We have at least two more original audio stories up our sleeves, but this month have something to share that we're just as proud of: A reading of "The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck," one of my favorite children's stories by a masterful children's author, Beatrix Potter. Jemima, a naive duck so thoroughly snowed by a wily fox that she unwittingly gathers the ingredients to roast her with, is a simple and kind soul who is saved only through an encounter with a farm dog whose job is to keep such things from happening. Our version has an original banjo score by my father, Ken McNichols, with recording by Joshua McNichols and narration by me.

Beatrix Potter had a gift for imbuing her animal characters with anthropomophic personalities that are based on an inspired understanding of the species to which they belong, and "Jemima" is no exception. Foxes in children's books are always wily, but it takes a Beatrix Potter to also make one into a patchy aristocrat with the patience of a cold-blooded killer; character sketches are often fleshed out in a single, perfect phrase for even the most minor characters. Add to that the sense of foreboding that builds as the story progresses, and an ending that ties right back into its opener, and you have a short bit of great world literature.

Play story

You can listen to the story using the little "play" button above, or right-click on the story title to "Save As" and download the mp3 file. You can also access this story, as well as the two we published already and the two or more to follow, on Punnybop's Audio Archive page.

You can buy "Jemima Puddle-Duck" in the great Beatrix Potter: The Complete Tales, a $40 hardcover currently on sale on Amazon.com for about $25, or read the story online for free (with Potter's original illustrations) at Project Gutenberg.

This file is hereby released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike license. You are welcome to download, share, and remix it as you like, provided you credit this original work, cite ZRecs.com as its creator, do not distribute it or derivative works for profit, and link to it so others can find it at the source.

Photo by tifotter, shared via Flickr. - Jeremiah