Peter Rabbit, Based on the Movie by Frederick Warne

Author:Frederick Warne
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2018-01-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

NEW BEST FRIENDS?

The truck stops outside Bea’s cottage. McGregor and Bea head inside. The rabbits jump out of the truck and shimmy up the side of the cottage, eager to listen in. They land with a light thud on the glass roof of Bea’s conservatory. The rabbits want to see everything that is going on between their beloved Bea and McGregor.

“Would you like something to drink?” Bea asks McGregor.

“Yes, thanks. Are these yours?” McGregor points to the paintings scattered around the room.

“Yes, but they’re not very good,” says Bea, rushing over to try to cover the painting that McGregor is looking at.

“This is beautiful. What a majestic mountain,” he says, tilting his head.

“It’s an old woman in a hat,” says Bea, correcting him.

“Ah, yes. I see,” says McGregor. He tries but is having trouble seeing the woman, or the hat.

“What about these?” he asks, when he notices Bea’s paintings of rabbits.

“Oh, that’s just for fun. It’s what I paint to avoid working on my real stuff,” says Bea.

“These . . . these are wonderful,” says McGregor as he looks through the stack of bunny paintings.

“You don’t have to say that,” says Bea. She finds it difficult to accept compliments about her work.

“It just shows how good they are if I like them, given how much I hate rabbits. Somehow, you manage to make them not look like the vermin they are.”

“You think rabbits are vermin?” asks Bea. She really hopes Thomas is joking. It would be terrible if he hated rabbits!

“Yes. That was a joke. I’m hilarious. And whimsical,” says McGregor hastily. He doesn’t want Bea to stop smiling at him.

“Rabbits are perfect creatures. They’re generous. Honest. Pure. You should see the way they act toward each other. They do this incredible thing when they’re apologizing.”

“Apologizing? Rabbits apologize?” Thomas does not believe it. How can rabbits apologize?

“They’re very emotional, intuitive little things. They put their heads together like this.” Bea puts her forehead on McGregor’s forehead. “Anyway,” says Bea, breaking eye contact. “You’ll see. You’ll grow to love them.”

She pours out some blackberry spa water.

“I’m allergic to blackberries,” says McGregor, dragging his eyes from Bea’s beautiful face to stare at the glass in front of him. “My throat swells up, I get all purple and blotchy. Like an actual blackberry.”

“Well, we don’t want that to happen,” says Bea, taking out the berries and tossing them in the garbage. Peter can’t believe it. Those were delicious-looking blackberries! He lunges at the window but Benjamin grabs him and holds him back.

Bea refills Thomas’s glass and his hand brushes against hers. Bea and Thomas look at each other and smile.

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