Web and Book design image,
Copyright, Kellscraft Studio
1999-2019

(Return to Web Text-ures)

Click Here to return to
Peter Rabbit’s Christmas
Content Page

ALL good little girls and good little boys know that Peter Rabbit lived with his Mother and his little sisters,
                                           Flopsy,
                                                and Mopsy,
                                                        and Cotton-tail,
down in a sand bank, under the roots of a big fir-tree. It was a wonderful house, so nice and warm in winter, and so nice and cool in summer.

NOW Flopsy and Mopsy and Cotton-tail were good little rabbits, but Peter was always up to mischief.

When Old Mother Rabbit said he couldn’t, or when she said he shouldn’t, of course that was the very thing that Peter always wanted to do.

One day he ran away and went all the way over to Mr. McGregor’s farm. There he saw all the little wooly lambs, and made friends with Thomas, the big Maltese stable cat. He fell in the pond, and had many other adventures, but at last he got back home, all safe and sound.

OLD MOTHER RABBIT never left the house without wondering what Peter would do next.

One winter afternoon, when the snow lay thick and white on the ground, and the berries on the holly trees were all shiny and red, Old Mother Rabbit called all her little children around her.

“Now, my dears,” she said, “I must do a little shopping in the village, and I want all of you to stay in the house until I return.”

Flopsy said she would, and Mopsy said she would, and Cotton-tail said she would, but Peter made believe he didn’t hear.

THEN Old Mother Rabbit took a basket and her umbrella, and went out.

There was a nice hard crust on the snow, and she went skimming along on her way.

PETER watched her, until she got over the top of the hill, and then he grabbed up his little blue jacket, and his little wooly cap, and his two red mittens, and out of the back door he slipped before Flopsy or Mopsy or Cotton-tail could stop him. “I’ll come back bye and bye,” he called, as he scurried off through the wood.

NOW Cotton-tail was very fond of Peter, and when she saw he was going to be so disobedient again, she put her head down on Mopsy’s shoulder, and she cried, and she cried, and she cried as if her little heart would break.

PETER nibbled at all the little twigs that stuck up out of the snow, and tasted all the little red berries that looked so nice and juicy.

AT last he came to the big road, and down he sat on an old brown tree stump, to rest his little legs. He was having a lovely time feeding the snowbirds with some cracker crumbs, that he found in his pocket, when, all of a sudden, off in the distance, he heard sleigh-bells. They jingled and they tinkled, and they tinkled and they jingled, coming closer and closer all the time.

WHILE Peter was listening, around the turn in the road, came two big beautiful black horses, with a shiny red sleigh. Peter was so delighted that he began to jump up and down and clap his hands. “Oh! goodie,” he cried, “I wish I could ride in a sleigh like that.”

A PRETTY little girl, with bright golden curls, was sitting in the sleigh, and, when she saw Peter, she told the driver to stop the horses at once.

“Oh! see the poor little rabbit, jumping up and down, trying to keep himself warm,” she cried.

SO down to the ground she sprang, and, almost before Peter knew it, he was tucked up nice and warm, in a big furry muff, with only his little head sticking out. Peter was very much frightened, but he wanted so much to have a ride in the shiny red sleigh, that he kept as quiet as a little mouse, and never stirred, except that he moved his ears now and then. All rabbits move their ears, and most of them wiggle their funny little pink noses. Peter didn’t wiggle his nose, because he was afraid it wouldn’t be proper to do so when out in company.

THE pretty little girl was on her way to the Toy Shop, where all the beautiful Christmas presents come from, and when she told Peter about all the wonderful things he would see, his little eyes grew as big as saucers.

THEY rode, and they rode, and they rode, and at last they came to a queer little house with lots of little windows, and two big Christmas trees one on each side of the door. The two black horses stopped, when the driver cried, “Whoa!” but they kept up such a dancing and such a prancing, that, suddenly, a little fat man, with a long white beard, stuck his head out of the door to see what was the matter.

HE had on a beautiful red velvet suit, all trimmed with white fur, and his little eyes twinkled like two blue stars, way up in the sky.

SANTA CLAUS knew the little girl, and put his hand on her head. “How sweet you look,” he said, “with your lovely red cheeks, and your golden curls. But what is this funny little animal, with the big furry body and the little wooly head?”

“Oh!” replied the little girl, laughing, “that isn’t his body. It’s just a little rabbit in my big furry muff, and he says his name is Peter.”

THE little girl took Peter out of her muff, and Santa Claus found a nice long carrot for Peter to nibble on, and then they started to see what was in the Toy Shop.

Santa Claus took the little girl by the hand, but Peter took hold of her skirt, because that was as far up as he could reach.

THEY found a green and white play-house, all filled with chairs, and beds, and tables.

There was a stove in the kitchen, too, just like grown-up folks have, only not so big. Then Peter saw a great big glass bowl of gold-fish on a table, and got up to see how the little fish pushed themselves through the water. He leaned over the bowl to look a little closer, when, all of a sudden, his foot slipped, and “PLUNK!” he went, head over heels, right into the water.

SANTA CLAUS and the little girl had to laugh, because all they could see of Peter was just his little hind legs waving in the air.

THEY soon got him out, however, and hung up his little clothes before the fire to dry. Peter had to put on a cow-boy suit, to wear until his own clothes were fit to put on.

OF course, after Peter had put on the cow-boy suit, he had to ride on the big grey rocking horse; and, of course, when the big grey rocking horse jumped up and down, the little black wooly dog had to run out and bark. “Whoa!” said Peter, and “Whoa!” said Santa Claus. Peter grabbed the rocking horse around the neck and hung on tight, until at last it stood still.

PETER’S little heart was going pit-a-pat, just as hard as it could he was so frightened.

“Aren’t you ashamed,” said the little girl, “a great big cow-boy rabbit like you afraid of an old rocking horse!”

“I’m not a real cow-boy rabbit,” said Peter, “I’ve only got a cow-boy suit on. That’s all and you know it. I wasn’t scared much, anyhow.”

Santa Claus laughed and said, “He’s just like all boys — he won’t admit it even if he was scared.” And Santa Claus knew what he was talking about, because he knows all about all the little boys in the whole, wide world.

IT wasn’t long before Peter forgot all about having been frightened, and began to rummage around once more.

He found a lot of funny green bugs in a corner, and, while he was trying to turn one over on its back, so he could see it wiggle its feet, there was a sharp little “click,” and the bug started to crawl towards Peter.

PETER kept backing away, and the bug kept crawling closer and closer, until, just as the sharp little pinchers, that the bug had on its head, were going to grab him, Peter made a jump. It was a wonderful jump, but he jumped so quickly, and he jumped so hard, that he forgot to pick out a place to land on, and, the first thing he knew, he was seated in a little shiny red automobile.

IT had a lovely soft seat, and just fitted Peter. Down on the floor of the automobile was a shiny thing to put your foot on. Peter pressed on it and the engine went “chuck-chuck-chuck-a-chuck”; and, when he pulled a little handle, the shiny red automobile began to move. Peter grabbed the steering wheel and turned it to the right, and then to the left, and the little machine went just wherever he wanted it to go.

Peter was so delighted that he jumped up and clapped his hands. That was the wrong thing to do, because, when the little machine had no one to guide it “BANG,” it went into a lovely little house made of beautiful yellow building blocks.

IT took some time to dig Peter out, and bandage up the big bump on his head. The little red automobile wasn’t even scratched.

“OH, dear!” said the little girl, “I’m afraid we’ll have to go now. It’s growing late and Peter is getting into so much mischief.”

So Peter took off the cow-boy suit and put on his own clothes, and Santa Claus gave him a red and white peppermint candy cane, and off they started. Suddenly the little girl stopped, and whispered something to Santa Claus, and he nodded his head.

“Wait a minute, Peter,” he called. “Have you any brothers and sisters?”

“Yes, indeed,” said Peter. “There’s Flopsy, and there’s Mopsy, and there’s Cotton-tail, and they’re all girls. And I’ve got a Mother, too.”

SANTA CLAUS didn’t say anything, but he went into the next room, and made up a little package for Flopsy, and another little package for Mopsy, and another little package for Cotton-tail, and another little package for Old Mother Rabbit. And on each little package he put a red and green sticker that said, “DON’T OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS.”

When Peter had thanked Santa Claus, he hopped back into the little girl’s big furry muff, and off they started for home.

PETER told the driver which way to go, and it wasn’t long before they dashed over the hill, and pulled up under the big fir-tree at the edge of the wood.

“Good-bye,” shouted Peter and “Good-bye,” cried the little girl. And the last she saw of Peter was just his little white tail, disappearing down the hole in the sand-bank.

OLD MOTHER RABBIT was waiting for Peter, but when he told her all about his ride in the shiny red sleigh, and how he had seen Santa Claus, and had shown her the presents he had, she forgot all about whipping him for running away.

Of course Old Mother Rabbit couldn’t open the packages, because it said on them “DON’T OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS.”

WHEN Christmas Day came, and the packages were all opened, there was a nice coat for Old Mother Rabbit, and a set of beautiful doll dishes for Flopsy. Mopsy got a lovely doll with golden hair and blue eyes and it went to sleep when you laid it down. Cotton-tail’s present was a long necklace of lovely pink coral beads. Santa Claus must have known that Peter loved Cotton-tail the best of all his sisters.

And in Old Mother Rabbit’s package was a jack-knife and some marbles for Peter.

“You see,” said Peter, “it sometimes happens that things turn out all right after all.”