Mr. Tod's Wild House
“The Tale of Mr. Tod” leads to a moment in which a number of the character discover one of the homes the title character has made for himself. And that home turns out to be panoply of metaphor:
“This house was something between a cave, a prison, and a tumbledown pig-stye. There was a strong door, which was shut and locked. The setting sun made the window panes glow like red flame”
Potter's Offbeat Squirrel
In the world created by Beatrix Potter, Squirrel Nutkin is likely the one that grew up to become a punk rocker. Nutkin is the equivalent of a working class bloke who sings and actually even dances in a move that sounds like he is doing the Pogo:
“Nutkin was excessively impertinent in his manners. He bobbed up and down like a little red cherry, singing…”
Stage Directions for Adult Readers
Though enjoyed by adults on a separate level, these stories were most definitely written for children. Indeed, they were written for adults to read to children and as a result, some of the metaphorical language really almost serves as stage directions to the adult; giving them a guide to how to read a line or as in this case, make a funny face to further delighter the young listener:
“Peter heard noises worse than ever; his eyes were as big as lolly-pops!”
The Human Perspective
Mr. McGregor provides a human perspective on the world of small animals who populate the tales and it is through the comparison offered by a simile that the author is best able to reveal how these two very different universes of collide:
“It looked as though some person had been walking all over the garden in a pair of clogs—only the footmarks were too ridiculously little!”
Comedy
“The Tale of Two Bad Mice” is pure comedy as the two title characters believe they have stumbled onto the motherlode with the discovery of dining table all laid out with food. Except that it is a dollhouse and the food is mere decoration. Particularly frustrating is the plaster main course:
"It's as hard as the hams at the cheesemonger's”
