Secondly, in The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, the troublesome human that appears in this story is a farmer's wife. She will not let Jemima Puddle-Duck hatch her own eggs, leaving Jemima in an agitated state, causing her to leave the farm to find a safe nesting area only to lead her next batch of eggs to be eaten by puppies. In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, Mr. McGregor finds the bunnies in his rubbish heap and puts them in a burlap sack and intends to sell them for tobacco, which creates a problem for the bunnies" parents, who then have to rescue them. As there were no humans portrayed in The Tale of Tom Kitten, there is no comparison to be made. .
Another common thread of conflict between all four Beatrix Potter books is the appropriation of someone else's property. In The Tailor of Gloucester, the cat, Simpkin hides the thread in the teapot, which disappears, even though this thread clearly belongs to the tailor. Another example is shown in The Tale of Tom Kitten when three ducks take the kittens clothing, which causes them to get into trouble with their mother. The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, for example, portrays the farmer's wife taking Jemima's eggs, which causes her to leave the farm. This simply creates conflict with the fox and the puppies and delivers a clear example of her written message. In The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, the bunnies eat Mr. McGregor's lettuce, which does not belong to them and this leads to their unforeseen capture by Mr. McGregor. As you can see, taking someone else's property runs through all four books.
One aspect that most readers will greatly appreciate and enjoy in Beatrix Potter's books is the ability she had in delivering irony in her artful stories. It is ironic in that the mice in The Tailor of Gloucester save the day, since mice are the weakest animals featured in this story. It is also ironic that the farmer in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies is out smarted by the rabbits and a mouse when it is common knowledge that humans are far more intelligent than animals are.