''The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding'' is a children's book written and illustrated by

Beatrix Potter Helen Beatrix Heelis (; 28 July 186622 December 1943), usually known as Beatrix Potter ( ), was an English writer, illustrator, natural scientist, and conservationist. She is best known for her children's books featuring animals, such as '' ...

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 Random House Children's Books and Penguin Random House, ...

. 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 adjective ''fancy'' for a ho ...

"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''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

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

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include '' Neotoma'' (pack rats), '' Bandicota'' (bandicoo ...

s, 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 () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...

, 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'' (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'' 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 The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

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

, '' The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends'' with the voices of Rosemary Leach as Tabitha Twitchet,

John Gordon Sinclair John Gordon Sinclair (born Gordon John Sinclair; 4 February 1962) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for playing Gregory in the 1981 film '' Gregory's Girl''. There was a Gordon Sinclair already registered with Equity, so he took John Gordon ...

as John Joiner, Patricia Routledge as Ribby, Struan Rodger as Samuel Whiskers, and

Sheila Hancock Dame Sheila Cameron Hancock (born 22 February 1933) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has performed on stage in both plays and musicals in London theatres, and is also known for her roles in films and on television. Her Broadway ...

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 children's books Children's books about cats Children's books about mice and rats Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding, The Tale of Frederick Warne & Co books