Page 54 - New Medley 3 Semester 1

of candles. Mouse voices sang loudly and happily as they stitched and

worked. They could enter or leave any place even if the doors were
locked. Simpkin was not able to enter the shop as it was locked. He

returned and felt bad to have been selfish and hidden the ‘twist’. The
mice were good and helpful.

On Christmas morning, the tailor awoke and went to the shop.
Simpkin also ran in.

But upon the table was a big surprise! The tailor gave a shout! The
shop was absolutely clean and on the table was the most beautiful

coat and embroidered waistcoat that was ever worn by a Mayor of
Gloucester.

There were roses and pansies on the selfish caring about self only
coat and the waistcoat had poppies and absolutely completely
cornflowers. However, one buttonhole was pansies garden plants with

unfinished because there was no more brightly coloured flowers

‘twist’. Simpkin gave the tailor the ‘twist’ poppies plants with large red-
coloured flowers
to complete the work.

And from then began the luck of the tailor. He grew very rich! He
made the most wonderful waistcoats for rich merchants and fine
gentlemen there. The stitches of the button-holes were very small and

looked as if they had been made by little mice!

—Adapted from ‘The Tailor of Gloucester’ by Helen Beatrix Potter

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Helen Beatrix Potter (1886–1943) was an English writer who is
popular for her children’s stories like ‘The Tale of Peter Rabbit’,
‘The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin’, ‘The Tailor of Gloucester’ and
‘The Tale of Two Bad Mice’, to name a few. She was best known
for her children books with animal characters. She often made
the illustrations herself. She was also a nature lover and fond of
farming. Her stories are widely read even today.

52