The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse
Beatrix Potter (1866–1943)
story · 1918 · 8 min read
How we estimate the level
We compare average sentence length and book vocabulary with the course words through this level. This is an estimate, not a test of your level.
Synopsis
Timmy Willie, a country mouse, falls asleep in a basket of vegetables and wakes up in a town house. Johnny Town-mouse and his friends welcome him to their dinner party, but the noise, the rich food and the cat make Timmy Willie ill, so he goes home in the same basket. In spring Johnny visits the country, but he finds it too quiet and goes back to town. Each mouse is happiest in his own home.
About this book
This is Beatrix Potter's version of Aesop's old fable of the town mouse and the country mouse, and the book is dedicated to Aesop. The estimated level is A2. Much of the story is a conversation between two friends who describe their homes, so it is full of useful everyday language: what you eat, where you sleep, what you do when it rains. At the end, the lesson is given in one simple sentence. A few words are old-fashioned British English, such as hamper (a big basket) and fender (a low metal frame in front of a fireplace).
Opening excerpt
Johnny Town-mouse was born in a cupboard. Timmy Willie was born in a garden. Timmy Willie was a little country mouse who went to town by mistake in a hamper.Key vocabulary
a place with many houses and streets, smaller than a city
the land outside towns, with fields and farms
a large basket with a lid
a piece of furniture with doors where you keep things
a loud or unpleasant sound
with very little noise
polite ways of behaving
a hole in the ground where a small animal lives
Lines from the book
“Never mind, they don't belong to us”“I am sure you will never want to live in town again”“One place suits one person, another place suits another person.”About the author
Beatrix Potter (1866–1943) was an English writer, illustrator and naturalist. By 1918, when this story appeared, she was living and farming in the Lake District, and she had come to prefer country life to the city of London where she grew up.
Frequently asked questions
What level of English do I need for Johnny Town-Mouse?
We estimate A2. The sentences are short and much of the book is simple dialogue. A few old British words, such as hamper, are explained in the key vocabulary.
Is it the same story as Aesop's town mouse and country mouse?
It is based on the same fable, but Beatrix Potter tells it in her own way, with a cook, a cat, a dinner party and a visit to the country in spring.
How long does it take to read?
The story has about 1,300 words. Most learners read it in about eight minutes.
Is this the original text?
Yes. It is Beatrix Potter's original text from 1918, with British spelling. The edition contains the text without the pictures.
