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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Jillian Woodward and I'm Roger Bassic.

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<v Speaker 2>Spotlight Advanced uses a special English method of broadcasting. It

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<v Speaker 2>is easier for people to understand no matter where in

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<v Speaker 2>the world.

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<v Speaker 1>They live, most people have a hobby, an activity they

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<v Speaker 1>do just for enjoyment. For some people it is playing sports,

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<v Speaker 1>some research their family history. For others it is writing stories.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's spotlight is on Beatrix Potter. Potter's hobby was drawing.

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<v Speaker 2>She would draw almost anything and drew often. But Potter's

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<v Speaker 2>drawing would not remain a hobby for long. She would

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<v Speaker 2>use her hobby to create some of the most beloved

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<v Speaker 2>characters in She'll literature, and she did it all while

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<v Speaker 2>celebrating the natural world she loved.

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<v Speaker 1>Beatrix Potter was born in eighteen eighty six in London.

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<v Speaker 1>Her family was wealthy. Her father was a lawyer, her

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<v Speaker 1>mother was the daughter of a wealthy trader. Her early

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<v Speaker 1>life was a series of travels to houses in the country.

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<v Speaker 1>But Beatrix was not happy. There were things that her

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<v Speaker 1>society expected of her, even as a little girl. There

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<v Speaker 1>were ways people expected her to behave that she didn't like.

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<v Speaker 1>She did not enjoy her mother's company, she had few friends.

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<v Speaker 2>Potter escaped from these things into nature. She and her

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<v Speaker 2>brother would hunt down animals and bugs. They would draw

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<v Speaker 2>these animals together. Beatrix's mind was very scientific. She would

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<v Speaker 2>draw these animals with as much detail as possible, But

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<v Speaker 2>she was also very creative. She would make up stories

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<v Speaker 2>about these animals. She gave them personalities and names.

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<v Speaker 1>It was clear early on that Potter was a very

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<v Speaker 1>intelligent girl. But a few women in her time went

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<v Speaker 1>to school. When her brother went away to learn, she

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<v Speaker 1>stayed home. Her parents employed a governess to teach her.

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<v Speaker 1>Her name was Annie Moore. This private teacher gave her

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<v Speaker 1>a basic education, but it did not prepare her for

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<v Speaker 1>life on her own. Instead, she taught Potter to run

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<v Speaker 1>a household.

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<v Speaker 2>Still, Potter did not fit in with her society. As

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<v Speaker 2>she grew up, she behaved like a good woman of

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<v Speaker 2>her time. She lived with her parents. She took care

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<v Speaker 2>of them, but she often escaped into nature. For a

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<v Speaker 2>long time, she studied fungus. Fungus are organisms that are

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<v Speaker 2>a little like plants, but they do not take energy

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<v Speaker 2>from sunlight. Potter drew pictures of different funguses. She studied

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<v Speaker 2>how they grew. She even tried to publish a paper

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<v Speaker 2>on her findings, but publishers rejected her because she was

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<v Speaker 2>a woman.

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<v Speaker 1>Potter also continued to draw. It was all she could

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<v Speaker 1>think about. She would draw anything that she could find. Once,

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<v Speaker 1>she wrote in a letter, it is all.

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<v Speaker 3>The same, drawing, painting, modeling. I have an irresistible desire

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<v Speaker 3>to copy any beautiful object I see. I cannot rest.

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<v Speaker 3>I must draw, even if the result is poor. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 3>a bad time comes over me. Then the desire is

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<v Speaker 3>stronger than ever, settles on the strangest things. Last time,

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<v Speaker 3>it was the middle of September, I found myself in

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<v Speaker 3>the back garden. I was making a careful copy of

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<v Speaker 3>the pig food container. A laugh it gave me made

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<v Speaker 3>me feel better.

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<v Speaker 2>By the time she was thirty, Potter was tired and unhappy,

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<v Speaker 2>but one of the products of this time would soon

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<v Speaker 2>lead to a great change in her life. Once she

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<v Speaker 2>was writing to the son of her old teacher Anymore,

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<v Speaker 2>young Normore was sick. Potter told the boy one of

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<v Speaker 2>her stories to make him feel better. It was a

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<v Speaker 2>story about a young rabbit named Peter.

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<v Speaker 1>In this story, Peter is the oldest of four children,

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<v Speaker 1>but he does not act like it. Instead, he is

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<v Speaker 1>playful and gets into trouble. His mother leaves to buy food.

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<v Speaker 1>She tells him he could play outside, but he is

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<v Speaker 1>not supposed to play in mister McGregor's garden.

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<v Speaker 2>But the garden is the first place that Peter goes.

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<v Speaker 2>He eats too much and gets sick. Mister McGregor finds

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<v Speaker 2>him in the garden, he chases Peter down. Peter runs

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<v Speaker 2>and hides. He does escape in the end, but he

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<v Speaker 2>loses his new coat and shoes. His mother sends him

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<v Speaker 2>to bed without dinner. His sisters, who were good, get

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<v Speaker 2>a full meal.

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<v Speaker 1>The story of Peter Rabbit was different than other children's

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<v Speaker 1>stories in those days. Children's books were overly informative. They

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<v Speaker 1>taught children how to behave Often they tried to frighten

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<v Speaker 1>children into doing right. Potter's stories were fun. Instead, they

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<v Speaker 1>were cheerful and encouraged creativity.

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<v Speaker 2>Potter's first letters also included drawings. These drawings were full

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<v Speaker 2>of life. They were enjoyable too. Moore was amazed by

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<v Speaker 2>the letter. She told Potter that she should publish the story.

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<v Speaker 2>Potter agreed.

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<v Speaker 1>It took a long time for Potter to find a publisher,

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<v Speaker 1>The story was the same as Potter's letter, but Potter

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to make her pictures better. Potter wanted the book

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<v Speaker 1>to be small so a child could hold it. She

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<v Speaker 1>wanted it to cost less than other books, but people

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<v Speaker 1>did not want to print that kind of book. In

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<v Speaker 1>the end, she published it on her own.

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<v Speaker 2>The Tale of Peter Rabbit was an immediate success. The

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<v Speaker 2>book sold so well that a larger publisher asked to

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<v Speaker 2>sell it. The publisher was called Warn, and Potter quickly

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<v Speaker 2>started writing more books. She created characters out of animals

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<v Speaker 2>from her gardens, like mice. These soft animals appealed to children,

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<v Speaker 2>but they also taught about the natural world.

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<v Speaker 1>Potter was also one of the first people to market

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<v Speaker 1>her characters. She created several soft Peter Rabbit animals for

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<v Speaker 1>children to play with. She drew wallpaper for children's rooms.

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<v Speaker 1>She even made a game about Peter's story. At first,

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<v Speaker 1>her publishers did not approve, but they soon changed their minds.

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<v Speaker 1>Linda Lea is a writer. She wrote a book about

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<v Speaker 1>Beatrix Potter's life. She explained to the Smithsonian magazine.

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<v Speaker 4>This kind of thing was not done worn with a

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<v Speaker 4>big publisher. They did not want to risk doing something

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<v Speaker 4>the public would not like. But then Potter started doing

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<v Speaker 4>it herself and they thought uh oh. Though they did it,

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<v Speaker 4>and not surprisingly, it tholed very well.

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<v Speaker 2>Potter's business decisions made her wealthy. She used her wealth

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<v Speaker 2>to move out of her parents' home. She bought a

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<v Speaker 2>farm in the English countryside. She became involved with raising sheep,

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<v Speaker 2>and she used much of her wealth to save the

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<v Speaker 2>natural world she loved.

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<v Speaker 1>Over her lifetime, Potter wrote about sixty books, all of

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<v Speaker 1>them involved animals, most described imaginary parts of English country life.

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<v Speaker 1>She retired from writing after many years. She would still

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<v Speaker 1>write and draw for fun, but she spent most of

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<v Speaker 1>her time managing her farm and properties. She once joked

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<v Speaker 1>in a letter to one of her publishers, I am.

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<v Speaker 3>Very busy in work with real, live animals. It makes

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<v Speaker 3>a person dislike paper book animals. But I should not

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<v Speaker 3>say that to my publisher.

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<v Speaker 2>Today, Beatrix Potter's case characters are still popular. There are

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<v Speaker 2>films still being made about Peter Rabbit. Her work led

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<v Speaker 2>to dance performances, books, and television shows. But Potter's greatest

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<v Speaker 2>achievement is not because of her wealth or influence. Her

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<v Speaker 2>books caused generations to explore the world around them. She

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<v Speaker 2>encouraged them to use their imagination, and she taught about

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<v Speaker 2>the importance of nature.

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<v Speaker 1>Beatrix Potter's books came from her careful study of nature.

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<v Speaker 1>How does Nature inspire you? You can leave a comment

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<v Speaker 1>on our website at www dot Spotlight English dot com.

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<v Speaker 2>The writer of this program was Dan Chrisman. The producer

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<v Speaker 2>was Michyo Osaki. The voices you heard were from the

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<v Speaker 2>United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted

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<v Speaker 2>for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen

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<v Speaker 2>to this program again and read it on the internet

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<v Speaker 2>at www dot Spotlight English dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>This program is called Who Made Peter Rabbit. We hope

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<v Speaker 1>you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye,