Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (Peter Rabbit)

"Once upon a time there was a little girl called Lucie, who lived at a farm called Little-town..." 'The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle' was first published in 1905, and is as charming today as it was then. It tells the tale of a hidden home, high in the hills. A little girl called Lucie discovers it one day, while in search of her missing pocket handkerchiefs. She knocks on the tiny door, and meets Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, who does all the washing and ironing for the neighboring animals. Lucie spends a lovely day helping her, and it's only right at the end of the day that she realizes that the small, round, twinkly-eyed washerwoman with prickles under her cap might not be all that she seems. As a child, Beatrix Potter knew a charming old Scottish country washerwoman called Kitty MacDonald. She served as the inspiration for the hardy old woman found in this tale.