Language: English
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK ***
The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter 1
THE TALE
THE TALE 2
OF
OF 3
JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK
THE TALE OF
JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK
BY
BEATRIX POTTER
Author of "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", &c
JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK 4
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
1908
A FARMYARD TALE
FOR
RALPH AND BETSY
—Listen to the story of Jemima Puddle-duck, who was annoyed because the farmer's wife would not let her
hatch her own eggs.
BEATRIX POTTER 5
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
Her sister-in-law, Mrs. Rebeccah Puddle-duck, was perfectly willing to leave the hatching to some one
else—"I have not the patience to sit on a nest for twenty-eight days; and no more have you, Jemima. You
would let them go cold; you know you would!"
"I wish to hatch my own eggs; I will hatch them all by myself," quacked Jemima Puddle-duck.
1908 6
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
She tried to hide her eggs; but they were always found and carried off.
Jemima Puddle-duck became quite desperate. She determined to make a nest right away from the farm.
She set off on a fine spring afternoon along the cart-road that leads over the hill.
When she reached the top of the hill, she saw a wood in the distance.
1908 7
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
Jemima Puddle-duck was not much in the habit of flying. She ran downhill a few yards flapping her shawl,
and then she jumped off into the air.
1908 8
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
She skimmed along over the tree-tops until she saw an open place in the middle of the wood, where the trees
and brushwood had been cleared.
Jemima alighted rather heavily, and began to waddle about in search of a convenient dry nesting-place. She
rather fancied a tree-stump amongst some tall fox-gloves.
But—seated upon the stump, she was startled to find an elegantly dressed gentleman reading a newspaper.
"Quack?" said Jemima Puddle-duck, with her head and her bonnet on one side—"Quack?"
1908 9
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
The gentleman raised his eyes above his newspaper and looked curiously at Jemima—
"Madam, have you lost your way?" said he. He had a long bushy tail which he was sitting upon, as the stump
was somewhat damp.
Jemima thought him mighty civil and handsome. She explained that she had not lost her way, but that she was
trying to find a convenient dry nesting-place.
1908 10
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
"Ah! is that so? indeed!" said the gentleman with sandy whiskers, looking curiously at Jemima. He folded up
the newspaper, and put it in his coat-tail pocket.
"Indeed! how interesting! I wish I could meet with that fowl. I would teach it to mind its own business!"
"But as to a nest—there is no difficulty: I have a sackful of feathers in my wood-shed. No, my dear madam,
you will be in nobody's way. You may sit there as long as you like," said the bushy long-tailed gentleman.
He led the way to a very retired, dismal-looking house amongst the fox-gloves.
It was built of faggots and turf, and there were two broken pails, one on top of another, by way of a chimney.
1908 11
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
"This is my summer residence; you would not find my earth—my winter house—so convenient," said the
hospitable gentleman.
There was a tumble-down shed at the back of the house, made of old soap-boxes. The gentleman opened the
door, and showed Jemima in.
1908 12
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
The shed was almost quite full of feathers—it was almost suffocating; but it was comfortable and very soft.
Jemima Puddle-duck was rather surprised to find such a vast quantity of feathers. But it was very comfortable;
and she made a nest without any trouble at all.
When she came out, the sandy whiskered gentleman was sitting on a log reading the newspaper—at least he
had it spread out, but he was looking over the top of it.
He was so polite, that he seemed almost sorry to let Jemima go home for the night. He promised to take great
care of her nest until she came back again next day.
He said he loved eggs and ducklings; he should be proud to see a fine nestful in his wood-shed.
1908 13
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
Jemima Puddle-duck came every afternoon; she laid nine eggs in the nest. They were greeny white and very
large. The foxy gentleman admired them immensely. He used to turn them over and count them when Jemima
was not there.
At last Jemima told him that she intended to begin to sit next day—"and I will bring a bag of corn with me, so
that I need never leave my nest until the eggs are hatched. They might catch cold," said the conscientious
Jemima.
1908 14
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
"Madam, I beg you not to trouble yourself with a bag; I will provide oats. But before you commence your
tedious sitting, I intend to give you a treat. Let us have a dinner-party all to ourselves!
"May I ask you to bring up some herbs from the farm-garden to make a savoury omelette? Sage and thyme,
and mint and two onions, and some parsley. I will provide lard for the stuff—lard for the omelette," said the
hospitable gentleman with sandy whiskers.
Jemima Puddle-duck was a simpleton: not even the mention of sage and onions made her suspicious.
She went round the farm-garden, nibbling off snippets of all the different sorts of herbs that are used for
stuffing roast duck.
1908 15
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
And she waddled into the kitchen, and got two onions out of a basket.
The collie-dog Kep met her coming out, "What are you doing with those onions? Where do you go every
afternoon by yourself, Jemima Puddle-duck?"
Jemima was rather in awe of the collie; she told him the whole story.
The collie listened, with his wise head on one side; he grinned when she described the polite gentleman with
sandy whiskers.
1908 16
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
He asked several questions about the wood, and about the exact position of the house and shed.
Then he went out, and trotted down the village. He went to look for two fox-hound puppies who were out at
walk with the butcher.
Jemima Puddle-duck went up the cart-road for the last time, on a sunny afternoon. She was rather burdened
with bunches of herbs and two onions in a bag.
1908 17
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
She flew over the wood, and alighted opposite the house of the bushy long-tailed gentleman.
He was sitting on a log; he sniffed the air, and kept glancing uneasily round the wood. When Jemima alighted
he quite jumped.
"Come into the house as soon as you have looked at your eggs. Give me the herbs for the omelette. Be sharp!"
He was rather abrupt. Jemima Puddle-duck had never heard him speak like that.
1908 18
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
While she was inside she heard pattering feet round the back of the shed. Some one with a black nose sniffed
at the bottom of the door, and then locked it.
A moment afterwards there were most awful noises—barking, baying, growls and howls, squealing and
groans.
1908 19
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
Presently Kep opened the door of the shed, and let out Jemima Puddle-duck.
Unfortunately the puppies rushed in and gobbled up all the eggs before he could stop them.
He had a bite on his ear and both the puppies were limping.
1908 20
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
She laid some more in June, and she was permitted to keep them herself: but only four of them hatched.
Jemima Puddle-duck said that it was because of her nerves; but she had always been a bad sitter.
1908 21
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE TALE OF JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK ***
This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
http://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/8/1/14814
Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will be renamed.
Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no one owns a United States copyright in
these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission
and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this
license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT
GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used
if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies
of this eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as
creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given
away--you may do practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is subject to the
trademark license, especially commercial redistribution.
1908 22
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in
a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check
the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning
the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
States.
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
1908 23
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
1.E.9.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or
distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is
owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments
1908 24
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
License. You must require such a user to return or
destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
Project Gutenberg-tm works.
- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
1.F.
1908 25
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS,' WITH NO OTHER
WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
1908 26
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
1908 27
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To
SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
particular state visit http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/pglaf
Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including including checks, online payments and credit card
donations. To donate, please visit:
http://www.gutenberg.org/fundraising/donate
Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks replace the old file and take over
the old filename and etext number. The replaced older file is renamed.
VERSIONS based on separate sources are treated as new eBooks receiving
new filenames and etext numbers.
Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
http://www.gutenberg.org
1908 28
The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, by Beatrix Potter
EBooks posted prior to November 2003, with eBook numbers BELOW #10000,
are filed in directories based on their release date. If you want to
download any of these eBooks directly, rather than using the regular
search system you may utilize the following addresses and just
download by the etext year.
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/
EBooks posted since November 2003, with etext numbers OVER #10000, are
filed in a different way. The year of a release date is no longer part
of the directory path. The path is based on the etext number (which is
identical to the filename). The path to the file is made up of single
digits corresponding to all but the last digit in the filename. For
example an eBook of filename 10234 would be found at:
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/0/2/3/10234
1908 29