Ahoy there! The time has come for us to make the final stop of this voyage of the Jar of Dirt. While it is always a sad moment to pull into port for the last time, this final trip should lead us to sees calmer than those we've seen thus far.
Our journey today takes us through the works of Beatrix Potter, a British writer (and illustrator) of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century who was made famous for her many children's stories, the main characters of which were small animals.
One such children's book by Potter is The Tale of Peter Rabbit. In the story, Peter Rabbit and his three siblings are warned by their mother - a widow - that, when she goes off to run errands, they should not go into the garden of Mr. McGregor as his wife put their father into a pie. While his siblings obey, Peter goes into McGregor's garden and begins eating a number of the vegetables he finds there. Eventually spotted by McGregor, Peter is chased around by the old man, losing his clothes as various articles get snagged while he is running away. Eventually, the old man stops chasing Peter who returns home to his mother; she tends to him as he is rather under the weather, the product of his having been soaked after hiding in a watering can.
This tale is continued in Potter's The Tale of Benjamin Bunny. In this story, young Benjamin Bunny is on his way to visit his widowed aunt and his cousins when he happens upon Peter Rabbit (one of his cousins) wrapped in a red handkerchief, his clothes missing. Peter tells his cousin that his clothes are on the scarecrow in Mr. McGregor's garden. The two go to the garden and retrieve the clothes, Peter rather nervous the whole time, pleading with his cousin to leave. Young Benjamin Bunny does not, however, listen to his cousin, telling him to take some onions and wrap them in the handkerchief so they could take them back to Peter's mother. Suddenly, the two come upon a cat and are forced to hide beneath an overturned basket. The cat jumps on top, trapping them there for hours until Young Benjamin Bunny's father rescues them, locking the cat in the greenhouse. Benjamin's father does, however, punish them for going into the garden. Peter then returns home, his mother rather forgiving as he has found his clothes. Mr. McGregor, upon finding his cat locked in the greenhouse, the tiny shoeprints in the garden, and that the clothes went missing from the scarecrow, is rather confused.
Though, at first glance, these stories seem to be nothing more than quaint children's stories about talking animals, they may actually be more than what first meets the eye. The story told between these two books could really be considered something of a fable, a morality tale, emphasizing for children the importance of being responsible and obeying their parents. In The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Peter's mother warns him that McGregor's garden should be avoided, that his father was eaten because he went there. Peter's disobedience, though it seems, at first, without major consequence, results in him not only feeling ill after over-eating, but leads to him almost meeting the same fate as his father. Though Peter does - albeit perhaps narrowly - escape McGregor, he does lose his clothing and fall ill after hiding in the watering can. In The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, Peter not only returns to McGregor's garden though he knows it's dangerous, but his cousin goes, as well, not listening to Peter's pleas to leave. As they do not leave immediately after finding Peter's clothes, staying to steal onions from the garden, they nearly fall victim to a cat. The two, though rescued by Benjamin's father, are subsequently punished by him for their disobedience, finally - it seems - learning their lesson. The recurring idea of disobedience followed by danger (which is only escaped by luck or the appearance of a parent) serves to send the message that parents set rules for the good of their children, and that, for their own good, children should obey those rules.
Well, my fellow literary sailors, it seems that we have reached the end of yet another fine adventure! I hope that your time in port is pleasant, but keep reading, me hearties, and sail on your own wherever the tides may take you.
Until next time!
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