Two little mice, a doll's house, and a dinner that is only pretend! A story by Beatrix Potter, from her 1904 picture book.
🏠 The story in brief
While the dolls Lucinda and Jane are out for a drive, two mice called Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca creep into the doll's house, where a lovely dinner is laid out on the table.
But the dinner is only pretend! The mice get cross and make a big mess. Then they find a way to make it right.
📖 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
A beautiful doll's house
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Once upon a time there was a very beautiful doll's-house; it was red brick with white windows, and it had real muslin curtains and a front door and a chimney.”
It belonged to two dolls called Lucinda and Jane. Jane was the Cook, but she never did any cooking!
Part 2
A pretend dinner
The dinner had been bought ready-made, in a box. There were two red lobsters, a ham, a fish, a pudding, and some pears and oranges.
It was pretend food for dolls, and it was stuck onto the plates.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “They would not come off the plates, but they were extremely beautiful.”
One morning, Lucinda and Jane went out for a drive in the doll's perambulator. The nursery was empty and very quiet.
Part 3
Who is in the mouse-hole?
Then there was a little scuffling, scratching noise near the fire-place. Under the skirting-board was a hole. A little head popped out, and popped in again.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Tom Thumb was a mouse.”
A minute later, Hunca Munca, his wife, put her head out too. No one was there! So the two mice crept across the hearthrug and pushed open the doll's-house door.
Part 4
A lovely dinner!
Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca went upstairs and peeped into the dining-room. Then they squeaked with joy!
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Such a lovely dinner was laid out upon the table!”
There were tin spoons, little knives and forks, and two dolly-chairs. Just right for two mice!
Part 5
A very hard ham
Tom Thumb tried to cut the ham. But the knife crumpled up and hurt him, and he put his finger in his mouth.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “It is not boiled enough; it is hard. You have a try, Hunca Munca.”
Hunca Munca stood up in her chair and chopped at the ham. The ham broke off the plate with a jerk and rolled under the table! And the fish was glued to its dish.
Part 6
Bang, bang, smash!
Tom Thumb got very cross. He put the ham on the floor and hit it with the tongs. Bang, bang, smash, smash!
Beatrix Potter wrote: “The ham flew all into pieces, for underneath the shiny paint it was made of nothing but plaster!”
Plaster is hard and white, a bit like chalk. The food was only pretend! The mice were so disappointed that they broke up the pudding, the lobsters, the pears and the oranges too.
Part 7
More surprises
Tom Thumb climbed up the kitchen chimney to look for soot, but there was none. It was a pretend chimney!
Hunca Munca found tins on the dresser. They said Rice, Coffee and Sago. But when she turned them upside down, there was…
Beatrix Potter wrote: “nothing inside except red and blue beads.”
Part 8
Two cheeky mice
Then the mice got up to all the mischief they could, especially Tom Thumb! He threw Jane's clothes out of the top floor window.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “But Hunca Munca had a frugal mind.”
Frugal means careful not to waste things. Hunca Munca needed a feather bed! So the two mice carried Lucinda's bolster, a long pillow, across the hearthrug and squeezed it into their mouse-hole.
Part 9
The dolls come home
Hunca Munca went back for more: a chair, a book-case, a bird-cage and a cradle. The book-case and the bird-cage would not fit into the mouse-hole!
Then there was a noise of talking outside. The mice rushed back to their hole, and the dolls came into the nursery.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “What a sight met the eyes of Jane and Lucinda!”
Lucinda sat on the upset kitchen stove and stared. Jane leant against the kitchen dresser and smiled. But neither of them said a word.
Part 10
Making it right
The little girl who owned the doll's house saw the mess. She had a plan to keep the mice away.
Beatrix Potter wrote: “I will get a doll dressed like a policeman!”
So those were the two Bad Mice. But they were not so very naughty after all, because…
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Tom Thumb paid for everything he broke.”
He found a crooked sixpence under the hearthrug. On Christmas Eve, he and Hunca Munca put it in one of the dolls' stockings. And very early every morning, before anybody is awake…
Beatrix Potter wrote: “Hunca Munca comes with her dust-pan and her broom to sweep the Dollies' house!”
The End.
💛 Big idea
When you make a mess, you can make it right. Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca were disappointed and cross, and they broke things. Everyone gets cross sometimes! But Tom Thumb paid for what he broke, and Hunca Munca helps every morning by sweeping the doll's house. Saying sorry and helping to fix things is a kind thing to do.
🐭 Meet the characters
Tom Thumb
A little brown mouse who lives in a hole under the skirting-board. He gets very cross with the pretend ham!
Hunca Munca
Tom Thumb's wife. She has a frugal mind, so she takes home things she can use, like a bolster for a feather bed.
Lucinda
A doll. The doll's house is really hers, but she never orders any meals.
Jane
A doll who is the Cook. But she never does any cooking, because the dinner is pretend!
The policeman doll
The little girl who owns the doll's house says she will get a doll dressed like a policeman.
🧺 What happened?
Lots of things in the doll's house were only pretend! Look at each picture, read the clue, and tap what happened.
For grown-ups: every clue comes from Beatrix Potter's story. Tap 🔈 to hear each one.
1. Tom Thumb hit the ham with the tongs. What was inside?
2. Tins on the dresser said Rice, Coffee and Sago. What was inside?
3. Hunca Munca tried every tin spoon on the fish. What happened?
4. Lucinda's long bolster pillow. Where did it go?
5. Jane's clothes. What did Tom Thumb do with them?
6. The little cradle. Who has it now?
Score: 0 of 6
🔤 New words
Tap 🔈 to hear a word and what it means.
muslin
A thin, light cotton cloth, often used for curtains.
perambulator
An old word for a baby's pram or buggy.
plaster
A hard white stuff, a bit like chalk, used to make models and walls.
frugal
Careful not to waste things, and good at saving.
bolster
A long, round pillow that goes across the top of a bed.
sixpence
A small silver coin that was used in England long ago.
🧀 The Two Bad Mice 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. Who were Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca?
2. Where did the mice live?
3. Why couldn't the mice eat the dinner?
4. What did Hunca Munca want the bolster for?
5. What did the little girl say she would get?
6. How did Tom Thumb pay for what he broke?
Score: 0 of 6
💬 Let's talk about it
There are no wrong answers. Talk with a grown-up or a friend.
How do you think the mice felt when the ham turned out to be plaster?
What toys do you have that look real but are only pretend?
Was it fair for the mice to take the dolls' things? Why or why not?
How did Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca make things right?
Have you ever helped to fix something after a mistake? What did you do?
Yes! Beatrix Potter rescued two mice at her cousin's home. Hunca Munca became her pet, and she drew her for the book.
Where do the names come from?
Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca are names from an old play called Tom Thumb, by Henry Fielding.
Was the doll's house real?
Yes. Her editor, Norman Warne, built a doll's house as a Christmas present for his niece Winifred, and Beatrix Potter drew it. He also sent her two dolls to draw.
Who is the book for?
It is for Winifred Warne, “the little girl who had the doll's house.” She lent Beatrix Potter her own policeman doll to draw!
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.