The Tale Of Mrs. Tittlemouse (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
Mrs Thomasina Tittlemouse, a wood-mouse, lived in a funny house with yards of sandy passages among the roots of a hedge. She had a kitchen, a parlour, a pantry, a larder and she slept in a little box bed in her bedroom.She was a very tidy mouse but her world was regularly disturbed by the number of visitors she had. Beetles lost their way in the passages, a ladybird often visited her, a big fat spider occasionally called thinking that she was at Miss Muffet's house and a bumble bee and his friends would regularly fly in through the window.The bumble bees wanted to establish a home with Mrs T but she would not have it ; nor would she have Mr Jackson, a toad who lived in a drain below the hedge, as a lodger. But one day she returned home from shopping to find Mr J sitting with his feet on her fender.Mrs T humoured him and gave him some food but he was messy and Mrs T had to follow him around with a dish cloth to wipe his large footmarks off the parlour floor. Eventually, after Mr J had caused havoc in the tidy house, Mrs T said, 'Get out, you nasty old toad. I shall go distracted.'She won the day and he left after which she spent two weeks spring cleaning before, with her house nicely back in order she invited five other little mice to a party. Mr J was unable to get in for Mrs T had boarded up the door to make entry for him impossible but, out of the kindness of her heart, she handed him out of the window acorn cupfuls of honeydew.The generous Mr J replied with, 'Tiddly, widdly widdly! Your very good health Mrs Tittlemouse!' And thereafter her tidy life in her spotless home continued happily.
One of Beatrix Potter's least violent stories. Mrs Tittlemouse suffers from OCD (Obsessive Cleaning Disorder), so she is at her wits ends when her home is invaded by all sorts of grubby creatures. Her toad neighbour Mr Jackson sorts out a nest of bees who have taken up residence in an empty storeroom, and to celebrate she has a party (exclusively for other mice, clean mice I suppose), but doesn't invite him. He turns up anyway and is given a drink, which seems to be all he was after. Many cleaning tips included.
What do You think about The Tale Of Mrs. Tittlemouse (2002)?
Mrs. Tittlemouse is a fastidious little mouse, living alone in a very clean house. Whenever another animal or insect comes to her home, she shoos it away and sweeps up after it; but when a swarm of bees make their home in one of her store-rooms she is pressed to allow her boorish toad neighbor Mr. Jackson to evict them. After he leaves, she laments the terrible mess made of her home, and sets to work straightening things up. When she is satisfied, she gives a civilized party for five other mice, but must solve the problem of Mr. Jackson, who arrives uninvited, following the smell of honey. She has, however, anticipated his rude behavior and prevented his entry by diminishing the size of her doorway. She hands out some refreshment through the window and he happily enjoys it on the lawn.The story itself is charming, and Mrs. Tittlemouse cleverly solves the problem of appropriately protecting her home's boundaries without being rude herself. What is most endearing about this story, as in all of Beatrix Potter's works, is the fact that her anthropomorphized animals strongly retain their real animal qualities, both in illustrations and in their behavior. Her stories aren't really about human beings in animal form; they are a kind of magical world in which real animals take on certain human traits. This is a wonderful kind of fantasy that should not be missed.
—Shanna Gonzalez
