The Tale of Peter Rabbit's Author(a)|波特小姐的异想世界

The Tale of Peter Rabbit's Author

by Paul Hines

Beatrix Potter's magical childhood inspired a much-loved series of children's books.

　　Once upon a time, there was a wealthy aristocratic family. They lived in a lavish home in the English countryside. The grandparents owned the largest printing company in the whole of England, and the father was a fine, upstanding barrister. The mother was overtly artistic. She taught her two adorable children, a boy named Walter and a girl named Beatrix, from an early age to draw and paint. Beatrix especially loved to paint and developed her own style using watercolors. Everyone in the family loved nature, and the children had many pets, including a fluffy rabbit named Peter. Beatrix and Walter would spend hours watching the behavior of the pet rabbit and would often laugh at his almost human-like personality.The children didn't go to school because a governess taught them at home. The children both loved the governess very much, and they eagerly studied languages, literature, and science.

　　One day, the governess, whose name was Annie Moore, told Beatrix that her five- year-old son, Noel, was very sick. Beatrix, who by then had grown up, decided that she would write a story, complete with accompanying sketches, to cheer up Noel. She then created the character named Peter Rabbit, inspired by her family's love of nature, her own love of literature, and her observations of her much-loved childhood pet rabbit.

　　The story that Beatrix Potter created centers on Peter Rabbit, his mother, Mrs. Josephine Rabbit, and his three sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton tail. The family live in an exquisitely furnished rabbit hole, and Mrs. Rabbit has a shop that sells all manner of goods.

　　The Tale of Peter Rabbit is now one of the world's best-loved children's stories, and of course, everyone lived happily ever after.

 

波特小姐的异想世界

碧雅翠丝‧波特充满惊奇的童年，激发出深受喜爱的一系列童书。

　　从前，有个非常富有的豪门贵族。他们住在英国乡村一间豪华的房子里。祖父母拥有全英国最大的印刷公司，父亲是一名优秀正直的律师。母亲则拥有鲜明的艺术气息。她从两个可爱的孩子（男孩叫瓦尔特，女孩叫碧雅翠丝）还年幼的时候便指导他们画画与上色。碧雅翠丝特别喜爱着色，她运用水彩发展出自己的一套风格。这个家族里的每个人都热爱大自然，孩子们拥有许多宠物，其中包括一只毛绒绒的兔子名叫彼得。碧雅翠丝和瓦尔特会花上好几个小时观察这只宠物兔的行为，且时常会因牠那几近人类般的性格而发笑。孩子们没有上学，因为有个女家庭教师在家里教导他们。两个小孩都非常喜爱这位女家庭教师，而且他们热衷于学习语言、文学和科学。

　　有一天，这位名叫安妮‧摩尔的女家庭教师告诉碧雅翠丝，说她五岁的儿子诺耶病得非常严重。当时的碧雅翠丝已经长大了，她决定要写个故事并加上插画来为诺耶打气。于是她以他们家对大自然的喜爱、自己对文学的热爱，以及童年时期她对极为喜爱的宠物兔的观察作为发想，创造出一只名为彼得兔的角色。

　　碧雅翠丝‧波特所创造的故事以彼得兔以及兔妈妈约瑟芬太太，和三个姊姊弗洛普西、默普西跟棉球尾为中心。牠们一家住在一个布置得非常精美的兔子洞里，而兔妈妈还有一间贩售各式各样商品的商店。

　　《彼得兔的故事》是当今世上最受喜爱的童书之一，当然，从此之后每个人都过着幸福快乐的日子。