The Tale of Two Bad Mice (Beatrix Potter Originals)

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Then the two naughty mice set to work to cause as much mischief as they could - especially Tom Thumb. He took Jane’s clothes out of all the drawers in her bedroom and threw them out of the top floor window. On February 25 Warne sent plaster food and miniature furniture from Hamleys, a London toy shop. [8] [9] On April 20 the photographs of the doll's house were delivered, and at the end of May Potter wrote to Warne that eighteen of the mouse drawings were complete, and the remainder were in progress. By the middle of June proofs of the text had arrived, and after a few corrections, Potter wrote on June 28 that she was satisfied with the alterations. Proofs of the illustrations were delivered, and Potter was satisfied with them. [10] In September 1904 20,000 copies of the book were published in two different bindings – one in paper boards and the other in a deluxe binding designed by Potter. The book was dedicated to Winifred Warne, "the girl who had the doll's house". [11] [12] In the frontispiece, Hunca Munca watches as Tom Thumb smashes the plaster food. That does not mean that Hunca Munca's role is not of interest to further analysis. While it might seem odd to go digging for literary meaning in a children's tale, many such stories offer an underlying moral which is worthy of investigation. With an older book such as this there is also added historical interest. One morning Lucinda and Jane had gone out for a drive in the doll’s perambulator. There was no one in the nursery, and it was very quiet. Presently there was a little scuffling, scratching noise in a corner near the fireplace, where there was a hole under the skirting-board.

Between 1907 and 1912 Potter wrote miniature letters to children as from characters in her books. The letters reveal more about their characters and their doings. Though many were probably lost or destroyed, a few are extant from the characters in Two Bad Mice. In one, Jane Dollcook has broken the soup tureen and both her legs; in another, Tom Thumb writes to Lucinda asking her to spare a feather bed which she regrets she cannot send because the one he stole was never replaced. Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca have nine children and the parents need another kettle for boiling water. Hunca Munca is apparently not a very conscientious housekeeper because Lucinda complains of dust on the mantlepiece. [15] The landscape that Peter Rabbit first introduced to us in 1902 is still today one of Beatrix Potter's most popular and well-loved worlds. What started as an endearing story about a bunny rabbit would soon become the first ember for the illustrious series that is 'The World of Beatrix Potter', and a story which has endured retelling after retelling at bedtimes all over the world. The little girl that the doll's-house belonged to, said,--"I will get a doll dressed like a policeman!"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! 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. The Tale of Two Bad Mice had its genesis in June 1903 when Potter rescued two mice from a cage-trap in her cousin Caroline Hutton's kitchen at Harescombe Grange, Gloucestershire, and named them Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca after characters in Henry Fielding's play, Tom Thumb. [1] [2] Tom Thumb was never mentioned in Potter's letters after his rescue from the trap (he may have escaped) but Hunca Munca became a pet and a model; she developed an affectionate personality and displayed good housekeeping skills. [2]

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!

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This ham is too hard,’ he complained to Hunka Munka. ‘It’s not cooked enough. You try, Hunka Munka.’ The little mouse’s name was Tom Thumb. A minute later, Tom Thumb’s wife, Hunka Munka, popped her head out too and when she saw the room was empty, she and Tom squeezed through the hole and went over to the coal box by the fire.