THE TALE OF MRS TIGGY-WINKLE

BY

BEATRIX POTTER

Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", etc.

for

THE REAL LITTLE LUCIE

OF NEWLANDS

Once upon a time there was a little girl cal ed Lucie, who lived at a farm cal ed Little-town.

She was a good little girl only she was always losing her pocket-handkerchiefs!

One day little Lucie came into the farm-yard crying oh, she did cry so! "I've lost my pocket-

handkin! Three handkins and a pinny! Have you seen them, Tabby Kitten?"

The Kitten went on washing her white paws; so Lucie asked a speckled hen

"Sal y Henny-penny, have you found three pocket-handkins?"

But the speckled hen ran into a barn, clucking

"I go barefoot, barefoot, barefoot!"

And then Lucie asked Cock Robin sitting on a twig.

Cock Robin looked sideways at Lucie with his bright black eye, and he flew over a stile and

away.

Lucie climbed upon the stile and looked up at the hil behind Little-town a hil that goes

up up into the clouds as though it had no top!

And a great way up the hil -side she thought she saw some white things spread upon the

grass.

Lucie scrambled up the hil as fast as her stout legs would carry her; she ran along a steep

path-way up and up until Little-town was right away down below she could have

dropped a pebble down the chimney!

Presently she came to a spring, bubbling out from the hil -side.

Some one had stood a tin can upon a stone to catch the water but the water was already

running over, for the can was no bigger than an egg-cup! And where the sand upon the

path was wet there were foot-marks of a very smal person.

Lucie ran on, and on.

The path ended under a big rock. The grass was short and green, and there were

clothes props cut from bracken stems, with lines of plaited rushes, and a heap of tiny

clothes pins but no pocket-handkerchiefs!

But there was something else a door! straight into the hil ; and inside it some one was

singing

"Lily-white and clean, oh!

With little fril s between, oh!

Smooth and hot red rusty spot

Never here be seen, oh!"

Lucie, knocked once twice, and interrupted the song. A little frightened voice cal ed out

"Who's that?"

Lucie opened the door: and what do you think there was inside the hil ? a nice clean

kitchen with a flagged floor and wooden beams just like any other farm kitchen. Only the

ceiling was so low that Lucie's head nearly touched it; and the pots and pans were smal ,

and so was everything there.

There was a nice hot singey smel ; and at the table, with an iron in her hand stood a very

stout short person staring anxiously at Lucie.

Her print gown was tucked up, and she was wearing a large apron over her striped

petticoat. Her little black nose went sniffle, sniffle, snuffle, and her eyes went twinkle,

twinkle; and underneath her cap where Lucie had yel ow curls that little person had

PRICKLES!

"Who are you?" said Lucie. "Have you seen my pocket-handkins?"

The little person made a bob-curtsey "Oh, yes, if you please'm; my name is Mrs. Tiggy-

winkle; oh, yes if you please'm, I'm an excel ent clear-starcher!" And she took something

out of a clothes-basket, and spread it on the ironing-blanket.

"What's that thing?" said Lucie "that's not my pocket-handkin?"

"Oh no, if you please'm; that's a little scarlet waist-coat belonging to Cock Robin!"

And she ironed it and folded it, and put it on one side.

Then she took something else off a clothes-horse

"That isn't my pinny?" said Lucie.

"Oh no, if you please'm; that's a damask table-cloth belonging to Jenny Wren; look how it's

stained with currant wine! It's very bad to wash!" said Mrs. Tiggy-winkle.

Mrs. Tiggy-winkle's nose went sniffle, sniffle, snuffle, and her eyes went twinkle, twinkle;

and she fetched another hot iron from the fire.

"There's one of my pocket-handkins!" cried Lucie "and there's my pinny!"

Mrs. Tiggy-winkle ironed it, and goffered it, and shook out the fril s.

"Oh that is lovely!" said Lucie.

"And what are those long yel ow things with fingers like gloves?"

"Oh, that's a pair of stockings belonging to Sal y Henny-penny look how she's worn the

heels out with scratching in the yard! She'll very soon go barefoot!" said Mrs. Tiggy-winkle.

"Why, there's another handkersniff but it isn't mine; it's red?"

"Oh no, if you please'm; that one belongs to old Mrs. Rabbit; and it did so smel of onions!

I've had to wash it separately, I can't get out the smel ."

"There's another one of mine," said Lucie.

"What are those funny little white things?"

"That's a pair of mittens belonging to Tabby Kitten; I only have to iron them; she washes

them herself."

"There's my last pocket-handkin!" said Lucie.

"And what are you dipping into the basin of starch?"

"They're little dicky shirt-fronts belonging to Tom Titmouse most terrible particular!" said Mrs. Tiggy-winkle. "Now I've finished my ironing; I'm going to air some clothes."

"What are these dear soft fluffy things?" said Lucie.

"Oh those are wool y coats belonging to the little lambs at Skelghyl."

"Wil their jackets take off?" asked Lucie.

"Oh yes, if you please'm; look at the sheep-mark on the shoulder. And here's one marked

for Gatesgarth, and three that come from Little-town. They're always marked at washing!"

said Mrs. Tiggy-winkle.

And she hung up al sorts and sizes of clothes smal brown coats of mice; and one velvety

black moleskin waist-coat; and a red tailcoat with no tail belonging to Squirrel Nutkin; and a

very much shrunk blue jacket belonging to Peter Rabbit; and a petticoat, not marked, that

had gone lost in the washing and at last the basket was empty!

"Then Mrs. Tiggy-winkle made tea a cup for herself and a cup for Lucie. They sat before

the fire on a bench and looked sideways at one another. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle's hand, holding

the tea-cup, was very very brown, and very very wrinkly with the soap-suds; and al through

her gown and her cap, there were hair-pins sticking wrong end out; so that Lucie didn't like

to sit too near her.

When they had finished tea, they tied up the clothes in bundles; and Lucie's pocket-

handkerchiefs were folded up inside her clean pinny, and fastened with a silver safety-pin.

And then they made up the fire with turf, and came out and locked the door, and hid the key

under the door-sil .

Then away down the hil trotted Lucie and Mrs. Tiggy-winkle with the bundles of clothes!

Al the way down the path little animals came out of the fern to meet them; the very first that

they met were Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny!

And she gave them their nice clean clothes; and al the little animals and birds were so very

much obliged to dear Mrs. Tiggy-winkle.

So that at the bottom of the hil when they came to the stile, there was nothing left to carry

except Lucie's one little bundle.

Lucie scrambled up the stile with the bundle in her hand; and then she turned to say "Good-

night," and to thank the washer-woman But what a very odd thing! Mrs. Tiggy-winkle had

not waited either for thanks or for the washing bil !

She was running running running up the hil and where was her white fril ed cap? and her

shawl? and her gown and her petticoat?

And how smal she had grown and how brown and covered with PRICKLES!

Why! Mrs. Tiggy-winkle was nothing but a HEDGEHOG.

(Now some people say that little Lucie had been asleep upon the stile but then how could

she have found three clean pocket-handkins and a pinny, pinned with a silver safety-pin?

And besides I have seen that door into the back of the hil cal ed Cat Bel s and besides I am very wel acquainted with dear Mrs. Tiggy-winkle!)