FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135  
136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   >>  
nd all so cleverly planned and carried out! Been in prison--got out of it, of course! Been thrown into a canal--swam ashore! Stole a horse--sold him for a large sum of money! Humbugged everybody--made 'em all do exactly what I wanted! Oh, I _am_ a smart Toad, and no mistake! What do you think my last exploit was? Just hold on till I tell you--" "Toad," said the Water Rat, gravely and firmly, "you go off upstairs at once, and take off that old cotton rag that looks as if it might formerly have belonged to some washerwoman, and clean yourself thoroughly, and put on some of my clothes, and try and come down looking like a gentleman if you _can_; for a more shabby, bedraggled, disreputable-looking object than you are I never set eyes on in my whole life! Now, stop swaggering and arguing, and be off! I'll have something to say to you later!" Toad was at first inclined to stop and do some talking back at him. He had had enough of being ordered about when he was in prison, and here was the thing being begun all over again, apparently; and by a Rat, too! However, he caught sight of himself in the looking-glass over the hat-stand, with the rusty black bonnet perched rakishly over one eye, and he changed his mind and went very quickly and humbly upstairs to the Rat's dressing-room. There he had a thorough wash and brush-up, changed his clothes, and stood for a long time before the glass, contemplating himself with pride and pleasure, and thinking what utter idiots all the people must have been to have ever mistaken him for one moment for a washerwoman. By the time he came down again luncheon was on the table, and very glad Toad was to see it, for he had been through some trying experiences and had taken much hard exercise since the excellent breakfast provided for him by the gipsy. While they ate Toad told the Rat all his adventures, dwelling chiefly on his own cleverness, and presence of mind in emergencies, and cunning in tight places; and rather making out that he had been having a gay and highly-coloured experience. But the more he talked and boasted, the more grave and silent the Rat became. When at last Toad had talked himself to a standstill, there was silence for a while; and then the Rat said, "Now, Toady, I don't want to give you pain, after all you've been through already; but, seriously, don't you see what an awful ass you've been making of yourself? On your own admission you have been hand-cuffed, imprisoned
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135  
136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   >>  



Top keywords:
clothes
 

washerwoman

 

upstairs

 

changed

 

making

 
talked
 
prison
 

experiences

 
dressing
 

humbly


quickly

 

luncheon

 
thinking
 

pleasure

 
contemplating
 

idiots

 
people
 
moment
 

mistaken

 

chiefly


silence

 

silent

 

standstill

 

admission

 

cuffed

 

imprisoned

 

boasted

 

adventures

 

dwelling

 

exercise


excellent

 
breakfast
 

provided

 

cleverness

 

presence

 
highly
 

coloured

 
experience
 

emergencies

 
cunning

places
 

exploit

 
mistake
 
gravely
 

cotton

 

firmly

 
wanted
 

thrown

 
carried
 

cleverly