The Tale of Two Bad Mice (Beatrix Potter Originals)

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What a sight met the eyes of Jane and Lucinda! Lucinda sat upon the upset kitchen stove and stared; and Jane leant against the kitchen dresser and smiled—but neither of them made any remark. And very early every morning — before anybody is awake — Hunca Munca comes with her dust-pan and her broom to sweep the Dollies' house!” The tale's themes of rebellion, insurrection, and individualism reflect not only Potter's desire to free herself of her domineering parents and build a home of her own, but her fears about independence and her frustrations with Victorian domesticity. Hunca moved a step closer to the layout. "The Chinese," she breathed, unable to contain her excitement any longer as she gazed at the doll's-house. Her ample breasts rose and fell under the thin synthasilk sweater. "I know you meet them all the time. You must have some... stuff."

Tom looked at Hunca; even in her rodent body, she was still very attractive. He put a clawed hand on her haunch, but she pushed him away. Born into a wealthy household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets, and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developed a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a woman, her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology. The tale begins with "once upon a time" and a description of a "very beautiful doll's-house" belonging to a doll called Lucinda and her cook-doll Jane. Jane never cooks because the doll's-house food is made of plaster and was "bought ready-made, in a box full of shavings". Though the food will not come off the plates, it is "extremely beautiful". And very early every morning—before anybody is awake—Hunca Munca comes with her dust-pan and her broom to sweep the Dollies’ house! While Tom Thumb was up the chimney, Hunca Munca had another disappointment. She found some tiny canisters upon the dresser, labelled-- Rice--Coffee--Sago--but when she turned them upside down, there was nothing inside except red and blue beads.Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca went upstairs and peeped into the dining-room. Then they squeaked with joy! Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit. It is interesting to place the reactionary morals of Two Bad Mice against Potter's life. She faced discrimination from the establishment by choosing to marry down in class and, later, by conducting her own business affairs. Quite why Potter chose to re-enforce the very morals that her actions fought against is a matter for conjecture, but it's hard to read her tales in any other way. While Tom Thumb was up the chimney, Hunca Munca had another disappointment. She found some tiny canisters upon the dresser, labelled—Rice—Coffee—Sago—but when she turned them upside down, there was nothing inside except red and blue beads.

The Tale of Two Bad Mice is included as a segment in the 1971 Royal Ballet film Tales of Beatrix Potter.

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On the other side of the replace was the beautiful doll’s house. The two mice tip-toed cautiously across the rug in front of the fire to take a closer look. She was very unfashionably dressed; and wore a coat and skirt and hat, and carried a man's umbrella. She came up to the nursery dressed in her outdoor clothes and asked if she might borrow the policeman doll; Nanny hunted for the doll and eventually found it. It was at least a foot high, and quite out of proportion to the doll's house." [8] The dolls, Lucinda and Jane, and their house The little girl that the doll’s-house belonged to, said,—“I will get a doll dressed like a policeman!”

The dolls, on the other hand, they’re pure evil. They lounge around the house all day teasing mice with food, and even go as far as to lay down traps for the poor creatures. Then, if that wasn’t enough reason to hate them, they bring in a policeman to enforce their fascist means of control. Instead of talking to the mice they just go straight to the authorities. There’s no reasoning to be had with these nasty dolls. In December 1903, The Tale of Two Bad Mice was one of three ideas for a possible future book to be published along with The Tale of Benjamin Bunny in 1904 that Beatrix Potter submitted to her publisher Norman Warne. The other two ideas were later developed into Potter's 1905 book The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan and the first chapter of her 1929 book The Fairy Caravan. Although Potter was initially somewhat reluctant to write another tale about mice so soon after the publication of The Tailor of Gloucester, both she and Warne agreed that The Tale of Two Bad Mice was the story idea that had the greatest potential. Norman Warne's decision may have been influenced by the fact that he was making a doll's house as a Christmas present for his four-year-old niece Winifred Warne at the time. Beatrix Potter used Winifred Warne's doll's house as a model for the one that appears in the illustrations in The Tale of Two Bad Mice. The book is dedicated to Winifred Warne. Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) loved the countryside and spent much of her childhood drawing and studying animals. 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit', first published in 1902, was her first book. She later went on to publish more than twenty tales and collections of rhymes. This year is a little different. Three people who were present at my holiday table last year are no longer with us. My friend Eric passed last February. My grandmother passed in March, and my uncle passed in May. All three were relatively unexpected. Never in a million years would I have guessed that last Christmas would be the last holiday I would spend with any of them. A segment based on The Tale of Two Bad Mice is included in the 1971 Royal Ballet film Tales of Beatrix Potter. [1]

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While Tom Thumb was up the chimney, Hunca Munca had another disappointment. She found some tiny canisters upon the dresser, labeled— Rice—Coffee—Sago—but when she turned them upside down, there was nothing inside except red and blue beads. With Tom Thumb’s assistance she carried the bolster downstairs, and across the hearth-rug. It was difficult to squeeze the bolster into the mouse-hole; but they managed it somehow. Then Tom Thumb lost his temper. He put the ham in the middle of the floor, and hit it with the tongs and with the shovel—bang, bang, smash, smash!

Such a lovely dinner was laid out upon the table! There were tin spoons, and lead knives and forks, and two dolly-chairs--all SO convenient! So that is the story of the two Bad Mice. But they were not so very, very naughty after all, because Tom Thumb paid for everything he broke. So that is the story of the two Bad Mice,—but they were not so very very naughty after all, because Tom Thumb paid for everything he broke. Where, then does Hunca Munca, in particular fit in to this? Her role in the story is almost entirely as a servant and care-giver. She chooses to steal bedding from the house. In recompense, she chooses to clean - every morning - while Tom Thumb gives money once per year. This is a strong reflection of Victorian social stereotypes. A woman is interested in children and in cleanliness, every day. A man, meanwhile, can earn money and enjoys the flexibility and power this provides. In this there is a glimmer of a comparison with her namesake from Tom Thumb: both are passive, servile, happy to accept a fate others have assigned to them.Potter confidently asserted her tales would one day be nursery classics, and part of the process in making them so was marketing strategy. [23] She was the first to exploit the commercial possibilities of her characters and tales with a Peter Rabbit doll, a board game (The Game of Peter Rabbit), and a nursery wallpaper between 1903 and 1905. [24] Similar "side-shows" (as she termed the ancillary merchandise) were conducted over the following two decades. [25] The policeman doll was borrowed from Winifred Warne. She was reluctant to part with it but the doll was safely returned. Many years later she remembered Potter arriving at the house to borrow the doll: