Peter Rabbit Gets the Switch

Recently, I had the pleasure of breakfasting with a couple of lovely kinky lady friends of mine, including the delightful Miss Pink, of The Pink Report :D

One of them happened to be very fond of blueberries (a delightful breakfast food), and happened to mention the fact that she had just planted new berry bushes in her back yard.

What does this have to do with spanking, you might ask?

Well I'll tell you -- this is how my mind works (although I neglected to tell my lady friends at the time, as the conversation moved on to other matters) -- upon entertaining the thought of blueberry bushes, I was reminded, right there at the breakfast table, of the childhood cautionary tale, Peter Rabbit. Why? Because this is the same tale that always comes to mind, whenever I stumble upon the thought of any type of berry-picking... :D You'll understand once I explain a little further:

Peter Rabbit and his three sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, are told by their mother that they can go berry-picking down the lane, but to stay away from Mr. McGreggor's farm, because of the dangers lurking there for young rabbits such as themselves. Once she'd buttoned up their jackets and sent them on their way, "Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries. But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight-away to Mr. McGreggor's garden." (Why does it always have to be the boy who is the naughty one??)

According to Beatrix Potter, during this first visit to McGreggor's farm, Peter gorges himself on the farmer's crops, and then promptly gets himself noticed by the farmer himself, who chases the young rabbit relentlessly through the farm, causing Peter to lose not only both of his tiny shoes, but his blue jacket as well.

Narrowly escaping, he goes hopping back home to his mother, who puts him to bed without any supper for losing his clothes, coming home so late, and, she suspects, for going into Mr. McGreggor's garden.

The real fun begins, however, the next day, when Peter's cousin Benjamin convinces him to go back into the garden, in order to retrieve Peter's jacket and shoes. While there, the two rabbits get themselves trapped under a basket with Mr. McGreggor's cat, who knows they're there, staked out on top, waiting for them to try to get out. Meanwhile, Peter's mother goes to find Benjamin's father, a formidable gentleman rabbit complete with his very own waistcoat and pipe. Upon hearing that both young boys have gone missing, Benjamin's father decides to go looking for them himself, with a pretty good idea of where they might be...

Lo and behold, he finds them, and after epically fighting away the cat in a hare-raising large-rabbit vs. fussy-feline battle, proceeds to dish out his displeasure at the boys' foolish actions.

As you can watch for yourself here,
the no-nonsense, fatherly gentlemen decides to punish his own son first, and even in this lovely animated childrens' tale, we hear the switch biting down through the air, eliciting cries from Benjamin as he feels each sting. Peter's switching is shown on screen, and, although a little quicker than his cousin's, is clearly meant to make an impression.

Contrite and clearly intimidated, the two boys are then directed out of the garden and lectured all the way home.

I wonder if either of them ever gained back the courage to enter the garden unaccompanied, again? :D