Tom Kitten hides up the chimney and meets two big rats under the floor! A story by Beatrix Potter, from her 1908 picture book.
🏠 The story in brief
On baking day, Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit wants to shut her three kittens in a cupboard, but Tom Kitten hides up the chimney. He gets lost in the dark, and tumbles into a little room under the attic floor, where two rats live: Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria.
The rats wrap Tom up in dough to make a roly-poly pudding. Mrs. Tabitha and Cousin Ribby hear the rolling-pin under the floor, and send for John Joiner the dog, who saws up the floor. The rats run away to Farmer Potatoes' barn, and Tom is safe.
📖 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.
Part 1
Baking day
Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit was a mother cat with three kittens: Tom Kitten, Moppet and Mittens. They were always getting lost, and getting into mischief!
Beatrix Potter wrote: “She used to lose her kittens continually, and whenever they were lost they were always in mischief!”
On baking day, she wanted to shut them up in a cupboard. She caught Moppet and Mittens, but she could not find Tom.
The cupboard door was not locked, so Moppet and Mittens pushed it open and went to pat the dough.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Shall we make dear little muffins?”
Part 2
Up the chimney
Tom Kitten did not want to be shut in a cupboard, so he hid up the big old chimney. The fire had only just been lit, and it was not hot.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “The chimney itself was wide enough inside for a man to stand up and walk about.”
Tom climbed up and up. It was dark and sooty, and he got quite lost. Then he squeezed through a hole in the wall, and tumbled down into a little room he had never seen before.
Part 3
Cousin Ribby comes to help
Just then, Cousin Ribby the cat knocked at the door. Moppet jumped into the flour barrel, and Mittens hid in a jar in the dairy.
Mrs. Tabitha was very upset. She could not find any of her kittens! So Ribby helped her search the whole house.
They found Moppet in the flour barrel and Mittens in the jar. Up in the attic, they heard something strange under the floor.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “They both heard a curious roly-poly noise under the attic floor.”
Part 4
Samuel Whiskers
The little room under the attic floor belonged to an enormous old rat called Samuel Whiskers, and his wife Anna Maria.
Tom had landed right on Samuel Whiskers' bed! Tom was very polite.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Please sir, the chimney wants sweeping,”
But the rats were not friendly. They would not let Tom go. Then they went off to fetch some things.
Part 5
The roly-poly pudding
Samuel Whiskers took a pat of butter and a rolling-pin from the dairy. Anna Maria took some dough from the kitchen.
The rats wrapped Tom in the dough, to make a roly-poly pudding. The rolling-pin went roly-poly, roly. That was the noise the cats could hear!
But the rats could not agree about the pudding. Samuel Whiskers thought it smelled sooty, and Tom's tail was sticking out.
Part 6
John Joiner saves the day
Ribby knew just what to do.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “We must send for John Joiner at once, with a saw.”
John Joiner was a dog who was a carpenter. He sawed up a board in the attic floor. When the rats heard the saw, they ran away!
Under the floor was Tom Kitten, safe, in a very dirty dumpling. The cats took the dough off him and gave him a nice hot bath. Tom was all right.
Part 7
Off to the barn
That afternoon, Miss Potter saw Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria hurrying up the lane, with their bundles on a little wheel-barrow.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “I am sure I never gave her leave to borrow my wheel-barrow!”
The rats moved into the barn of Farmer Potatoes. After that, there were no more rats at Tabitha Twitchit's for a long time.
As for Tom Kitten, he has been a little bit afraid of rats ever since.
💛 Big idea
Tom Kitten hid where nobody could find him, in a place he did not know. The old chimney was dark and full of twisty passages, and he soon got lost and into a sticky mess. His family never stopped looking for him, and with Cousin Ribby and John Joiner they got him back. If you want to hide, pick a safe place your grown-ups know, and if you ever get lost, call out for help.
🐱 Meet the characters
Tom Kitten
A kitten in a little blue jacket. He hides up the chimney so he will not be shut in a cupboard.
Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit
Tom's mother. She is an anxious mother cat who keeps losing her kittens.
Moppet and Mittens
Tom's sisters. Moppet hides in the flour barrel, and Mittens hides in a jar in the dairy.
Cousin Ribby
A cat who lives nearby. She is not afraid of rats, and she helps look for Tom.
Samuel Whiskers
An enormous old rat who lives under the attic floor. He takes snuff and likes pudding.
Anna Maria
Samuel Whiskers' wife. She wears a little white cap.
John Joiner
A dog who is a carpenter. He comes with his saw and takes up the attic floor.
🧶 What happened?
What a busy day in the old house! Look at each picture, read the clue, and tap the right answer.
For grown-ups: every clue comes from Beatrix Potter's story. Tap 🔈 to hear each one.
1. Where did Moppet hide?
2. Where did Tom Kitten hide?
3. What did Samuel Whiskers take from the dairy?
4. What did Anna Maria take from the kitchen?
5. Who came with a saw to take up the floor?
6. What did the rats use to carry their bundles away?
Score: 0 of 6
🔤 New words
Tap 🔈 to hear a word and what it means.
chimney
A tall tube of bricks or stone that takes the smoke from a fire up and out of the roof.
soot
Black dust that smoke leaves inside a chimney.
dough
A soft mix of flour and water that is baked to make bread or pastry.
rolling-pin
A round stick of wood that you roll over dough to make it flat.
attic
The room right at the top of a house, under the roof.
joiner
A carpenter, someone who makes and mends things made of wood.
🐱 The Tale of Samuel Whiskers quiz
How much do you remember? Tap the right answer for each question.
For grown-ups: each question has a 🔈 button so pre-readers can hear it. Works with a keyboard too (Tab to move, Enter to choose).
1. Why did Mrs. Tabitha want to shut the kittens in a cupboard?
2. Who is Ribby?
3. Who did Tom Kitten find under the attic floor?
4. Who is Samuel Whiskers?
5. What noise did the cats hear under the attic floor?
6. Where did Samuel Whiskers and Anna Maria go at the end?
Score: 0 of 6
💬 Let's talk about it
There are no wrong answers. Talk with a grown-up or a friend.
Why do you think Tom Kitten hid up the chimney?
How do you think Mrs. Tabitha felt when she could not find Tom?
Who helped to find Tom? How did they help?
Where is a safe place to play hide and seek?
What would you do if you got lost?
✏️ About Beatrix Potter and her book
When did it come out?
In October 1908. Frederick Warne & Co. printed it, just like The Tale of Peter Rabbit. At first it was called The Roly-Poly Pudding. It got its new name, The Tale of Samuel Whiskers, in 1926.
A real house
The cats' old house was drawn from Hill Top, Beatrix Potter's own farmhouse in the Lake District in England.
A real Sammy
Beatrix Potter wrote the book for her own pet rat, called Sammy.
Beatrix Potter wrote the words and painted the pictures herself. She even put herself in this story! The pictures on this page are new ones, drawn for Jugami.