Jugami Storybooks

Storybooks · Grades K–2

The Tale of Tom Kitten

Three kittens, their best clothes, and three Puddle-Ducks! A story by Beatrix Potter, from her 1907 picture book.

Three kittens sit on top of a stone garden wall. Tom Kitten, a ginger kitten in a tight blue suit, is losing his buttons, and his hat is falling off. His sisters Moppet and Mittens wear white pinafores. Below them on the road, three white Puddle-ducks stand in a row and stare up at the kittens. Ferns grow on the rockery, and a farmhouse stands behind.

🧵 The story in brief

Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit is having friends to tea, so she dresses her three kittens in their best clothes and sends them into the garden.

Keeping clean is hard when you are a kitten! Soon there are grass smears, a garden wall, popping buttons… and three Puddle-Ducks.

📖 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

    Three little kittens

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “Once upon a time there were three little kittens, and their names were Mittens, Tom Kitten, and Moppet.”

    They had their own soft fur coats. They liked to tumble about on the doorstep and play in the dust.

  2. Part 2

    Getting ready for tea

    One day their mother, Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit, was expecting friends to tea. She fetched the kittens indoors to wash them and dress them.

    She scrubbed Moppet's face. She brushed Mittens' fur. Then she combed Tom's tail and whiskers.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “Tom was very naughty, and he scratched.”

  3. Part 3

    Too-tight clothes

    Mrs. Tabitha dressed Moppet and Mittens in clean pinafores and tuckers. Then she took out some fancy clothes for Tom. They looked smart, but they were not comfy at all!

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “Tom Kitten was very fat, and he had grown; several buttons burst off.”

    His mother sewed them on again.

  4. Part 4

    Out into the garden

    Mrs. Tabitha sent the kittens out into the garden, to be out of the way while she made hot buttered toast.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “Now keep your frocks clean, children! You must walk on your hind legs.”

    She told them to keep away from the dirty ash-pit, the hen Sally Henny Penny, the pig-sty and the Puddle-Ducks.

  5. Part 5

    Oops! Green smears

    Moppet and Mittens wobbled down the garden path. They trod on their pinafores and fell on their noses!

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “When they stood up there were several green smears!”

    So they climbed up the rockery to sit on the garden wall. On the way, Moppet's white tucker fell down into the road.

  6. Part 6

    Tom on the wall

    Tom could not jump in his trousers, walking on his hind legs. He climbed up slowly, breaking the ferns, with buttons popping off left and right.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “He was all in pieces when he reached the top of the wall.”

    Moppet and Mittens tried to tidy him up. But his hat fell off, and the rest of his buttons burst!

  7. pit pat!
    Part 7

    Here come the Puddle-Ducks

    Then three Puddle-Ducks came marching along the road, one behind the other.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “pit pat paddle pat! pit pat waddle pat!”

    They stopped in a row and stared up at the kittens. Then two of the ducks, Rebeccah and Jemima, picked up the hat and the tucker and put them on!

  8. Part 8

    Mr. Drake helps… himself

    Mittens laughed so much that she fell off the wall. Moppet and Tom came down after her, and all the rest of Tom's clothes came off on the way.

    Moppet asked Mr. Drake Puddle-Duck to help them dress Tom. He picked up all the clothes. But he put them on himself! They fitted him even worse than they fitted Tom.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “It's a very fine morning!”

  9. Part 9

    Not fit to be seen

    The ducks waddled off up the road. Then Mrs. Tabitha came down the garden and found her kittens on the wall with no clothes on. She was not pleased!

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “My friends will arrive in a minute, and you are not fit to be seen; I am affronted”

    Affronted means upset and embarrassed. She sent the kittens upstairs. She told her friends they were in bed with the measles, but that was not true! The kittens were not in bed at all. Her friends heard very funny noises from upstairs while they had their tea.

  10. Part 10

    Splash!

    And the Puddle-Ducks? They went into a pond.

    Beatrix Potter wrote: “The clothes all came off directly, because there were no buttons.”

    Mr. Drake, Jemima and Rebeccah have been looking for them ever since! The End.

💛 Big idea

Oops happens, and the truth helps. The kittens did not mean to lose their clothes. Everyone makes mistakes! Mrs. Tabitha told her friends a fib about the measles, but telling the truth is the best way to fix a mess. When something goes wrong, you can say what happened and say sorry.

🐱 Meet the characters

🧺 Who did it?

Lots of things happen in this story! Look at each picture, read the clue, and tap who did it.

For grown-ups: every clue comes from Beatrix Potter's story. Tap 🔈 to hear each one.

1. Her white tucker fell down into the road

2. Shed buttons right and left while climbing the rockery

3. Laughed so much that she fell off the wall

4. Put Tom's clothes on himself

5. Made hot buttered toast for tea

6. Picked up the hat and tucker and put them on

Score: 0 of 6

🔤 New words

🧵 The Tom Kitten 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 dress up her kittens?

2. What happened to Tom's buttons?

3. Where did the kittens climb?

4. Who put on Tom's clothes?

5. What did Mrs. Tabitha tell her friends?

6. What happened when the ducks went into the pond?

Score: 0 of 6

💬 Let's talk about it

There are no wrong answers. Talk with a grown-up or a friend.

✏️ About Beatrix Potter and her book