Sleep Story: The Roly-Poly Pudding

This story was adapted from the Collection of Beatrix Potter Series. This stand-alone tale follows the adventures of 3 kittens and the trouble they find themselves in. Enjoy this story to help you get ready for a great night's sleep or to find rest in your day.

Transcript

The Roly Poly Pudding by Beatrix Potter In remembrance of Sammy, The intelligent pink-eyed representative of a persecuted but irrepressible race, An affectionate little friend, And most accomplished thief. Once upon a time there was an old cat called Miss Tabitha Twitchit, Who was an anxious parent. She used to lose her kittens continually, And whenever they were lost, They were always in mischief. On baking day she determined to shut them up in a cupboard. She caught Moppet and Mittens, But she could not find Tom. Miss Tabitha went up and down all over the house, Mewing for Tom Kitten. She looked in the pantry under the staircase, And she searched the best spare bedroom that was all covered up with dust sheets. She went right upstairs and looked into the attics, But she could not find him anywhere. It was an old, Old house, Full of cupboards and passages. Some of the walls were four feet thick, And there used to be queer noises inside of them, As if there might be a little secret staircase. Certainly, There were odd little jagged doorways in the wainscot, And things disappeared at night, Especially cheese and bacon. Miss Tabitha became more and more distracted, And mewed dreadfully. While their mother was searching the house, Moppet and Mittens had gotten into mischief. The cupboard door was not locked, So they pushed it open and came out. They went straight to the dough, Which was set to rise in a pan before the fire. They patted it with their little soft paws. Shall we make dear little muffins? Said Mittens to Moppet. But just at that moment, Somebody knocked at the front door, And Moppet jumped into the flour barrel in a fright. Mittens ran away to the dairy and hid in an empty jar on the stone shelf where the milk pans stand. The visitor was a neighbor, Miss Ribby. She had called to borrow some yeast. Miss Tabitha came downstairs, Mewing dreadfully. Come in, Cousin Ribby, Come in, And sit ye down. I'm in sad trouble, Cousin Ribby, Said Tabitha, Shedding tears. I've lost my dear son Thomas. I'm afraid the rats have got him. She wiped her eyes with an apron. He's a bad kitten, Cousin Tabitha. He made a cat's cradle out of my best bonnet last time I came to tea. Where have you looked for him? All over the house. The rats are too many for me. What a thing it is to have an unruly family, Said Miss Tabitha, Twitched shit. I'm not afraid of rats. I will help you find him and whip him, Too. What is all that soot in the fender? The chimney wants sweeping. Oh, Dear me, Cousin Ribby, Now Moppet and Mittens are gone. They have both got out of the cupboard. Ribby and Tabitha set to work to search the house thoroughly again. They poked under the beds with Ribby's umbrella, And they rubbaged in cupboards. They even fetched a candle and looked inside a clothes chest in one of the attics. They could not find anything, But once they heard a door bang and somebody scuttered downstairs. Yes, It is infested with rats, Said Tabitha tearfully. I caught seven young ones out of one hole in the back kitchen, And once I saw the old father rat, An enormous old rat Cousin Ribby. I was just going to jump upon him. Then he showed his yellow teeth at me and whisked down the hole. The rats get upon my nerves, Cousin Ribby, Said Tabitha. Ribby and Tabitha searched and searched. They both heard a curious roly-poly noise under the attic floor, But there was nothing to be seen. They returned to the kitchen. Here's one of your kittens, At least, Said Ribby, Dragging Moppet out of the flour barrel. They shook the flour off her and set her down on the kitchen floor. She seemed to be in a terrible fright. Oh, Mother, Mother, Said Moppet, There's been an old woman rat in the kitchen, And she's stolen some of the dough. The two cats ran to look at the dough pan. Sure enough, There were marks of little scratching fingers, And a lump of dough was gone. Which way did she go, Moppet? But Moppet had been too frightened to peep out of the barrel again. Ribby and Tabitha took her with them to keep her safely in sight while they went on their search. They went into the dairy. The first thing they found was mittens hiding in an empty jar. They tipped up the jar, And she scrambled out. Oh, Mother, Mother, Said mittens, There's been an old man rat in the dairy. A dreadful, Enormous big rat, Mother, And he's stolen a pat of butter and the rolling pin. Ribby and Tabitha looked at one another. A rolling pin and butter? Oh, My poor son Thomas exclaimed Tabitha, Wringing her paws. A rolling pin, Said Ribby. Did we not hear a rolly-polly noise in the attic when we were looking into the chest? Ribby and Tabitha rushed upstairs again. Sure enough, The rolly-polly noise was still going on quite distinctly under the attic floor. This is serious, Cousin Tabitha, Said Ribby. We must send for John Joiner at once with a saw. Now, This is what had been happening to Tom Kitten, And it shows how very unwise it is to go up a chimney in a very old house where a person does not know his way and where there are enormous rats. Tom Kitten did not want to be shut up in a cupboard. When he saw that his mother was going to bake, He determined to hide. He looked about for a nice, Convenient place, And he fixed upon the chimney. The fire had only just been lighted, And it was not hot, But there was a white choking smoke from the green sticks. Tom Kitten got upon the fender and looked up. It was a big, Old-fashioned fireplace. The chimney itself was wide enough inside for a man to stand up and walk about, So there was plenty of room for a little Tomcat. He jumped right up into the fireplace, Balancing himself upon the iron bar where the kettle hangs. Tom Kitten took another big jump off the bar and landed on a ledge high up inside the chimney, Knocking down some soot onto the fender. Tom Kitten coughed and choked with the smoke. He could hear the sticks beginning to crackle and burn in the fireplace down below. He made up his mind to climb right to the top and get out on the slates and try to catch sparrows. I cannot go back. If I slipped, I might fall in the fire and singe my beautiful tail and my little blue jacket. The chimney was a very big, Old-fashioned one. It was built in the days when people burnt logs of wood upon the hearth. The chimney stack stood up above the roof like a little stone tower, And the daylight shone down from the top, Under the slanting slates that kept out the rain. Tom Kitten was getting very frightened. He climbed up and up and up. Then he weighted himself sideways through inches of soot. He was like a little sweep himself. It was most confusing in the dark. One flue seemed to lead into another. There was less smoke, But Tom Kitten felt quite lost. He scrambled up and up, But before he reached the chimney top, He came to a place where somebody had loosened a stone in the wall. There were some mutton bones lying about. This seems funny, Said Tom Kitten. Who has been gnawing bones up here in the chimney? I wish I'd never come, And what a funny smell. It is something like mouse, Only dreadfully stronger. It makes me sneeze, Says Tom Kitten. He squeezed through the hole in the wall and dragged himself along a most uncomfortable tight passage where there was scarcely any light. He groped his way carefully for several yards. He was at the back of the skirting board in the attic, Where there is a little mark in the picture. All at once he fell head over heels in the dark, Down a hole, And landed on a heap of very dirty rags. When Tom Kitten picked himself up and looked about him, He found himself in a place he'd never seen before, Although he had lived his life in the house. It was a very small, Stuffy, Fusty room, With boards and rafters and cobwebs and lath and plaster. Opposite to him, As far away as he could sit, Was an enormous rat. What do you mean by tumbling into my bed all covered with smuts? Said the rat, Chattering his teeth. Please, Sir, The chimney wants sweeping, Said poor Tom Kitten. Anna Marie, Anna Marie, Squeaked the rat. There was a pattering noise and an old woman rat poked her head round her rafter. All in a minute she rushed upon Tom Kitten, And before he knew what was happening, His coat was pulled off and he was rolled up in a blanket and tied with string and very hard knots. Anna Marie did the tying. The old rat watched her and took snuff. When she had finished, They both sat staring at him with their mouths open. Anna Marie, Said the old man rat, Whose name was Samuel Whiskers. Anna Marie, Make me a Kitten Dumpling Rollie Polly Pudding for my dinner. It requires dough and a pat of butter and a rolling pin, Said Anna. Maria, Considering Tom Kitten, Was with her head on one side. No, Said Samuel Whiskers, Make it properly, Anna Marie, With breadcrumbs. Nonsense, Butter and dough, Replied Anna Marie. The two rats consulted together for a few minutes and then went away. Samuel Whiskers got through a hole in the wainscot and went boldly down the front staircase to get to the dairy and get the butter. He did not meet anybody. He made a second journey for the rolling pin. He pushed it in front of him with his paws, Like a brewer's man's trundling a barrel. He could hear Ribby and Tabitha talking, But they were busy lighting the candle to look into the closet chest. They did not see him. Anna Marie went down by way of the skirting board and a window shutter to the kitchen to steal the dough. She borrowed a small saucer and scooped up the dough with her paws. She did not observe Moppet. While Tom Kitten was left alone under the floor of the attic, He wriggled about and tried to meow for help. But his mouth was full of soot and cobwebs, And he was tied up in such very tight knots he could not make anybody hear him, Except a spider which came out of a crack in the ceiling and examined the knots critically from a safe distance. It was a judge of knots because it had a habit of tying up unfortunate blue bottles. It did not offer to assist him. Tom Kitten wriggled and squirmed until he was quite exhausted. Presently, The rats came back and set to work to make him into a dumpling. First they smeared him with butter, And then they rolled him in the dough. Will not the string be very indigestible, Anna Marie, Inquired Samuel Whiskers. Anna Marie said she thought that it was of no consequence, But she wished that Tom Kitten would hold his head still as it disarranged the pastry. She laid hold of his ears. Tom Kitten bit and spat and meowed and wriggled, And the rolling pin went rolly-polly, Rolly, Rolly, Rolly, Rolly. The rats held each at the end. His tail is sticking out. You did not fetch enough dough, Anna Marie. I fetched as much as I could carry, Replied Anna Marie. I do not think, Said Samuel Whiskers, Pausing to take a look at Tom Kitten, I do not think it will be a good pudding. It smells sooty. Anna Marie was about to argue the point when all at once there began to be another sound above, The rasping noise of a saw, And the noise of a little dog scratching and yelping. The rats dropped the rolling pin and listened attentively. We are discovered and interrupted, Anna Marie. Let us collect our property and other people's and depart at once. I fear that we shall be obliged to leave this pudding. But I am persuaded that the knots would have proved indigestible. Whatever you may urge to the contrary. Come away at once and help me to tie up some mutton bones and a counterpane, Said Anna Marie. I've got half a smoked ham hidden in the chimney. So it happened that by the time John Joiner had got the plank up there was nobody under the floor except the rolling pin and Tom Kitten in a very dirty dumpling. But there was a strong smell of rats, And John Joiner spent the rest of the morning sniffing and whining and wagging his tail and going round and around with his head in the hole like a gimlet. Then he nailed the plank down again and put his tools in his bag and came downstairs. The cat family had quite recovered. They invited him to stay to dinner. The dumpling had been peeled off Tom Kitten and made separately into a bag pudding with currants in it. They had been obliged to put Tom Kitten into a hot bath to get the butter off. John Joiner smelt the pudding, But he regretted that he had not had time to stay for dinner because he had just finished making a wheelbarrow for Miss Potter, And she had ordered two hen coops. And when I was going to the post late in the afternoon I looked up the lane from the corner and I saw Mr. Samuel Whiskers and his wife on a run with big bundles and a little wheelbarrow which looked very like mine. They were just turning in the gate to the barn of farmer potatoes. Samuel Whiskers was puffing out of breath. And the Marie was still arguing in shrill tones. She seemed to know her way, And she seemed to have a quantity of luggage. I am sure I never gave her leave to borrow my wheelbarrow. They went into the barn and hauled their parcels with a bit of string to the top of the haymow. After that there were no more rats for a long time at Tabitha Twichit's. As for farmer potatoes, He had been driven nearly distracted. There are rats and rats and rats in his barn. They eat up the chicken food and steal the oats and bran and make holes in the meal bags. They are all descended from Mr. And Mrs. Samuel Whiskers, Children and grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren. There is no end to them. Moppet and Mittens have grown up to be very good rat catchers. They go out rat catching in the village and they find plenty of employment. They charge so much a dozen and earn their living very comfortably. But Tom Kitten has always been afraid of a rat. He never durst face anything that is bigger than a mouse. The end. And that is the end of our story this evening. Until next time, Sweet dreams.

Reviews

I very much like B. Potter & her stories. This was a delight. Thankyou. 🌻😘🐱🐱🐨

I'm looking for gentle ways to go to sleep, so I didn't hear the whole story. But l really enjoyed Hilary's voice and her telling of the story. Thank you.