Peter Rabbit, A Classic Story 1968- There he goes to Mr. McGregor's!!!

There Goes Peter Cottontail, Hopping down the Bunny Trail... "Eerrrrrt!" Oh! No! He's Heading Toward the PARSNIPS!

    The printing of this Little Golden Book is dated 1968 as a 5th printing. It has the copyright year of 1958 by the author, Beatrix Potter with illustrator Driana Mazza Saviozzi and is printed in the USA. 

Synopsis: A rabbit doesn't listen to his mother's rules and finds himself getting into big trouble!

    There always seems to be one child in the family that gets into more mischief than the others. I know some kids just can't control the temptations set before them. We've all been there, ie; "Don't touch the paint it's still wet... Don't eat the cookie it has to cool... Don't play with the toys' they are not ours." 

    We all are curious, it's a known human trait. As babies, it's how we discover our world. If we didn't have parents or elders looking out for us, more than most likely we wouldn't survive. There are too many elements working against us in our known world. We need protection until we can understand the dangers.

    Peter's mother knew her brood was at the age of making good decisions for themselves, but she had to throw in that little reminder, "don't go into Mr. McGregor's garden, your father was put into a pie."

    The idea of being put in a pie is not only revolting, but it's also quite shocking to hear spoken in such a matter-of-fact way. It was meant to give the wee ones a jolt, to be sure! Here are the consequences spelled out to you if you get caught you will be eaten, so why take the risk. I also wonder whether or not Mother bunny was a bit miffed at Father bunny for being self-indulgent, careless, and so unthoughtful in his choices; especially now because she would be raising the family on her own.

    With Peter, his mother's words only made him more curious. Peter needed to identify with his Father's choices. "Why would my Father risk his life for the goodies in McGregor's garden? They must be mighty tasty if he was willing to do it." Maybe I too, need to go find out. We all identify with this in many ways, our curiosity is a given, it is built-in.

    Without curiosity, even if it leads to an unfortunate event, where would we be in this world? If no one took a chance, no one would ever move forward into discovering new things! It's the risk-takers, the so-called entrepreneurs, who push the envelope that opens new doors and opportunities.

    As a child, yes it's true, parents know what is best for their children. After Peter's close escape, the mother handled the situation well by not going on chastising Peter for being naughty. She knew that what he went through, encountering McGregor and a near-death experience, was punishment enough and a lesson well learned. She didn't have to scold or get angry at him. 

We have all been in the "should I or shouldn't I" decision-making process. Peter had plenty of growing up time to delve over his father's particular misfortune, he knew what the outcome would be if caught. All risks have their repercussions if taken. We learn by mistakes as long as we have a second chance.