Potter originally wrote this tale in 1907 for the Warne children and sent the manuscript to Mr. Warne in 1908 for his perusal. It was not until 1918 when Fruing Warne was clearing out some old papers that the manuscript came to light again. He wrote to Beatrix Potter in December 1918: "Turning over some old papers, I came across a little M. S. of yours, apparently sent to H. in 1908 ... I send it back for your perusal. It certainly is very charming, and now that so may animals have been done, perhaps it is time to introduce a pigeon to the family." Potter felt that the tale did not lend itself to the type of illustrations she had always had in her other books: "The Backgrounds of Rye are attractive," she wrote, "but it is nothing but pigeons over and over as regards illustrations. I could not possibly 'dress up' the pigeons; no birds look well in clothes." It was not until 1955 that the tale was published posthumously.