The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

🐸 The story in brief

📖 The story, part by part

Tap “Read it to me” to listen, or read each part with a grown-up. The green boxes show Beatrix Potter's own words.

1. Part 1

   A damp little house

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “Once upon a time there was a frog called Mr. Jeremy Fisher; he lived in a little damp house amongst the buttercups at the edge of a pond.”

   The water was all “slippy-sloppy” in his larder and back passage. But Mr. Jeremy liked getting his feet wet. Nobody ever scolded him, and he never caught a cold!

2. Part 2

   Off to go fishing

   One day Mr. Jeremy looked out and saw big drops of rain splashing in the pond. He was very pleased!

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “I will get some worms and go fishing and catch a dish of minnows for my dinner,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

   If he caught more than five fish, he would ask his friends to dinner. So he put on his macintosh and his shiny goloshes, took his rod and basket, and set off with enormous hops.

3. Part 3

   A lily-leaf boat

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “The boat was round and green, and very like the other lily-leaves.”

   Mr. Jeremy took a reed pole and pushed the boat out into the pond. He knew a good place for minnows! There he stuck his pole into the mud and tied the boat to it.

4. Part 4

   Waiting for a bite

   Mr. Jeremy sat down cross-legged and got his fishing things ready. His rod was a tough stalk of grass, and his line was a long white horse-hair.

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “He had the dearest little red float.”

   The rain trickled down his back. For nearly an hour he stared at the float. But no fish came!

5. Part 5

   A butterfly sandwich

   Mr. Jeremy was getting bored, so he pushed his boat back among the water-plants for lunch.

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “I will eat a butterfly sandwich, and wait till the shower is over,” said Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

   A big water-beetle came up under the lily-leaf and tweaked the toe of his golosh! Mr. Jeremy tucked his legs up out of reach. Then something rustled in the rushes, so he moved his boat away.

6. Part 6

   Is it a minnow?

   Mr. Jeremy dropped in his line, and the float gave a big bob. A bite!

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “A minnow! a minnow! I have him by the nose!” cried Mr. Jeremy Fisher.

   But it was not a minnow. It was little Jack Sharp the stickleback, covered with spines! He flapped about the boat, pricking Mr. Jeremy's fingers. Then he jumped back into the water.

7. Part 7

   The fishes laugh

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “And a shoal of other little fishes put their heads out, and laughed at Mr. Jeremy Fisher.”

   Poor Mr. Jeremy sat on the edge of his boat, sucking his sore fingers and looking down into the water.

8. Part 8

   The big trout

   Then a great big trout came up with a splash! It snapped up Mr. Jeremy and dived down to the bottom of the pond.

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “But the trout was so displeased with the taste of the macintosh, that in less than half a minute it spat him out again…”

   The trout did not like the taste of his raincoat at all! The only thing it kept was his goloshes.

9. Part 9

   Home again

   Mr. Jeremy bounced up to the top of the water like a cork, and swam with all his might to the edge of the pond. He hopped home across the meadow, with his macintosh all in tatters. He had lost his rod and basket, too.

   Beatrix Potter wrote: “I am sure I should never have dared to go fishing again!” said Mr. Jeremy.

10. Part 10

    Dinner with friends

    Mr. Jeremy put some sticking plaster on his fingers, and his two friends came to dinner. There was no fish, but he had something else in his larder.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “Sir Isaac Newton wore his black and gold waistcoat”, and Mr. Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise “brought a salad with him in a string bag.”

    They had a roasted grasshopper with lady-bird sauce. Frogs think that is a beautiful treat. But Beatrix Potter was not so sure.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “I think it must have been nasty!”

💛 Big idea

Even a soggy, sorry day can end with a happy dinner. Mr. Jeremy caught no minnows, got pricked by a stickleback and lost his rod, his basket and his goloshes. But he got home safe, put plaster on his sore fingers, and had a happy dinner with his friends. When things go wrong, what helps you feel better?

🐸 Meet the characters

• Mr. Jeremy Fisher

  A frog who lives in a damp little house by a pond. He likes getting his feet wet, and he loves to go fishing.

• Jack Sharp

  A little stickleback fish, covered with spines. He pricks Mr. Jeremy's fingers!

• The trout

  A great big enormous fish who lives in the pond. It does not like the taste of Mr. Jeremy's macintosh, but it swallows his goloshes!

• Sir Isaac Newton

  Mr. Jeremy's friend, a newt. He comes to dinner in his black and gold waistcoat.

• Mr. Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise

  Mr. Jeremy's friend, a tortoise. He eats salad, so he brings his own in a string bag.

✏️ About Beatrix Potter and her book

• When did it come out?

  In July 1906. Frederick Warne & Co. printed it, just like The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

• Where did the idea come from?

  It started as a picture letter that Beatrix Potter wrote to a child in 1893, about a frog who went fishing.

• Where is the pond?

  When she made the book, she drew the pond and water plants in the English Lake District, a place she loved.

• Did she like frogs?

  Yes! She kept pet frogs when she was young, and she loved drawing plants and animals just as they really look.

• Who is the book for?

  It says “For Stephanie from Cousin B.” Stephanie Hyde Parker was the daughter of Beatrix Potter's cousin Ethel.

• Who drew the pictures?

  Beatrix Potter wrote the words and painted the pictures herself. The pictures on this page are new ones, drawn for Jugami.