The Wind and the Willows

Publisher Marketing: 'O, please let me, ' said the Mole. So, of course, the Rat let him. Packing the basket was not quite such pleasant work as unpacking' the basket. It never is. But the Mole was bent on enjoying everything, and although just when he had got the basket packed and strapped up tightly he saw a plate staring up at him from the grass, and when the job had been done again the Rat pointed out a fork which anybody ought to have seen, and last of all, behold! the mustard pot, which he had been sitting on without knowing it-still, somehow, the thing got finished at last, without much loss of temper. The afternoon sun was getting low as the Rat sculled gently homewards in a dreamy mood, murmuring poetry-things over to himself, and not paying much attention to Mole. But the Mole was very full of lunch, and self-satisfaction, and pride, and already quite at home in a boat (so he thought) and was getting a bit restless besides: and presently he said, 'Ratty! Please, I want to row, now!' The Rat shook his head with a smile. 'Not yet, my young friend, ' he said-'wait till you've had a few lessons. It's not so easy as it looks.' The Mole was quiet for a minute or two. But he began to feel more and more jealous of Rat, sculling so strongly and so easily along, and his pride began to whisper that he could do it every bit as well. He jumped up and seized the sculls, so suddenly, that the Rat, who was gazing out over the water and saying more poetry-things to himself, was taken by surprise and fell backwards off his seat with his legs in the air for the second time, while the triumphant Mole took his place and grabbed the sculls with entire confidence. 'Stop it, you SILLY ass!' cried the Rat, from the bottom of the boat. 'You can't do it! You'll have us over!' The Mole flung his sculls back with a flourish, and made a great dig at the water. He missed the surface altogether, his legs flew up above his head, and he found himself lying on the top of the prostrate Rat. Greatly alarmed, he made a grab at the side of the boat, and the next moment-Sploosh! Over went the boat, and he found himself struggling in the river. O my, how cold the water was, and O, how VERY wet it felt. How it sang in his ears as he went down, down, down! How bright and welcome the sun looked as he rose to the surface coughing and spluttering! How black was his despair when he felt himself sinking again! Then a firm paw gripped him by the back of his neck. It was the Rat, and he was evidently laughing-the Mole could FEEL him laughing, right down his arm and through his paw, and so into his-the Mole's-neck. The Rat got hold of a scull and shoved it under the Mole's arm; then he did the same by the other side of him and, swimming behind, propelled the helpless animal to shore, hauled him out, and set him down on the bank, a squashy, pulpy lump of misery. When the Rat had rubbed him down a bit, and wrung some of the wet out of him, he said, 'Now, then, old fellow! Trot up and down the towing-path as hard as you can, till you're warm and dry again, while I dive for the luncheon-basket.' So the dismal Mole, wet without and ashamed within, trotted about till he was fairly dry, while the Rat plunged into the water again, recovered the boat, righted her and made her fast, fetched his floating property to shore by degrees, and finally dived successfully for the luncheon-basket and struggled to land with i Review Citations: Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/0001 pg. 1023 (EAN 9780763642112, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2009 pg. 363 (EAN 9780192728159, Hardcover) School Library Journal 04/01/2009 pg. 106 (EAN 9780955304637, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/0001 pg. 1023 (EAN 9780955304637, Hardcover) Ingram Children's Advance 11/01/2005 pg. 27 (EAN 9781402725050, Hardcover) Ingram Children's Advance 07/01/2005 pg. 56 (EAN 9780143039099, Paperback) Kliatt 11/01/2007 pg. 46 (EAN 9781400100736, Other) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 493 (EAN 9780915361328, Hardcover) Booklist 11/01/2003 pg. 496 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) PW Notes and Reprints 11/24/2003 pg. 67 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2003 pg. 79 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2004 pg. 79 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 11/24/2003 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 681 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/0001 pg. 1023 (EAN 9780763622428, Hardcover) PW Notes and Reprints 03/17/2003 pg. 78 (EAN 9780805072372, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2003 pg. 355 (EAN 9780805072372, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2003 pg. 355 (EAN 9780805072372, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 03/17/2003 (EAN 9780805072372, Hardcover) School Library Journal 07/01/2003 (EAN 9789626342770, Compact Disc) School Library Journal 07/01/2003 (EAN 9789626347775, Analog Audio Cassette) PW Notes and Reprints 07/29/2002 pg. 74 (EAN 9781587172045, Hardcover) Booklist 12/01/2002 pg. 664 (EAN 9781587172045, Hardcover) School Library Journal 01/01/2003 pg. 96 (EAN 9781587172045, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2002 pg. 67 (EAN 9781587172045, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2003 pg. 67 (EAN 9781587172045, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 07/29/2002 (EAN 9781587172045, Hardcover) PW Notes and Reprints 11/04/2002 pg. 86 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) USA Today 12/04/2002 pg. 1 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) Booklist 12/01/2002 pg. 664 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) School Library Journal 01/01/2003 pg. 96 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2002 pg. 80 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2003 pg. 80 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 11/04/2002 (EAN 9780152168070, Hardcover) School Library Journal 11/01/1986 (EAN 9780671610951, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 493 (EAN 9780805002133, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780805002133, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2001 pg. 463 (EAN 9780805002133, Hardcover) Ingram Children's Advance 05/01/2001 pg. 50 (EAN 9780670899142, Hardcover) Publishers Weekly 07/09/2001 pg. 70 (EAN 9780670899142, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2001 pg. 245 (EAN 9780670899142, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2001 pg. 245 (EAN 9780670899142, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2001 pg. 245 (EAN 9780141312040, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2001 pg. 245 (EAN 9780141312040, Paperback) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/1991 (EAN 9780684193458, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 493 (EAN 9780684180250, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780679418023, Hardcover) School Library Journal 07/01/2000 pg. 79 (EAN 9781561632459, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2000 pg. 61 (EAN 9781561632459, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2001 pg. 61 (EAN 9781561632459, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 492 (EAN 9780671636265, Paperback) Ingram Children's Advance 07/01/1999 pg. 15 (EAN 9780689831409, Paperback) Ingram Advance 08/01/1999 pg. 27 (EAN 9780689831409, Paperback) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/1991 pg. 493 (EAN 9780670771202, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780670771202, Hardcover) Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2013 (EAN 9780763665265, Hardcover) School Library Journal 01/01/2014 pg. 68 (EAN 9780763665265, Hardcover) Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2014 pg. 78 (EAN 9780763665265, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 96 01/01/1996 pg. 540 (EAN 9780140315448, Paperback) School Library Journal 07/01/2011 pg. 119 (EAN 9789380028545, Paperback) Booklist 02/01/1996 pg. 932 (EAN 9780312136246, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2001 pg. 463 (EAN 9780312136246, Hardcover) Wilson Children's Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 681 (EAN 9780312136246, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Grahame, Kenneth Kenneth Grahame was a Scottish writer best-known for his celebrated children s novel, The Wind in the Willows. Prevented from attending university because of financial constraints, Grahame instead took a job with the Bank of England, which provided the financial security required to indulge his passion for writing. Many of Grahame s short stories were printed in the periodicals of the time, and were also later collected in Pagan Papers, The Golden Age, and Dream Days. Grahame s most famous work, the novel The Wind in the Willows, was originally conceived as a bedtime story for his son, and continues to be a beloved classic for children of all ages. Grahame died in 1932 at the age of 73.