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''The Tale of Tom Kitten'' is a children's book by Creator/BeatrixPotter published in 1907.

One day Mrs. Tabitha Twitchit was expecting guests, so she washed and dressed her three children and turned them out into the garden, instructing them to behave themselves and not to ruin their fancy clothes. [[TemptingFate You can probably]] [[DoomedNewClothes guess what]] [[FinaglesLaw happened next]].
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!!This story provides examples of:
* AccessoryWearingCartoonAnimal: The female Puddle Ducks invoke this when they put the kittens' hats on, and at the end, the mostly-naked Moppet tries on a bonnet.
* AerithAndBob: Mittens, Moppet, and Tom.
* AnAesop: Obey your mother, or alternatively, don't trust your rambunctious children to keep their nice clothes clean, because realistically, they're probably going to make a mess.
* AlliterativeName: The mother cat is named Tabitha Twitchit.
* BarefootCartoonAnimal: When the kittens are wearing clothes, the girls wear dresses and Tom wears a shirt and pants, but none of them wear shoes.
* CuteKitten: Tom Kitten, Mittens, and Moppet, our three main characters, are portrayed as cute, innocent kids.
* DoomedNewClothes: The clothes get stained by grass, ripped apart, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking worn by ducks]], and finally are lost at the bottom of a pond.
* FakingAnotherPersonsIllness: Tabitha is too embarrassed to admit she's confined her kittens to their room as punishment, so she lies that they have the measles.
* ForcedIntoTheirSundayBest: The Sunday best in question are stated to be quite uncomfortable and in Tom's case, too small.
* FullyDressedCartoonAnimal: Tabitha wears a dress and her lady friends are seen in dresses and headscarves.
* FurryReminder:
** While Tabitha is fully anthropomorphic, the kittens seem more catlike, preferring to go naked, sometimes walking on all fours (Tabitha even has to ''remind'' them to walk on their hind legs), climb on a wall, and, in Tom's case, scratching Tabitha on the paw.
** At the end, the Puddle Ducks swim like real ducks, and when they look for the kittens' clothes, they do so by flipping upside down in the water like a real duck would.
* ALizardNamedLiz:
** Tom is a cat. Male cats are called tomcats.
** Similarly, the lone drake (male duck) is named Mr. ''Drake'' Puddle Duck.
* MeaningfulName: Mittens is a brown tabby with white front paws.
* NasalTrauma: The girl kittens trip on their dresses and land on their noses.
* OddNameOut: Tom is the only kitten with a human name, and without a two-syllable name or an "M" name.
* ASimplePlan: All the kittens had to do was stay neat and clean until Mrs. Twitchit's friends arrived. Being kittens, they manage to fail at this spectacularly.
* TwoGirlsAndAGuy: The kittens consist of two female kittens (mollies) and one male kitten (tomcat).
* WoundLicking: After Tom scratches Tabitha, she licks the wound.
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