Poor Mr McGregor

Mr McGregor is an elderly gardener who makes his first appearance in The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902). He was originally intended to share title honors with Peter. Potter's manuscript title was The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor's Garden but McGregor and his garden were dropped when Potter privately published the book in 1902 (wikipedia).

This is my way of putting Mr McGregor back where he belongs.

Poor Mr McGregor

It had rained in the night and this had followed a lovely sunny day. Mr McGregor woke early, wrestling to put his clothes on before emerging from his little wooden house on the edge of a forest. As he stepped onto the porch the sun was just rising and his heart was filled with joy. Mr McGregor was a simple man. He lived a simple life with his wife in their well-appointed little house. His pride and joy, however, was his vegetable garden. He lovingly tended to its every need all through the year.

In the winter he cleared and tidied before feeding his beloved soil with manure and leaving it to rot down. This manure was pure gold and ensured that next year’s crop was better than the year before. Spring was a very busy time with lots of preparation to be done. Seeds to be sown and new beds to be made and Mr McGregor liked to look important at this time of the year. From time to time other local growers would pay him a visit just to ask him what he was planning to grow that year. He liked that.

Summer was when Mother Nature took over. She nursed her little seedlings as they grew into bigger plants and the vegetables began to take shape. Of course, Mr McGregor helped Mother Nature in her quest by weeding and protecting his precious vegetables from harm. Towards the end of the summer and into the autumn was harvest time. This was the best time of the year and Mr McGregor got so excited he was fit to burst!

An idyllic tale so far, but it was not always like that. Mr McGregor had an enemy. An enemy that lingered in the tall grass next to his patch and just waited. He waited until there was no-one about and then took his fill of Mr McGregor’s vegetables! This enemy was none other than a pesky rabbit. This rabbit was no ordinary rabbit. For a start he wore a blue coat with shiny gold buttons. Have you ever seen such a thing? This rabbit was prepared to take risks and would sometimes take a last munch just as Mr McGregor came down the path.

There was no room for rabbits today. This was a very special day. This was show day. Mr McGregor’s vegetables would take pride of place on the table alongside fellow growers as they battled it out for the ‘Best in Show’ award. This trophy was rightfully his and, indeed, he had won it many times. But not last year. Last year was a disaster. The weather was against him and his vegetables just didn’t grow as he would expect. When he took his harvest to the show his heart sank. He looked at the competition and he knew he couldn’t win. Mr McGregor was heart- broken and took to his bed. He stayed in his bed a whole month and refused to get out. Eventually he did get out and somehow found the will to carry on…

But that was last year. This is this year and this is show day! For weeks Mr McGregor has been watching his prize winning (for that is what he liked to call them) radishes, beetroot and carrots swell and grow. When he went to bed last night he could hardly contain his excitement. A whole years work was about to come good with, possibly, the best vegetables Mr McGregor had ever grown.

As he strode confidently down the path he thought he caught a movement just out of the corner of his eye. He quickly scanned the vegetable patch for signs of ‘Rabbit’ but nothing. He turned his gaze to the long grass and there it was. A small, but by now, very familiar white tail. ‘Rabbit’ was out and about early so Mr McGregor would have to have his wits about him. He quickly doubled back to the potting shed and armed himself with a spade. A nice heavy spade, just perfect for the job. He vowed quietly to himself that this was to be ‘Rabbit’s’ last day. ‘Rabbit’ had pestered him all summer diving into his beloved patch and simply helping himself. Well no more. Nothing was going to stand in the way of Mr McGregor collecting ‘Best in Show’ this year, not even a pesky rabbit.

Once more on the path Mr McGregor scanned the long grass for that unwelcome white tail. It had vanished. There was no white tail in the long grass so, reluctantly, he turned his attention to his vegetable patch. He could not believe his eyes. ‘Rabbit’ was sitting next to his prize radishes and chomping his way through his prize carrots. In a second Mr McGregor was across the paths that crisscrossed his patch and charging towards the pesky creature. As was the way with these daily battles Mr McGregor’s age lost him the opening race. ‘Rabbit’ was off like a rocket, leaving poor Mr McGregor to lumber after him waving his spade in the air. But this time had to be different. ‘Rabbit’ had to be caught and dealt with once and for all. ‘Dealt with’ meant Mrs McGregor’s cooking pot for a delicious rabbit stew. A stew with ‘Rabbit’ would be a stew indeed….

As the daily ritual unfolded ‘Rabbit’ was quickly out of sight once more and poor Mr McGregor began the hunting phase. He knew he was here somewhere, if only he could find him… Searching every pot, basket and corner Mr McGregor held his breath. The stakes had never been higher and he must catch ‘Rabbit’ today. Suddenly there was the tiniest of noise coming from the corner of the shed. Slowly, and as quietly as possible, Mr McGregor moved towards the noise raising his spade high ready for that fatal blow. Just at the very second he got there a flash of blue skipped across his path. ‘Rabbit.’ With no hesitation Mr McGregor crashed the spade down, only missing by millimetres. As ‘Rabbit’ chased towards the doorway Mr McGregor turned grabbing at that familiar blue coat. One tug, just one tug was all that was needed and Rabbit would be trapped. Mr McGregor tugged as hard as his old hands would let him. He had him! At last he had him. The force of the tug threw Mr McGregor backwards and he fell to the ground. As quickly as he could he pulled ‘Rabbit’ to him ready to deliver the final blow. To his absolute horror he realised that ‘Rabbit’ was away and free. All that remained of this last desperate battle was the blue coat. Slumping to the ground in complete and utter despair, Mr McGregor knew he had lost. He had lost the fight to save his precious prize vegetables and he had, no doubt, lost ‘Best in Show’ for the second year running. Wearily, he got to his feet and ambled down the path that reached the centre of his pathways. Erected proudly was his trusty friend the scarecrow. Never mind, thought Mr McGregor, at least Scarecrow has a nice warm coat for winter.

NEVER MIND! NEVER MIND! It came to him in a rush. He suddenly realised that he didn’t mind. He didn’t mind that ‘Rabbit’ liked nothing better than chomping his way through his prize vegetables. He didn’t mind sharing; after all he always grew far too much. That was it. From now on Mr McGregor would let ‘Rabbit’ eat his fill….

Mr McGregor did not win ‘Best in Show’ that year. In fact, he didn’t even enter the show. If you want a word with Mr McGregor you’ll find him sitting on his porch looking at his beloved vegetable patch. If you look very closely you might just see a white tail in the long grass.