Wishing-Stone Stories

Tommy is furious at the world. The freckled, bare-footed boy storms into the meadow with a scowl so deep even his freckles seem to be hiding from it. Everything is "horrid", until he finds a smooth, magic stone that grants wishes. His first wish transforms him into a mouse, and suddenly the world looks very different. Soon he's hopping with Peter Rabbit, swimming with friends in the pond, living the lives of creatures he'd never bothered to notice. Each transformation teaches him something new about courage, fear, friendship, and what it means to be small in a big, beautiful world. This is classic Burgess: warm, gentle, and quietly profound. Written in 1912, it wraps an old-fashioned moral lesson in animal adventures that still feel fresh. The wishing-stone device lets children experience life from a mouse's perspective, then a rabbit's, then others, and in doing so, discover why empathy changes everything. For young readers who love animal tales and the quiet magic of seeing the world through someone else's eyes.