Perhaps you have read some of the stories Beatrix Potter wrote for
children. She lived in a time when most little girls her age did not go to
school. Those lucky girls who could go to school, learnt things and made
friends not possible outside school. Beatrix Potter’s father and mother thought
differently. So Beatrix Potter stayed at home and had no school friends. Her
childhood was a very lonesome one and she grew to be a thoughtful child. Her
only close friend was her brother. Without attending school she managed to
learn a great deal.
When Beatrix’s brother went away to school, she was left alone with a lot
of time to be by herself. She found a way to amuse herself by writing stories.
And sometimes she would make sketches, paintings and drawings to go with her
stories.
Beatrix’s favourite season was summer. This was because her brother would
come back from school during summer. And Beatrix Potter and her family would visit
the countryside for a holiday. All summer long, Beatrix had someone to play
with – her brother.
Beatrix and her brother loved the outdoors. They were deeply interested
in Nature. They would spend hours and hours outside, happily watching animals
play, deeply engrossed over plants and animals. They would watch frogs in a
lake. They would stop to see a wood louse making a house. They loved observing
the ways of animals.
On one particular summer, Beatrix and her brother began a collection of
plants and animals which they had to hide from their mother because they knew
that she would be horrified, disgusted and petrified at the sight of crawling
bugs and beetles, and wriggling snakes in her house. She would turn out the
whole collection of animals and plants at once and also prevent them from
spending their time outdoors.
Throughout the summer, brother and sister painted pictures of rabbits and
crows, farms and fields, flowers and furrows. Most of the time, Beatrix would
try to paint the animals and plants exactly the way they actually looked in
real life. But at times, she would paint a mouse wearing a hat or a rabbit with
a basket, just as in her stories. But soon the summer was over, Beatrix’s
family returned to their house and Beatrix’s brother was back at school. But
this time, Beatrix was no longer as lonely as she had once been. She had a new
friend – a rabbit called Peter whom she had found in the countryside. Beatrix’s
mother did not approve of Peter Rabbit, and informed Beatrix that she did not like
Peter Rabbit, and wanted him out of the house. But Beatrix managed to find ways
to take her pet rabbit to her room.
Beatrix grew up into a quiet young lady, knowing a good deal about plants
and animals. And she became a good artist. Her father and mother did not like
Beatrix to work. She began to think of an idea. She wanted the drawings to be
compiled into a book then, scientists would be able to look at them. But her
father and mother did not think that it was a good idea. Fortunately for
Beatrix, she had an uncle who did think that it would be a good idea. He sensed
talent in Beatrix, and took her to visit some scientists with whom he was
acquainted.
Unluckily, these scientists were not good people. They made dreadful
comments like, “She’s too young”, “She hasn’t been to school” and “She’s only a
girl!” Beatrix’s uncle was very annoyed with the scientists for disheartening
Beatrix.
“They are silly,” he remarked angrily to Beatrix. “You know as much as
they do. Your drawings are better than theirs.” Her uncle asked Beatrix to
write about a particular type of plant which he read out before a meeting of
scientists. Beatrix had a real flair for science.
Many of Beatrix’s friends had children with whom she often played. One of
them was a little boy, Noel. When Noel became ill, Beatrix started to write
letters to him. Most of the time, Beatrix would write to him about the things
that she and Peter Rabbit did. But when Noel was sick for long time, Beatrix
would make up stories and send those to him. Noel loved the stories. He showed
the story-letters to all his little friends. Everybody loved the story of Peter
Rabbit. And so Beatrix decided that she would have the stories made into a
book.
Peter Rabbit soon became one of the best-loved children’s story-books of
all time. If you read the book, you can tell the original drawings were done by
a person who knew all about animals. May be you also can tell they were done by
someone who learned to love little animals because they were her only friends.
