Knjigice
Fairy tale · Animal stories
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
Two little rabbits, a bundle of onions and a very patient cat
Also in: Zgodba o zajčku Benjaminu (Slovenian) · Rozprávka o zajkovi Benjamínovi (Slovak)
One morning little Benjamin Bunny sat on a bank by the road, twitching his long ears. Clip, clop, clip-clop! — along came a gig. In it sat Mr. McGregor, and beside him Mrs. McGregor in her very best Sunday bonnet. As soon as the gig disappeared round the bend, Benjamin hopped for joy: the coast was clear! And off he went, straight to the wood behind the garden, where his relations lived.
1
Old Mrs. Rabbit lived with Peter and his sisters in a burrow under the roots of a big fir tree. Benjamin peeped in and found his cousin Peter all alone. Oh, what a sorry sight he was! He sat in a corner, wrapped in a red pocket-handkerchief, sighing. "Where are your clothes?" asked Benjamin. "In Mr. McGregor's garden," whispered Peter. "I only just got away — and I lost my blue jacket and my shoes."
2
"Never mind," said Benjamin importantly. "The McGregors have driven off in the gig, and they won't be back before evening. And your clothes are hanging on the scarecrow in the middle of the bed — let's go and fetch them!" They climbed the garden wall and slid down the old pear tree into the garden. Peter fell on his head, but it didn't hurt a bit: the bed below was freshly dug and soft as a pillow.
3
In the middle of the bed stood the scarecrow: two crossed sticks, an old hat on top — and Peter's blue jacket and his little shoes! The rain had shrunk them a little, but Peter dressed himself from head to toe and was a proper rabbit again. "There, you see," said Benjamin, well pleased. "Now a present for your mother, so we don't come home empty-pawed."
4
Benjamin spread out the red handkerchief and began piling fat brown onions onto it — a fine present for old Mrs. Rabbit. Peter did not enjoy himself at all. He jumped at every rustle, and the onions kept slipping from his paws. Benjamin, though, was quite at home in the garden. He said he came here with his father every Sunday, for lettuces.
5
Instead of heading straight for the wall, Benjamin led the way to and fro across the garden, between flower pots and boxes and tubs. All at once Peter stopped dead. Round the corner of the greenhouse came — the cat! Big, white and fluffy. "Quick, hide!" squeaked Benjamin, and they both slipped under a big empty basket, pulling the bundle of onions in after them.
6
The cat padded slowly closer, sniffed at the basket — and sat down comfortably right on top of it. She sat there for five whole hours! Under the basket it was dark, and the smell of onions was dreadful. It stung Peter's and Benjamin's eyes, and tears ran down their noses. "Never, never again will I come to this garden," sniffled Peter.
7
Just then old Mr. Bunny, Benjamin's father, came marching along the wall, a pipe in his mouth and a thin switch under his arm. He was not afraid of cats one bit. Seeing the white cat on the basket, he leapt off the wall straight at her, whisked her soundly and drove her into the greenhouse. Then he locked the door and stepped to the basket. The cat gaped at him through the glass.
8
Old Mr. Bunny lifted the basket. First he took out his own son Benjamin by the ears and gave him a short switching. Then he took out cousin Peter by the ears too. Last of all he shouldered the handkerchief of onions and marched out of the garden, driving the two little rabbits before him. They said nothing — only their ears burned, and they were very glad to go home.
9
When Mr. McGregor came back that evening, he found nothing but riddles in his garden. Across the beds ran footprints of quite tiny clogs — far too small to be human! And however had the cat managed to shut herself into the greenhouse … from the outside? Mr. McGregor scratched his head, and he never did puzzle it out.
10
At home under the big fir tree, old Mrs. Rabbit forgave Peter everything — she was so happy that the jacket and shoes were home again. She hung the red handkerchief up to dry, tied the onions into bunches and hung them from the ceiling, till the whole burrow smelled lovely. "Well," said Benjamin, trotting home to his father in the dusk, "we did bring a present after all."
11The End
