A Year With Beatrix Potter & Friends - April

If you are a first-time visitor to this monthly Beatrix Potter & Friends post, you may want to view the earlier posts first:  January   February   March

It has come to my attention that our guide, Miss Jemima Puddle-Duck is otherwise occupied with nest sitting.  I am told that Mrs. Cannon, the caretaker's wife, has agreed to let Jemima hatch her own eggs after her earlier near-disastrous attempt.  So, we must content ourselves with a story about two bad mice in the meantime.

Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca were Beatrix's pet mice.  She'd rescued them from a cage trap at her cousin Caroline's in 1903 and wrote a story about them while there during a week of relentless rain.  Later, Norman Warne would provide her a photograph of the doll house he was building his niece, Winifred.  Beatrix's mother would not allow her to visit Warne's brother's home to see it for herself.  One commentator on the story felt, "The tale's themes of rebellion, insurrection, and individualism reflect not only Potter's desire to free herself of her domineering parents and build a home of her own, but her fears about independence and her frustrations with Victorian domesticity."  You can read Beatrix's letters, below, concerning the ordeal. . . .

I shall endeavor to tell you about the goings on inside the little dollhouse. . . . The dolls' house belonged to two dolls, Lucinda and Jane. . . .

.

THE TALE OF TWO BAD MICE

One morning they'd gone out in the perambulator for a drive in the park.  Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca, who lived behind the wall poked their heads out their doorway and noticed that there was no one in the nursery.  So they ran across the floor and into the little house where they climbed the stairs to the first floor and peeped into the dining room. . . .

Seeing the food set out on the table they "squeaked with joy!"  But both Tom and Hunca Munca were unable to cut into the ham. . . .

When they were not able to get any of the food off the plates Hunca Munca decided to check out the cansisters labeled Rice and Coffee, only to suffer more disappointment, for they only contained red and blue beads. . . .

The mice were so upset they decided to do as much mischief as they could.  Tom took Jane's clothes and threw them out the window while Hunca Munca pulled the stuffing out of the bolster until she remembered that she could use it as a feather bed. . . .

So with Tom's help they carried it down the stairs and squeezed it into their door hole. . . .

Along with the cradle . . .

....to use for her brood. . . .

This was not all they took.  They carried away some of Lucinda's clothes and several pots and pans.  When the little girl returned with Lucinda and Jane she decided she must post a policeman at the door while the Nurse said she would get a mouse-trap!. . . .

But Tom Thumb had a conscience and decided to pay for the things he broke with a crooked six-pence he'd found under the hearth-rug.  That Christmas Eve they stuffed it into the doll' stocking. . . .

And every morning Hunca Munca would sweep the dollies' house before they woke up. . . .

You can watch the entire story below. . . .

                        

The lesson to be learned from The Tale of Two Bad Mice. . . .

"Violently destroying property that does not belong to you is wrong and inconsiderate.  Stealing, even from dolls, is immoral behaviour.  Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca plunder the doll's house, but later make amends for the damage and stolen furniture with a six-pence coin and housekeeping services."

Beatrix later acquired her own doll's house. . . .

(You can see the miniature food that Beatrix used as her model)

I have my own dolls' house, too. . . .

I've done a post about my doll house that you can see HERE.

These are my practice drawings for the month. . . .

This is the one I decided to paint.  I redrew it on watercolor paper. . . .

Then I painted it using a little more color than Beatrix. . . .

 Here it looks more Beatrix Potter-like if I "fade" the photo a little. . . .

Hunca Munca and I had something in common this month--babies!  Our first little grandson, Alejandro, was born on the 14th--a week before his due date (his father was a day late).  Here is my drawing of the first photo they sent us. . . .

We were able to visit him the next day when he was 27 hours old.  He's as long as his daddy was, but weighs 2 lbs. less--has his nose and hair coloring, but otherwise, looks like his mommy. . . .

I have not seen his eyes open yet!  So I'm eager for our next visit tomorrow.

If you want to make a pom-pom Hunca Munca you can find directions HERE.  The Official Peter Rabbit website has lots of other crafts and activities for children.  Check it out HERE.

There are lots of other Blogs about Hill Top and Beatrix Potter.  Here is one of my favorites:

Art by Susan Branch

In 2012 Susan Branch visited Hill Top and then wrote a book about her two months in England called "A Fine Romance." She also took us along on her trip via her Blog.  You can read about it HERE. She also provided an Appendix on-line to go along with the book which you can see HERE.  You can follow along with her 2-month trip, once they disembarked the Queen Mary II, beginning with THIS POST.




.•*¨`*•. ☆ .•*¨`*•

Take Joy!