Do we like them?

Do we like Peter Rabbit?

A character from The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)

Our score: 6 out of 10. Naughty, greedy and disobedient, but he's small, he learns the hard way, and he's very easy to forgive. We'd back him, though we'd lock the garden gate.

Peter is a young rabbit who lives with his mother and three sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, in a sandbank under a big fir tree. Before going out, their mother warns them not to go into Mr. McGregor's garden, because their father had an accident there and ended up in a pie.

Peter is the naughty one. While his sisters behave, he slips under the gate and eats his fill of lettuce, beans and radishes. Mr. McGregor spots him and gives chase, and Peter loses a shoe and his little blue jacket while he tries to find the way out.

We give him a 6. He is greedy, disobedient and a bit of a show-off, and he goes straight against a clear warning. But he is also very small, he has plenty of nerve, and the story punishes him gently. He comes home tired and unwell after his adventure, and the tale is a light, funny lesson about curiosity and consequences.