''The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse'' is a children's book written and illustrated by

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Potter (, 28 July 186622 December 1943) was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'', which was he ...

and first published by

Frederick Warne & Co Frederick Warne & Co. is a British publisher founded in 1865. It is known for children's books, particularly those of Beatrix Potter, and for its Observer's Books. Warne is an imprint of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media cong ...

. In December

1918 This year is noted for the end of the First World War, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, as well as for the Spanish flu pandemic that killed 50–100 million people worldwide. Events Below, the events ...

. The tale is based on the Aesop fable, "

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse" is one of Aesop's Fables. It is number 352 in the Perry Index and type 112 in Aarne–Thompson's folk tale index. Like several other elements in Aesop's fables, 'town mouse and country mouse' has become a ...

", with details taken from Horace's ''Satires'' 2.6.79-117. It tells of a country mouse and a city mouse who visit each other in their respective homes. After sampling the other's way of life, both express a decided preference for their own. The book was critically well received. The Johnny Town-mouse character appeared in a 1971 ballet film, and the tale has been adapted to a

BBC television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

animated series.

Plot summary

The country mouse, Timmy Willie, falls asleep in a

hamper A hamper refers to one of several related basket-like items. In primarily British usage, it refers to a wicker basket, usually large, that is used for the transport of items, often food. In North America, the term generally refers to a household ...

, and is carried with the vegetables to the city, where the mice, including Johnny Town-Mouse, make him welcome, but finding the

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

frightening and the food strange, he returns by the hamper. Sometime later, Johnny Town-Mouse pays him a visit, but finding such things as

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

s and

lawnmower A lawn mower (also known as a mower, grass cutter or lawnmower) is a device utilizing one or more revolving blades (or a reel) to cut a lawn, grass surface to an even height. The height of the cut grass may be fixed by the design of the mower, ...

s frightening, returns to the city himself.

Adaptions

An animated adaptation of the story, shown alongside ''

The Tale of Two Bad Mice ''The Tale of Two Bad Mice'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1904. Potter took inspiration for the tale from two mice caught in a cage-trap in her cousin's home a ...

'', was featured on ''

The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends ''The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends'' is a British animated anthology television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. 14 of Potter's stories were a ...

'' in 1995 with Johnny Town-Mouse voiced by British actor

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, writer, and musician. He first gained recognition for his work as one half of the comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. The two men acted together in a ...

References

;Footnotes ;Works cited * * * ;Bibliography *

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse, The 1918 children's books British children's books Johnny Town-Mouse, The Tale of Town-Mouse Picture books by Beatrix Potter Works based on fables Frederick Warne & Co books