THE TALE OF

SQUIRREL NUTKIN

BY

BEATRIX POTTER

Author of"The Tale of Peter Rabbit"

FREDERICK WARNE

FREDERICK WARNE

1903 by Frederick Warne & Co.

Printed and bound in Great Britain byWilliam Clowes Limited, Beccles and London

A STORY FOR NORAH

This is a Tale about a tail—a tail that belonged to a little redsquirrel, and his name was Nutkin.

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

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

One autumn when the nuts were ripe, and the leaves on the hazel busheswere golden and green—Nutkin and Twinkleberry and all the other littlesquirrels came out of the wood, and down to the edge of the lake.

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

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

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

Then Twinkleberry and the other little squirrels each made a low bow, andsaid politely—

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

...