Three Blind Mice

Alternate Herbs? - Now What Can I Do With These Tails?

Tasha Tudor's depiction of this rhyme is another that focuses on the farmer's wife, but her image is quite different from that of Pogany. Here the mice scamper away from the wife as she admiringly holds their three severed tails, like a sprig of parsley, between thumb and forefinger. They have obviously interrupted her at work in the kitchen. The food/cooking connotation is clearly established in the details of this setting. On the hutch behind the farmer's wife is the ham that was the originally intended recipient of the carving knife, as well as pitchers, platters, and plates. On the side table is another pitcher, a serving fork, and butter. Additionally, slotted serving spoons, a dishtowel, and a fire fan are present. In creating the setting, these elements also provide a sense of place and purpose for the farmer's wife. As opposed to Pogany's farmer's wife, this woman is comfortable in her home, specifically her kitchen, in which mice have intruded. She is not running in fear or disgust; rather it is the mice that are running from her as she has defended the haven and hygiene of her home

Although wielding a large knife, her face appears gentle and her demeanor remains maternal. Her stout figure dons an apron and her head a bonnet. In both the Tudor and the Pogany illustrations, the farmer's wife has just moments before severed the tails of the mice, but the tones and the moods of the two images are decidedly different. Here the wife's face shows satisfaction and pleasure with a job well done.