The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan

The Tale of the Pie and the Patty
Pan

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Title: The Tale of the Pie and the Patty Pan
Author: Beatrix Potter
Release Date: March 2, 2005 [EBook #15234]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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THE PATTY PAN ***

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[Illustration: BUTTER AND MILK FROM THE FARM]
THE TALE OF
THE PIE AND THE PATTY-PAN
BY BEATRIX POTTER
Author of _"The Tale of Peter Rabbit," &c._
_Pussy-cat sits by the fire--how should she be fair?_ _In walks the little
dog--says "Pussy are you there?_ _How do you do Mistress Pussy?

Mistress Pussy, how do you do?"_ _"I thank you kindly, little dog. I
fare as well as you!"_
_Old Rhyme._
FREDERICK WARNE

[Illustration]
FREDERICK WARNE
Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England Viking
Penguin Inc., 40 West 23rd Street, New York, New York 10010, U.S.A.
Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin
Books Canada Ltd, 2801 John Street, Markham, Ontario, Canada L3R
1B4 Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10,
New Zealand
First published 1905 This impression 1985
Printed and bound in Great Britain by William Clowes Limited,
Beccles and London

[Illustration]
Once upon a time there was a Pussy-cat called Ribby, who invited a
little dog called Duchess, to tea.
"Come in good time, my dear Duchess," said Ribby's letter, "and we
will have something so very nice. I am baking it in a pie-dish--a
pie-dish with a pink rim. You never tasted anything so good! And you
shall eat it all! I will eat muffins, my dear Duchess!" wrote Ribby.
Duchess read the letter and wrote an answer:--"I will come with much
pleasure at a quarter past four. But it is very strange. I was just going to
invite you to come here, to supper, my dear Ribby, to eat something
most delicious.
"I will come very punctually, my dear Ribby," wrote Duchess; and then
at the end she added--"I hope it isn't mouse?"
[Illustration: THE INVITATION]
And then she thought that did not look quite polite; so she scratched out
"isn't mouse" and changed it to "I hope it will be fine," and she gave
her letter to the postman.

But she thought a great deal about Ribby's pie, and she read Ribby's
letter over and over again.
"I am dreadfully afraid it will be mouse!" said Duchess to herself--"I
really couldn't, _couldn't_ eat mouse pie. And I shall have to eat it,
because it is a party. And my pie was going to be veal and ham. A pink
and white pie-dish! and so is mine; just like Ribby's dishes; they were
both bought at Tabitha Twitchit's."
Duchess went into her larder and took the pie off a shelf and looked at
it.
[Illustration]
"It is all ready to put into the oven. Such lovely pie-crust; and I put in a
little tin patty-pan to hold up the crust; and I made a hole in the middle
with a fork to let out the steam--Oh I do wish I could eat my own pie,
instead of a pie made of mouse!"
Duchess considered and considered and read Ribby's letter again--
"A pink and white pie-dish--and you shall eat it all. 'You' means
me--then Ribby is not going to even taste the pie herself? A pink and
white pie-dish! Ribby is sure to go out to buy the muffins.... Oh what a
good idea! Why shouldn't I rush along and put my pie into Ribby's
oven when Ribby isn't there?"
[Illustration]
Duchess was quite delighted with her own cleverness!
Ribby in the meantime had received Duchess's answer, and as soon as
she was sure that the little dog could come--she popped her pie into the
oven. There were two ovens, one above the other; some other knobs
and handles were only ornamental and not intended to open. Ribby put
the pie into the lower oven; the door was very stiff.
"The top oven bakes too quickly," said Ribby to herself. "It is a pie of
the most delicate and tender mouse minced up with bacon. And I have
taken out all the bones; because Duchess did nearly choke herself with
a fish-bone last time I gave a party. She eats a little fast--rather big
mouthfuls. But a most genteel and elegant little dog; infinitely superior
company to Cousin Tabitha Twitchit."
[Illustration: THE PIE