E-text prepared by Robert Cicconetti, Emmy,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
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THE TALE
OF
JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK
THE TALE OF
JEMIMA PUDDLE-DUCK
BY
BEATRIX POTTER
Author of"The Tale of Peter Rabbit", &c
Frederick Warne & Co., Inc., New York
1908
A FARMYARD TALE
FOR
RALPH AND BETSY
What a funny sight it is to see a brood of ducklings with a hen!
—Listen to the story of Jemima Puddle-duck, who was annoyed because thefarmer's wife would not let her hatch her own eggs.
Her sister-in-law, Mrs. Rebeccah Puddle-duck, was perfectly willing toleave the hatching to some one else—"I have not the patience to sit on anest for twenty-eight days; and no more have you, Jemima. You would letthem go cold; you know you would!"
"I wish to hatch my own eggs; I will hatch them all by myself," quackedJemima Puddle-duck.
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 nestright away from the farm.
She set off on a fine spring afternoon along the cart-road that leads overthe hill.
She was wearing a shawl and a poke bonnet.
When she reached the top of the hill, she saw a wood in the distance.
She thought that it looked a safe quiet spot.
Jemima Puddle-duck was not much in the habit of flying. She ran downhill afew yards flapping her shawl, and then she