The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Johnny Town-Mouse, and other Beatrix Potter Stories

When I was young, Peter hopped across the pages in the book you see above, then went under the fence into Mr. McGregor's garden. Flopsy, Mopsey, and Cottontail stained their mouths with fresh juice from the blackberries their mother asked them to pick.

The cat belonging to the Tailor of Gloucester slunk through the hallway, peering around for lurking mice who can sew. Kep and Jemima Puddleduck gathered around her new ducklings, mourning the eggs left behind with the greedy Mr. Todd.

Squirrel Nutkin flies through the trees outside, away from Old Brown, who still has his tail, while Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle cleans the clothes of the woodland creatures from her little burrow. Tom Kitten and his siblings lose their mittens and go to play happily in the mud when it rains.

Beatrix Potter's stories are very special to me, they were stories that she told about the animals on her own Hill Top Farm, and her own pets, such as her sheepdog Kep. Her characters were with me when I played, and I remember trying to characterize animals the same way with my pets, though I knew I would never be able to write as well as she did.

Beatrix was a writer, a farmer, sheep breeder, ecologist, botanist, and fungologist, as well as a historian. She drew and studied fungi and plants, and fought to preserve the land of her many farms for future generations. She even made and patented a Peter Rabbit stuffed animal, who is now the oldest patented literary character because of her efforts.

However, above all, Beatrix was an inspiration. Her creation of Peter Rabbit and his fellow animals showed that your imagination can take you to places near and far. Peter's world, villains and all, proves just how much Beatrix loved the fantasy land she had made, which would continue to be loved by all the children to come.

It may not be as friendly as the Hundred Acre Wood, or as mystical as Neverland, but Beatrix Potter's forest is just as special and wonderful to me. It has so many stories and adventures to get swept up into, and soon you're running beside Peter or flying from Old Brown.

From hedgehogs and rabbits to mice and squirrels, to badgers and foxes. The Tales of Peter Rabbit and friends are stories that are meant to be shared and passed down, from mother and father to son and daughter. Generation to generation, until it’s burned into your mind with memories and sweet dreams.

The book of Beatrix Potter stories now lives at my grandparent's house, but I will always remember the stories. The wonderful illustrations of the feisty Nutkin, the naive Jemima, the wise and faithful Kep. And when I visit, I see the big book of stories on the shelf, right in between the Gingerbread Girl and the Berenstain Bears, and I know that the characters I love are in there, watching over me.

I always used to think, when I saw the word "treasury," as it is used on the cover of the book above, that it meant whatever was in between the two covers was special. And when you opened the book, it was telling the reader whatever waited inside was truly precious. Because it had treasure, right there in the title.

And I hope that when I pass this book down to my own children one day in the future, and my children's children, that they will think of the same thing when they see this book. Because books are the most precious treasure of all, in the legacy they can spread through the generations.