The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Four young rabbits—Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail, and Peter—lived with their mother under the root of a massive fir tree. One morning, their mother gave them a clear warning: "You may go into the fields or down the lane, but do not go into Mr. McGregor's garden. Your father had a terrible accident there."
While his sisters spent the morning safely gathering blackberries along the lane, Peter decided the rules didn't apply to him. He squeezed under Mr. McGregor's gate and headed straight for the vegetables. He gorged himself on lettuce, French beans, and radishes. But the moment he finished eating, the "fun" stopped. He felt sick, and even worse—he felt watched.
Suddenly, around a cucumber frame, he came face-to-face with Mr. McGregor. The chase was on. Peter panicked. In his rush to escape, he lost his shoes in the dirt. He ran so fast he might have made it out, but he ran headfirst into a gooseberry net. The large brass buttons on his brand-new blue jacket got snagged in the mesh. He was trapped.
Peter broke down in tears, certain he was finished. But a few sparrows chirped at him, urging him to keep moving. Just as Mr. McGregor arrived with a heavy sieve to trap him, Peter wriggled free, leaving his jacket behind. He hid in a watering can in the tool shed—cold, wet, and trembling with fear.
By the time Peter finally found the gate and slipped back to the woods, he was exhausted. He collapsed on the floor of the rabbit-hole. His mother, busy cooking, noticed he had returned without his shoes or his jacket—the second outfit he had lost in just two weeks.
That night, Peter didn't get to join the feast. While Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail enjoyed a delicious supper of bread, milk, and blackberries, Peter was sent straight to bed with a bitter dose of camomile tea. He had his "freedom" in the garden, but he lost his clothes, his dinner, and his peace of mind to get it.
