The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, by Beatrix Potter

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Title: The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin

Author: Beatrix Potter

Release Date: February 2, 2005 [EBook #14872]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE TALE OF
SQUIRREL NUTKIN

BY
BEATRIX POTTER

_Author of_
"_The Tale of Peter Rabbit_"

[Illustration]

FREDERICK WARNE

[Illustration]

FREDERICK WARNE

1903 by Frederick Warne & Co.

Printed and bound in Great Britain by
William Clowes Limited, Beccles and London

A STORY FOR NORAH

[Illustration]

This is a Tale about a tail--a tail that belonged to a little red
squirrel, and his name was Nutkin.

He had a brother called Twinkleberry, and a great many cousins: they lived
in a wood at the edge of a lake.

[Illustration]

In the middle of the lake there is an island covered with trees and nut
bushes; and amongst those trees stands a hollow oak-tree, which is the
house of an owl who is called Old Brown.

[Illustration]

One autumn when the nuts were ripe, and the leaves on the hazel bushes
were golden and green--Nutkin and Twinkleberry and all the other little
squirrels came out of the wood, and down to the edge of the lake.

[Illustration]

They made little rafts out of twigs, and they paddled away over the water
to Owl Island to gather nuts.

Each squirrel had a little sack and a large oar, and spread out his tail
for a sail.

[Illustration]

They also took with them an offering of three fat mice as a present for
Old Brown, and put them down upon his door-step.

Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, and
said politely--

"Old Mr. Brown, will you favour us with permission to gather nuts upon
your island?"

[Illustration]

But Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners. He bobbed up and
down like a little red _cherry_, singing--

"Riddle me, riddle me, rot-tot-tote!
A little wee man, in a red red coat!
A staff in his hand, and a stone in his throa