The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck by Beatrix Potter

This story features a white duck (yes, she is a duck, not a goose!) who has only one wish - to be able to lay her own eggs. Let's see how Beatrix Potter tells about her adventures - by her words and her illustrations.

The book was published in 1908 by Frederick Warne & Co., Inc., London, New York.

Jemima lived at the farm with some hens. Her major problem was the farmer's wife.

She took all Jemima's eggs but the duck wanted to hatch them.

Jemima tried to hide her eggs, yet they were always found and taken.

So Jemima Puddle-Duck decided to make her own nest somewhere away from the dangers of the farm.

Why not try to use the safety of the trees in the wood?

She could fly there ...

She just needs a good start.

She flew across the trees and decided to land on the open spot in the middle.

She looked among the flowers and thought there would be a nice place for her nest.

But there was somebody already there. A gentleman reading newspaper.

He was very helpful. The gentleman offered her to use his woodshed. It was already full of feathers.

The gentleman let her in.

There were really a lot of feathers.

Jemima started nesting right away. It was quite comfortable.

The gentleman was waiting outside and looked a bit disappointed when she went home.

He promised he'll look at the eggs while she was gone.

She returned every day until nine eggs were in the nest. The gentleman asked her to bring some herbs next time so he could make an omelet.

Jemima did her best to provide the gentleman with everything for stuffing roast duck.

In the kitchen, a collie stopped her and asked where is she going every day and why she needs onions. When she described the gentleman, the dog became angry.

He asked about the location of the shed in the wood. Then he invited two fox hounds to join him.

In the meantime, Jemima went towards the shed as well. She had a lot to carry.

The gentleman was waiting for her. He ordered her to go into his house right after she check the eggs. She was surprised by his rudeness.

While she was in the shed she heard loud noise from outside. There was a lot of barking and growling.

The gentleman apparently vanished!

When Jemima came out of the shed both fox hounds jumped in and gobbled all the eggs.

Jemima went home crying.

Sometime later, she lay a new batch of eggs, nobody took them from her and Jemima Puddle-Duck got four little ducklings.

Trivia

• Beatrix Potter had a real duck named Jemima Puddle-Duck and a sheepdog named Kep.
• The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck is number nine in the series of twenty-three original tales by the same author. All of them are still in print and there are also numerous adaptations to activity books, baby books, gift books, and sound books.
• The character of Jemima appeared in the ballet Tales of Beatrix Potter, Nick Jr. TV series Peter Rabbit, and in a combination of animated and live movie about Peter Rabbit (the first and most famous character created by Beatrix Potter).
• The favorite color of Jemima is purple.

Similarity with Little Red Riding Hood

• The essential plot is the same: the protagonist (Jemima instead of Red Riding Hood) goes into the wood, is tricked by the antagonist (the fox instead of the wolf), and the helper in the end (in this case dogs instead of the hunter).
• The theme of resurrection is presented by eggs. While in Red Riding Hood the granny and the girl are eaten, to be symbolically born again after the death of the wolf, in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck the first batch of eggs is eaten, and chickens are hatched (born) after the fox escaped.
• The dog's inquiry about the fox's house is mirroring the wolf's inquiry about the granny's house.
• The duck's quest for herbs is mirroring Red Riding Hood's flower picking.
• Naivety of the main characters in both tales are very similar and the messages are too: don't trust a stranger, even if he seems nice.

Here is a chance to refresh the memory of the Little Red Riding Hood and its symbols.

Till next time!