THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

By Kenneth Grahame
Pictures by Paul Bransom

What's Inside This Book

1. The River Bank
2. The Open Road
3. The Wild Wood
4. Mr. Badger
5. Dulce Domum (this means "sweet home")
6. Mr. Toad
7. The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
8. Toad's Adventures
9. Wayfarers All (this means "travelers, everyone")
10. The Further Adventures of Toad
11. "Like Summer Storms Came His Tears"
12. The Return of Ulysses

The Pictures in This Book

• The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
• It was the Water Rat
• "Come on!" he said. "We will just have to walk."
• In a panic, he began to run.
• Through the Wild Wood and the snow
• Toad was locked in the deepest, darkest jail cell
• He lay on the floor, feeling very sad
• "It's a hard life," said the Rat softly
• Talking mostly about how clever he was
• The Badger said, "Now then, follow me!"

Chapter 1: The River Bank

Mole had worked hard all morning. He was spring-cleaning his little home. First he used brooms. Then he used dusters. Then he climbed ladders and used a brush and a bucket of white paint called whitewash.

By the end, dust filled his throat and eyes. Splashes of white paint covered his black fur. His back ached, and his arms felt tired.

Spring was in the air. You could feel it above the ground and below it too. Even Mole's dark little house felt it. Spring made him feel restless, like he wanted something more.

So Mole suddenly threw down his brush.

"Bother!" he said. "Oh, blow! Forget spring-cleaning!"

He ran outside without even grabbing his coat. Something up above was calling to him. He hurried into a steep little tunnel. For Mole, this tunnel was like a driveway is for other animals — the path that leads up to the open air.

He scraped and dug and pushed his way up. He kept saying to himself, "Up we go! Up we go!"

At last — pop! — his nose popped out into the sunlight. He rolled into the warm grass of a big meadow.

"This is wonderful!" he said to himself. "This is much better than cleaning!"

The sun felt warm on his fur. Soft breezes touched his face. After being underground so long, even the birds singing sounded like shouts of joy to him.

He jumped for happiness. He was so glad to be alive in springtime, with no cleaning to do! He hopped across the meadow until he reached a hedge on the other side.

"Stop right there!" said an old rabbit at a gap in the hedge. "That will be six pennies to use this private path!"

But Mole was too excited to care. He knocked the rabbit right over! Then he trotted along, teasing the other rabbits as they peeked out of their holes to see what was happening.

"Onion sauce! Onion sauce!" Mole called out to tease them. Then he ran off before they could think what to say back.

The rabbits all began grumbling at each other. "Why didn't you stop him?" "Why didn't YOU say something?" But of course, it was too late now. It always is.

Everything felt too wonderful to be true. Mole wandered here and there through the fields. He saw birds building nests. He saw flowers opening up. He saw new leaves growing on trees. Everyone and everything seemed busy and happy.

Mole didn't feel guilty about skipping his chores at all. Instead, he felt lucky to be the only one not working, while everyone else stayed busy. Maybe that's the best part of a holiday — not resting yourself, but watching everyone else work hard!

Mole thought he couldn't be any happier. Then, as he wandered along, he suddenly found himself standing beside a wide, flowing river.

He had never seen a river before in his whole life! It moved like a smooth, playful animal — chasing, laughing, grabbing at things then letting them go, always rushing on to play with something new. Everything sparkled and shook. The water rustled and swirled and bubbled and chattered.

Mole was amazed. He felt frozen in place, just watching it. He walked along the bank the way a small child walks beside a grown-up who's telling an exciting story. When he got tired, he sat down. The river kept telling its stories all the while — like it was carrying the best tales in the world down to the sea.

As Mole sat on the grass, he noticed a dark hole in the bank across the river, just above the water. He thought about what a cozy little home it would make — a nice, safe house by the river, above the flood line, away from noise.

While he looked, something small and bright twinkled inside the hole. It disappeared, then twinkled again, like a tiny star. But it couldn't really be a star in a spot like that. And it was too shiny to be a glow-worm.

Then it blinked at him! It was an eye! And slowly, a little face grew around that eye, like a picture inside a frame.

It was a small brown face with whiskers.

A serious, round face, with the same twinkle he'd noticed before.

Small, neat ears and soft, silky fur.

It was the Water Rat!

The two animals looked at each other carefully.

"Hello, Mole!" said the Water Rat.

"Hello, Rat!" said the Mole.

"Would you like to come over here?" asked the Rat.

"Well, it's easy to say that," said Mole, a little grumpily. He was new to rivers and didn't know how one might cross.

The Rat didn't say anything. He simply untied a rope and pulled it. Then he stepped lightly into a little boat that Mole hadn't even noticed before. It was painted blue outside and white inside. It was just the right size for two animals. Mole loved it immediately, even though he didn't quite understand what it was for yet.

Rat rowed smoothly across the river and tied up the boat. Then he held out his paw as Mole carefully climbed down.

"Hold on to that!" he said. "There you go — step in!"

Mole was thrilled to find himself sitting in a real boat.

"[Picture: It was the Water Rat]"

"What a wonderful day this has been!" Mole said, as Rat pushed off and picked up the oars again. "You know, I've never been in a boat before in my whole life."

"WHAT?" cried the Rat, shocked. "Never been in a — you never — well, I — what HAVE you been doing all this time, then?"

"Is it really that nice?" Mole asked shyly. He was already ready to believe it, though, as he leaned back and looked at the cushions, the oars, and all the cool parts of the boat, feeling it gently sway beneath him.

"Nice? It's the BEST thing there is," said the Water Rat seriously, leaning forward to row. "Believe me, young friend, there is nothing — nothing at all — as good as simply messing around in boats. Simply messing," he said dreamily, "messing... about... in... boats... messing—"

"Look out, Rat!" Mole suddenly shouted.

But it was too late. The boat crashed right into the bank! The dreamy, happy rower flipped backward, landing on his back at the bottom of the boat with his feet in the air!

"—about in boats, or WITH boats," Rat continued calmly, picking himself back up with a cheerful laugh. "In them or out of them, it doesn't matter. Nothing really matters — that's the best part! Whether you get where you're going, or somewhere else entirely, or nowhere at all — you're always busy doing something, even if it's nothing in particular. And once you're done, there's always something else you COULD do, even if you'd rather not. Say — if you've got nothing else to do this morning, why don't we go down the river together? We could make a whole day of it!"

Mole wiggled his toes, happy as could be. He took a deep, contented breath and leaned back into the soft cushions.

"What a day I'm having!" he said. "Let's go right now!"

"Wait just a minute, then!" said Rat.

He looped the rope through a ring on his little dock, climbed up into his home, and came back a bit later carrying a big picnic basket.

"Put that under your feet," he told Mole, handing it down into the boat. Then he untied the rope and picked up the oars again.

"What's inside it?" Mole asked, wiggling with curiosity.

"There's cold chicken inside," Rat answered simply. "And cold tongue, cold ham, cold beef, pickles, salad, rolls, sandwiches, potted meat, ginger beer, lemonade, soda water—"

"Oh, stop, stop!" cried Mole happily. "That's more than enough!"

"Do you really think so?" Rat asked, surprised. "This is just what I always bring on these little trips! My friends always tell me I don't bring nearly enough!"

Mole wasn't even listening anymore. He was too caught up in this exciting new world — the sparkling water, the ripples, the smells, the sounds, the sunshine. He trailed his paw through the water and daydreamed happily. Rat, being the kind friend he was, kept rowing steadily and let Mole enjoy the quiet.

"I really like your clothes