The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse

The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse is a children's book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and first published by Frederick Warne & Co. In December 1918. The tale is based on the Aesop fable, "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse", 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 animated series.

The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse
First edition cover
AuthorBeatrix Potter
IllustratorBeatrix Potter
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
PublisherFrederick Warne & Co.
Publication date
December 1918
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (originally hardcover, but since printed in softcover as well)
Preceded byAppley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes 
Followed byCecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes 
TextThe Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse at Wikisource

Plot summary

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Johnny Town-Mouse visiting the country mouse Timmy Willie

The country mouse, Timmy Willie, falls asleep in a hamper, and is carried with the vegetables to the city, where the mice, including Johnny Town-Mouse, make him welcome, but finding the cat frightening and the food strange, he returns by the hamper. Sometime later, Johnny Town-Mouse pays him a visit, but finding such things as cows and lawnmowers frightening, returns to the city himself.

Adaptions

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An animated adaptation of the story, shown alongside The Tale of Two Bad Mice, was featured on The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends in 1995 with Johnny Town-Mouse voiced by British actor Hugh Laurie.

References

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Footnotes
Works cited
  • Lear, Linda (2007), Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, ISBN 0-312-37796-7
  • MacDonald, Ruth K. (1986), Beatrix Potter, Boston: Twayne Publishers, ISBN 0-8057-6917-X
  • Taylor, Judy; Whalley, Joyce Irene; Hobbs, Anne Stevenson; Battrick, Elizabeth M. (1987), Beatrix Potter 1866–1943: The Artist and Her World, F. Warne & Co. and The National Trust, ISBN 0-7232-3561-9
Bibliography
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