in a
garden. Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by
mistake in a hamper. The gardener sent vegetables to town once a week by
carrier; he packed them in a big hamper.

The gardener left the hamper by the garden gate, so that the carrier
could pick it up when he passed. Timmy Willie crept in through a hole in
the wicker-work, and after eating some peas--Timmy Willie fell fast
asleep.

He awoke in a fright, while the hamper was being lifted into the carrier's
cart. Then there was a jolting, and a clattering of horse's feet; other
packages were thrown in; for miles and miles--jolt--jolt--jolt! and
Timmy Willie trembled amongst the jumbled up vegetables.

At last the cart stopped at a house, where the hamper was taken out,
carried in, and set down. The cook gave the carrier sixpence; the back
door banged, and the cart rumbled away. But there was no quiet; there
seemed to be hundreds of carts passing. Dogs barked; boys whistled in
the street; the cook laughed, the parlour maid ran up and down-stairs;
and a canary sang like a steam engine.

Timmy Willie, who had lived all his life in a garden, was almost
frightened to death. Presently the cook opened the hamper and began to
unpack the vegetables. Out sprang the terrified Timmy Willie.

Up jumped the cook on a chair, exclaiming "A mouse! a mouse! Call the
cat! Fetch me the poker, Sarah!" Timmy Willie did not wait for Sarah
with the poker; he rushed along the skirting board till he came to a
little hole, and in he popped.

He dropped half a foot, and crashed into the middle of a mouse dinner
party, breaking three glasses.--"Who in the world is this?" inquired
Johnny Town-mouse. But after the first exclamation of surprise he
instantly recovered his manners.

With the utmost politeness he introduced Timmy Willie to nine other
mice, all with long tails and white neckties. Timmy Willie's own tail
was insignificant. Johnny Town-mouse and his friends noticed it; but
they were too well bred to make personal remarks; only one of them asked
Timmy Willie if he had ever been in a trap?

The dinner was of eight courses; not much of anything, but truly
elegant. All the dishes were unknown to Timmy Willie, who would have
been a little afraid of tasting them; only he was very hungry, and very
anxious to behave with company manners. The continual noise upstairs
made him so nervous, that he dropped a plate. "Never mind, they don't
belong to us," said Johnny.

"Why don't those youngsters come back with the dessert?" It should be
explained that two young mice, who were waiting on the others, went
skirmishing upstairs to the kitchen between courses. Several times they
had come tumbling in, squeaking and laughing; Timmy Willie learnt with
horror that they were being chased by the cat. His appetite failed, he
felt faint. "Try some jelly?" said Johnny Town-mouse.

"No? Would you rather go to bed? I will show you a most comfortable
sofa pillow."

The sofa pillow had a hole in it. Johnny Town-mouse quite honestly
recommended it as the best bed, kept exclusively for visitors. But the
sofa smelt of cat. Timmy Willie preferred to spend a miserable night
under the fender.

It was just the same next day. An excellent breakfast was provided--for
mice accustomed to eat bacon; but Timmy Willie had been reared on roots
and salad. Johnny Town-mouse and his friends racketted about under the
floors, and came boldly out all over the house in the evening. One
particularly loud crash had been caused by Sarah tumbling downstairs
with the tea-tray; there were crumbs and sugar and smears of jam to be
collected, in spite of the cat.

Timmy Willie longed to be at home in his peaceful nest in a sunny bank.
The food disagreed with him; the noise prevented him from sleeping. In a
few days he grew so thin that Johnny Town-mouse noticed it, and
questioned him. He listened to Timmy Willie's story and inquired about
the garden. "It sounds rather a dull place? What do you do when it
rains?"

"When it rains, I sit in my little sandy burrow and shell corn and
seeds from my Autumn store. I peep out at the throstles and blackbirds
on the lawn, and my friend Cock Robin. And when the sun comes out again,
you should see my garden and the flowers--roses and pinks and
pansies--no noise except the birds and bees, and the lambs in the
meadows."

"There goes that cat again!" exclaimed Johnny Town-mouse. When they had
taken refuge in the coal-cellar he resumed the conversation; "I confess
I am a little disappointed; we have endeavoured to entertain you,
Timothy William."

"Oh yes, yes, you have been most kind; but I do feel so ill," said Timmy
Willie.

"It may be that your teeth and digestion are unaccustomed to our food;
perhaps it might be wiser for you to return in the hamper."

"Oh? Oh!" cried Timmy Willie.

"Why of course for the matter of that we could have sent you back last
week," said Johnny rather huffily--"did you not know that the hamper
goes back empty on Saturdays?"

So Timmy Willie said good-bye to his new friends, and hid in the hamper
with a crumb of cake and a withered cabbage leaf; and after much
jolting, he was set down safely in his own garden.

Sometimes on Saturdays he went to look at the hamper lying by the gate,
but he knew better than to get in again. And nobody got out, though
Johnny Town-mouse had half promised a visit.

The winter passed; the sun came out again; Timmy Willie sat by his
burrow warming his little fur coat and sniffing the smell of violets and
spring grass. He had nearly forgotten his visit to town. When up the
sandy path all spick and span with a brown leather bag came Johnny
Town-mouse!

Timmy Willie received him with open arms. "You have come at the best of
all the year, we will have herb pudding and sit in the sun."

"H'm'm! it is a little damp," said Johnny Town-mouse, who was carrying
his tail under his arm, out of the mud.

"What is that fearful noise?" he started violently.

"That?" said Timmy Willie, "that is only a cow; I will beg a little
milk, they are quite harmless, unless they happen to lie down upon you.
How are all our friends?"

Johnny's account was rather middling. He explained why he was paying
his visit so early in the season; the family had gone to the sea-side
for Easter; the cook was doing spring cleaning, on board wages, with
particular instructions to clear out the mice. There were four kittens,
and the cat had killed the canary.

"They say we did it; but I know better," said Johnny Town-mouse.
"Whatever is that fearful racket?"

"That is only the lawn-mower; I will fetch some of the grass clippings
presently to make your bed. I am sure you had better settle in the
country, Johnny."

"H'm'm--we shall see by Tuesday week; the hamper is stopped while they
are at the sea-side."

"I am sure you will never want to live in town again," said Timmy
Willie.

But he did. He went back in the very next hamper of vegetables; he said
it was too quiet!!

One place suits one person, another place suits another person. For my
part I prefer to live in the country, like Timmy Willie.