They reached the carriage-drive of Toad Hall to find, as the Badger had anticipated, a shiny new motor-car, of great size, painted a bright red (Toad's favourite colour), standing in front of the house. As they neared the door it was flung open, and Mr. Toad, arrayed in goggles, cap, gaiters, and enormous overcoat, came swaggering down the steps, drawing on his gauntleted gloves.
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`Hullo! come on, you fellows!' he cried cheerfully on catching sight of them. `You're just in time to come with me for a jolly -- to come for a jolly -- for a -- er -- jolly -- -- '
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His hearty accents faltered and fell away as he noticed the stern unbending look on the countenances of his silent friends, and his invitation remained unfinished.
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The Badger strode up the steps. `Take him inside,' he said sternly to his companions. Then, as Toad was hustled through the door, struggling and protesting, he turned to the chauffeur in charge of the new motor-car. `I'm afraid you won't be wanted to-day,' he said. `Mr. Toad has changed his mind. He will not require the car. Please understand that this is final. You needn't wait.' Then he followed the others inside and shut the door.
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`Now then!' he said to the Toad, when the four of them stood together in the Hall, `first of all, take those ridiculous things off!'
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`Shan't!' replied Toad, with great spirit. `What is the meaning of this gross outrage? I demand an instant explanation.'
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`Take them off him, then, you two,' ordered the Badger briefly.
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They had to lay Toad out on the floor, kicking and calling all sorts of names, before they could get to work properly. Then the Rat sat on him, and the Mole got his motor-clothes off him bit by bit, and they stood him up on his legs again. A good deal of his blustering spirit seemed to have evaporated with the removal of his fine panoply. Now that he was merely Toad, and no longer the Terror of the Highway, he giggled feebly and looked from one to the other appealingly, seeming quite to understand the situation.
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`You knew it must come to this, sooner or later, Toad,' the Badger explained severely.
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You've disregarded all the warnings we've given you, you've gone on squandering the money your father left you, and you're getting us animals a bad name in the district by your furious driving and your smashes and your rows with the police. Independence is all very well, but we animals never allow our friends to make fools of themselves beyond a certain limit; and that limit you've reached. Now, you're a good fellow in many respects, and I don't want to be too hard on you. I'll make one more effort to bring you to reason. You will come with me into the smoking-room, and there you will hear some facts about yourself; and we'll see whether you come out of that room the same Toad that you went in.'
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He took Toad firmly by the arm, led him into the smoking-room, and closed the door behind them.
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`That's no good!' said the Rat contemptuously. `Talking to Toad'll never cure him. He'll say anything.'
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( Excerpt from : The Wind in the Willows – By Kenneth Graham )
The Wind in the Willows was the first full length book I got as a kid. And somehow, those characters stayed with me since then; both in my imagination and in real life.
For those of you who are interested, the complete book is available at the University of Virginia Electronic text centre here to download / read for Free.
( All Copyrights acknowledged )
