The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s gentle comedy with cozy domestic details and a safe ending. Great for bedtime because the tension is social (not scary) and it resolves with relief and forgiveness.

Story Synopsis

Ribby, a tidy village cat, writes a very polite invitation to Duchess, a little dog, asking her to come for tea. Ribby promises something “so very nice,” baked in a pink-rimmed pie dish—and insists Duchess will eat it all while Ribby eats muffins. Duchess reads the letter and immediately worries: what if the pie is mouse? She tries to be gracious, but her nervous thoughts grow louder as the time of the party approaches. To protect herself, Duchess makes her own dish—veal and ham baked in a patty-pan—so she won’t have to eat anything frightening. Ribby, on her side, is also cautious and tidy, arranging her kitchen and preparing the pie with great confidence. When Duchess arrives, everything is polite and proper: greetings, a clean table, and careful manners. But the food becomes a problem. Through a mix-up in the warm kitchen, the pie and the patty-pan are switched. Each guest is suddenly faced with the wrong dish, and the party turns awkward in a very funny way—full of forced smiles and nervous thoughts. In the end, no one is harmed, and the misunderstanding passes. The story is a cozy reminder that social worries can feel huge, but they can also soften with time, kindness, and a willingness to move on.

Story Excerpt

Once upon a time, there was a pussy - cat named Ribby. She lived in a neat little house in the village. One day she wrote a very polite letter to a little dog named Duchess. “ Come in good time, my dear Duchess, ” wrote Ribby, “ and we will have something so very nice. I am baking it in a pie - dish — a pie - dish with a pink rim. You never tasted anything so good! And you shall eat it all! I will eat muffins, my dear Duchess! ” Duchess read the letter. She wrote back, “ I will come with much pleasure at a quarter past four. ” She almost added, “ I hope it isn’t mouse? ” because she worried about that. But then she scratched it out and wrote something nicer instead. Still, after she sent the letter, she kept thinking and thinking. “ I am dreadfully afraid it will be mouse, ” Duchess whispered to herself. “ I really couldn’t eat mouse pie. And I shall have to, because it is a party. ” Duchess had a pie of her own at home — veal and ham — ready to bake. It was sitting in a pink - and - white pie - dish, just like Ribby’s. Duchess looked at it in her larder. “ It is all ready, ” she said. “ Such lovely crust. And I put a little tin patty - pan inside to hold it up. ” She could see the little hole she had made in the top for steam. Then Duchess had a very naughty, very quick idea. “ Ribby will go out…

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