The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

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Title: The Wind in the Willows

Author: Kenneth Grahame

Posting Date: July 12, 2008 [EBook #289]
Release Date: July, 1995

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS ***

Produced by Mike Lough

THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS

By Kenneth Grahame

Author Of "The Golden Age," "Dream Days," Etc.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER
I. THE RIVER BANK
II. THE OPEN ROAD
III. THE WILD WOOD
IV. MR. BADGER
V. DULCE DOMUM
VI. MR. TOAD
VII. THE PIPER AT THE GATES OF DAWN
VIII. TOAD'S ADVENTURES
IX. WAYFARERS ALL
X. THE FURTHER ADVENTURES OF TOAD
XI. "LIKE SUMMER TEMPESTS CAME HIS TEARS"
XII. THE RETURN OF ULYSSES

I. THE RIVER BANK

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his
little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and
steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust
in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black
fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air
above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark
and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.
It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the
floor, said 'Bother!' and 'O blow!' and also 'Hang spring-cleaning!'
and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.
Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for
the steep little tunnel which answered in his case to the gaveled
carriage-drive owned by animals whose residences are nearer to the sun
and air. So he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged and
then he scrooged again and scrabbled and scratched and scraped, working
busily with his little paws and muttering to himself, 'Up we go! Up we
go!' till at last, pop! his snout came out into the sunlight, and he
found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow.

'This is fine!' he said to himself. 'This is better than whitewashing!'
The