A Year With Beatrix Potter & Friends - March

Jemima Puddle-duck, when we last saw her, was waddling down the lane wearing Tom Kitten's hat. . . .

I thought she'd be ready this month to take us on our tour of the Lake District, but it turns out there's been an uproar at Hill Top Farm and Jemima was last seen running around the farmyard telling the tale of what has happened.  It seems Tom Kitten has gone missing!  It is baking day and Mrs. Tabitha Twitchet intended to shut her kittens in the cupboard to keep them out of trouble, only she could not find Tom--only Moppet and Mittens. . . .

So now the house is being turned upside down looking for him.  Meanwhile, Moppet and Mittens have escaped the cupboard and have gotten into the dough. . . .

When they heard a knock on the door Moppet jumped into a barrel of flour. . . .

And Mittens hid in an empty jar. . . .

It was their neighbor, Mrs. Ribby, at the door. . . .

She set down her basket and commenced to help look for Tom and his sisters because Mrs. Twitchet has just discovered Moppet and Mittens missing, too! When Moppet is found in the barrel of flour she begins to cry that she has seen an old rat woman (Anna Maria) steal some of the dough. . . .

When they found Mittens in the dairy she told them she'd seen an old rat man (Samuel Whiskers) steal some butter and then he'd come back for the rolling pin. . . .

That explains the roly-poly noise they heard coming from above.  They sent for John Joiner immediately to cut through the floor boards where they'd heard the sound. . . .

You can read the entire story HERE to find out what has happened to Tom Kitten.

I have decided to draw one of Beatrix's pen and ink drawings so that I could paint the scene according to my own imagination.  This is where the old rat woman has come downstairs by way of the skirting-board and window shutter to the kitchen. . . .

This my drawing. . . .

And my watercolor of it. . . .

During the month I practiced drawing most of the scenes in my journal.  Here is a collage of some of them. . . .

You can watch The Tale of Samuel Whiskers below along with the opening and closing scenes of Hill Top Farm and Near Sawrey. . . .

                          

                            

When Beatrix first wrote this story and had it published in 1908 it was called Roly-Poly Pudding.  It was a little larger than the "little books" that had been published so far, much longer, and had more pen and ink drawings than color illustrations.  It would be republished later in the smaller size and retitled.  The story began as a picture letter to Winifred Warne, a niece of Norman's, in which she shows Anna Maria and Samuel Whiskers redecorating their hidey-hole with the wallpaper the rats had torn off the wall of one of her closets!  The story is dedicated to Beatrix's pet rat, Sammy, whom she called thief because of his pilfering habits.  Hill Top was overrun with rats when she first bought it.  She wrote Millie, Norman's sister, "I never saw such a place for hide & seek, & funny cupboards & closets."  One of my readers, Podso, sent me this lovely book. . . .

It is the kind of book that has flaps and extra materials like letters in envelopes--the kind you take your time exploring.  Here is the page with  Beatrix's letter to Millie. . . .

In "The Tale of Samuel Whiskers" Beatrix put all sorts of hiding places for Tom Kitten and his sisters as well as for the rats.  The book shows other details throughout Hill Top house, as well as the village.  Beatrix drew herself at the end of Smithy Lane as the rats ran off to Farmer Potatoes's, whom she modeled after one of her neighbors.  I collected the above information from one of my favorite books,  "The Ultimate Peter Rabbit - A Visual Gide to the World of Beatrix Potter" by DK.  You can get a peek inside by clicking on the link. . . .

I've been rereading Susan Wittig Albert's "The Tale of Hill Top Farm," the first in her Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series.  This first book is particularly delightful because it takes you through the village, introduces you to the many villagers, including the animals that have their own story, much like Beatrix's stories.  There is a delightful website to go along with the series that can be found HERE.  I love that Ms. Albert includes a map of Near Sawrey with each book and a list of characters.  The website has additional information about Beatrix Potter and her books.  I read it when it first came out in 2005 and drove down to the Rockville Library where she and Linda Lear were holding a book signing.  She had only brought paperback copies to sell so when the newspaper reporter wanted to take their photo she asked to borrow my copy for the photo. . . .

I'm enjoying reading it even more this time around because of all the research I've done on Near Sawrey for these posts and the videos that introduce the animated stories showing Hill Top and the village.  Because Google Maps now has a street view feature I've been able to virtually walk down Smithy and Stoney Lanes, find Hill Top and Castle Cottage as well as other landmarks in the village.  If you have not used the Street View feature I will point out some things in the snapshot I took of the screen from the above link (highlighted in blue). . . .

The way you navigate is you put your cursor on the road and click.  This will advance you along the road.  If you want to see what's off to the side, there is a circle on the right-hand side with arrows (see the red arrow?).  Click on the right to look right, on the left to look left.  The map in the lower left-hand side of the screen shows you where you are on the map.  This view is looking westward as you enter Near Sawrey after leaving Far Sawrey a ½ mile before.  As you approach Hill Top you'll see a wide green gate on the left.  This is the lane up to the farm.  A little further you'll see a smaller white gate.  This is the foot-path entrance.  Just past that you enter the village.  If you use the toggle circle to the left you'll see Tower Bank Arms.  Using my map and Susan Wittig Albert's map you can see where the various cottages are located and be on the lookout for them as you "virtually walk" through the village.  Enjoy exploring!

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Take Joy!