''The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding'' 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 ...

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 October 1908 as ''The Roly-Poly Pudding''. In 1926, it was re-published as ''The Tale of Samuel Whiskers''. The book is dedicated to the author's

fancy rat The fancy rat (''Rattus norvegicus domestica'') is the domesticated form of ''Rattus norvegicus'', the brown rat, and the most common species of rat kept as a pet. The name ''fancy rat'' derives from the use of the noun '' fancy'' for a hobby ...

"Sammy" and tells of Tom Kitten's escape from two rats who plan to make him into a pudding. The tale was adapted to animation in 1993.

Plot summary

Tom Kitten is a young

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 ...

who lives with his mother, Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, and sisters, Moppet and Mittens, in a house overrun with rats. Her children being an unruly bunch, Mrs. Tabitha puts Moppet and Mittens in a cupboard in order to keep them under control, but Tom Kitten escapes up the chimney. As he makes his way to the top of the house, he comes across a crack in the wall and, squeezing through it, finds himself under the attic's floorboards. There he meets the rats, Mr. Samuel Whiskers and his wife Anna Maria. They catch him and proceed to cover him with butter and dough in order to eat him as a pudding. However, when they proceed to settle the dough with a rolling-pin, the noise gets through the floorboards and attracts the attention of Tabitha Twitchit and her friend Mrs. Ribby who has been helping search for Tom Kitten. They quickly call for John Joiner, a

terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...

, who saws open the floor and rescues Tom Kitten. Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria escape to the barn of Farmer Potatoes, spreading their chaos to another location, though leaving the cat family residence in peace.

Connections to other books

Ribby was one of the main characters of ''

The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan ''The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan'' (originally, ''The Pie and the Patty-Pan'') is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, and published by Frederick Warne & Co. in October 1905. It tells of a cat called Ribby and a ...

'' (published in 1905), which also featured Tabitha Twitchit as a shop keeper, with the kittens appearing in the illustrations. The family had also appeared in ''

The Tale of Tom Kitten ''The Tale of Tom Kitten'' is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was released by Frederick Warne & Co. in September 1907. The tale is about manners and how children react to them. Tabitha Twitchit, a cat, invites ...

'' in 1907. Tabitha's shop is again mentioned in '' The Tale of Ginger and Pickles'' (1909) which also included Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria.

Inspirations

The cat family home was based on Beatrix Potter's own house, Hill Top in Cumbria. Farmer Potatoes was based on a local man called Poslethwaite.

Adaptations

In 1933, Theron K. Butterworth published a dramatic adaptation of the tale as ''Mr. Samuel Whiskers''. In 1993, an animated film adaptation was telecast on the BBC

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

, ''

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 ...

'' with the voices of

Rosemary Leach Rosemary Anne Leach (18 December 1935 – 21 October 2017) was a British stage, television and film actress. She won the 1982 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a New Play for ''84, Charing Cross Road'' and was nominated for the BAFTA Award fo ...

as Tabitha Twitchet,

John Gordon Sinclair John Gordon Sinclair (born Gordon John Sinclair; 4 February 1962) is a Scottish actor, voice actor, singer, and novelist. He is best known for portraying Gregory in the 1981 film '' Gregory's Girl''. There was a Gordon Sinclair already register ...

as John Joiner,

Patricia Routledge Dame Katherine Patricia Routledge, (; born 17 February 1929) is an English actress, singer and broadcaster. For her role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC sitcom '' Keeping Up Appearances'' (1990–1995), she was nominated for the BAFTA TV Awar ...

as Ribby,

Struan Rodger Struan Rodger (born 18 September 1946) is a British actor who has appeared widely in a range of supporting roles. He appeared briefly in '' Who Is Killing the Great Chefs of Europe?'' in 1978 but his first major film role was as Eric Liddell' ...

as Samuel Whiskers, and

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. Hancock trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before starting her career in repertory theatre. Hancock went on to perform in plays and music ...

as Anna Maria.

References

;Footnotes ;Works cited * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding, The 1908 children's books British children's books British picture books Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding, The Tale of Children's books adapted into films Children's books adapted into television shows English-language books Books about cats Books about mice and rats Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding, The Tale of Frederick Warne & Co books