The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows
Author	Kenneth Grahame
Year Published	1908
Language	English

The Wind in the Willows is a 1908 British children's novel written by Kenneth Grahame. The book follows the adventures of four anthropomorphized animals: Badger, Mole, Rat and Toad. The Wind in the Willows is considered by many to be a classic.

As retold by Samantha Noonan and published with large print for children by Arcturus Publishing in 2021, this is a very good book for an early reader.

Plot

The Mole is busy with the spring cleaning of his home on a warm spring morning in rural England. He becomes tired of all the cleaning and decides to dig a tunnel up to the surface, where he can enjoy the beauty of springtime. Upon reaching the river, he becomes attached to it immediately and befriends the Water Rat, also known as a water vole. The Water Rat makes his home beside the river and spends his time in boats. They quickly become close friends during a picnic and meet other characters in the story: brave Otter, solitary Badger, and eccentric Toad. Rat invites Mole to stay with him for a while and teaches him how to row and swim.

In the summertime, Mole wants to pay a visit to Toad, who is wealthy and owns a grand property called Toad Hall. Toad is generally friendly, but he can be capricious and overconfident, quickly losing interest in one thing and moving on to the next. On this particular day, Toad has grown tired of boating and has decided to embark on a journey across England in his horse-drawn gypsy cart, offering Mole and Rat the chance to accompany him. However, their journey is abruptly interrupted when they encounter reckless humans speeding in their motorcar, causing the cart to topple over and the horse to become frightened. Toad is immediately captivated by the vehicle and, abandoning the cart, decides to pursue his latest craze: motorcars.

Mole has been wanting to visit Badger for a while now. However, Rat knows that Badger doesn't like visitors as he's not fond of society and advises Mole against going to see him. Nevertheless, on a cold autumn day, Mole ventures alone into the Wild Wood, where Badger resides. Unfortunately, he gets lost and scared by the hostile creatures in the forest and hides in a tree hole. Rat becomes aware of Mole's situation and decides to go to the Wild Wood with a gun and a club. He eventually finds Mole hiding in a hollow tree and waits patiently for him to recover.

As they make their way home, Rat and Mole stumble upon Badger's house. Mole trips over a boot scraper on Badger's doorstep. Initially irritable at being disturbed, Badger recognizes Rat and Mole and welcomes them warmly. He invites them to spend the night in his large, cozy underground home. The two travelers are provided with warm food and dry clothes, and the three enjoy each other's company. During their conversation, Mole and Rat reveal that Toad has been reckless with his obsession with motorcars. He has been crashing a lot and wasting money on many hospital visits and more motorcars. Badger promises that when summer comes around, he'll help Mole and Rat make Toad come to his senses.

In the cold days of December, Mole senses that his old home is nearby and wants to find it. At first, Rat doesn't understand the situation, but later, Mole breaks down and admits that he misses his old home, Mole End. Rat decides to help his friend by finding the home and cleaning it up to make it livable again. They invite some mice singing Christmas carols into Mole's house for dinner, and they all have a good time chatting and feasting. Although Mole is not ready to give up his adventurous life with Rat, he is happy to have his old home to come back to.

Summer has arrived, and Badger visits Rat's house to announce that it's time to intervene in Toad's reckless behavior. The group heads to Toad Hall, where Toad is preparing to drive a motorcar. Badger instructs Mole and Rat to remove Toad's riding clothes before attempting to talk him out of his obsession with motor cars. However, Toad refuses to give up his mania, so his friends decide to place him under house arrest, guarding his room until he realizes the error of his ways.

Soon, Toad pretends to be sick and successfully tricks Rat into fetching him a doctor and a lawyer so that he can escape. Rat is scolded for being gullible, but Badger and Mole agree to stay at Toad Hall to take care of it until Toad returns.

Toad steals a motorcar in the village and crashes it, leading to his arrest and a twenty-year prison sentence. This is mostly due to his disrespectful behavior towards the police. While in prison, the jailer's daughter shows him kindness, enabling him to escape disguised as a washerwoman. Toad seeks the help of an engineer and a horse-drawn barge and briefly works for the barge woman until he insults her and is thrown into the river. Seeking revenge, he steals the woman's horse and sells it to a gypsy. Later, Toad finds the same motorcar he stole before and pretends to be a washerwoman again to get a ride. He gets a thrill from being in a vehicle again, so he takes control of the wheel and crashes into a pond, attracting police attention. They chase him until he falls into the river, ultimately escaping their grasp.

Toad has his adventures, but there are two other stories about his friends who live by the river. The first story, "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," follows Mole and Rat as they search for Otter's lost son Portly. Otter is worried about Portly and frets that he's been missing for too long. Fortunately, they find Portly unharmed and in the company of the Greek satyr Pan. Pan removes their memories of this encounter "lest the awful remembrance should remain and grow and overshadow mirth and pleasure," and the two friends reunite Portly with his father. This inspires Rat to write a new poem as he and Mole return home.

The second story, "Wayfarers All," tells of Rat feeling restless one late summer day as if something is missing from his life. He meets a sea rat who tells him about his adventures at sea, exploring places like Greece and Italy. Tempted and going crazy, Rat tries to leave his riverside home, but Mole makes him come back to his senses. To Rat's credit, he comes to his senses and decides to stay by the river, but he gets inspired by the stories the sea rat has told him and decides to try writing some poetry about it.

Toad continues his adventure by drifting on the river until he reaches the home of Rat. Rat then brings Toad to his own house. On the other hand, Mole and Badger stayed at Toad Hall and took care of it. They kept things in order until the weasels, stoats, and ferrets from the Wild Wood chased them out. When Toad hears about this, he becomes furious and confronts the Wild Wood residents. Unfortunately, they successfully repel him, even when he rowed Rat's boat to Toad Hall. The Wild Wood animals destroy the boat, and Rat calls out Toad for all his misdeeds. Realizing his mistakes, Toad regrets what he has put his three friends through and promises to make it up to them. Mole and Badger return to welcome Toad.

Mole disguises himself in Toad's washerwoman clothes and heads to Toad Hall. He gets the Wild Wood animals paranoid by telling them exaggerated tales of armies of badgers, rats, and toads coming to invade them. The four friends then plan to drive the Wild Wood animals out and take back Toad Hall.

With the help of a tunnel beneath the kitchen and a clever trick from Mole, the four animals manage to sneak into Toad Hall and engage in a battle against the weasels and their allies. Once the weasels, stoats, and ferrets are driven out, Toad is instructed to host a feast for all his neighbors to celebrate his return. However, he is advised not to sing or make speeches during the event, which initially disappoints him. Eventually, Toad composes himself and sings a song called "When The Toad Came Home" to himself before confidently attending the feast as a humbler animal. To make amends for his past misdeeds, he seeks out and compensates those he had wronged. After this, Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger live harmoniously and contentedly in the English countryside.

Characters

Mole: Mole is a quiet and unremarkable individual who unexpectedly finds himself embroiled in grand adventures and is arguably just as important a character as Mr. Toad. He is soft-spoken and prefers the comfort of his own home but occasionally feels the urge to leave and "hang spring cleaning!" Although initially overwhelmed by the busy world outside his home, he gradually adapts to a more exciting and eventful life. Mole is also great with children, as evidenced by his welcoming of mouse children who came to sing Christmas carols and feast with him and Rat in Mole's newly renovated home. He and Rat are best friends, with Rat affectionately calling him "Moley".

Rat: Rat is Mole's closest friend and Mole affectionately calls him "Ratty". Rat is fiercely loyal to his other friends and feels most at home by the river. He stubbornly refuses to do anything outside his riverside lifestyle, believing that anything not found by the river is not worth having, and anything unknown to the river is not worth knowing. He loves messing about in boats and is also fond of writing poetry, often finding inspiration from the river. Whenever Badger is absent, Rat takes on the role of the voice of reason and is often irritated by the fast pace of modern living. Despite his name, Rat is actually a water vole, which is often referred to as a water rat.

Toad: Toad is a prominent character in the book, living a luxurious life in Toad Hall, which he inherited from his father. He is known for his tendency to follow the latest trends, taking up one fad after another. For instance, the story starts with him taking an interest in boating, then switching to carts, and later to motorcars, which is his latest obsession. Despite being spoiled, conceited, and impulsive, Toad values his friendships and strives to do right by his friends. At times, he admits his mistakes and tries to make amends. The book has several chapters that describe Toad's latest fad getting him into trouble with the law, leading to his imprisonment and subsequent escape.

Badger: Badger is a solitary animal who lives in an underground set in the middle of the Wild Wood. He is a big and fierce creature who dislikes going out in society and disapproves of certain behaviors like not putting elbows on tables. However, he can be friendly and welcoming to his friends and is also kind to children. Like Mole, he, too, has a liking for living underground as both are burrowing animals. Badger's home was built by the Romans in Great Britain before being claimed by badgers. He is a friend of Toad's late father and though he doesn't compromise with Toad, he remains hopeful that Toad's good qualities will eventually prevail.

Otter:: Although Otter is not one of the main protagonists, he is a close friend of all four animals. He is a brave and lively creature who loves spending time on the river with his son, Portly. Otter is one of the few animals besides Badger who has traveled through the Wild Wood alone and without fear.

The Weasels: The Wild Wood is home to a group of weasels who like to cause trouble. They take over Toad Hall while Toad is in prison, with the help of their allies, the stoats and ferrets. However, in the end, they are overthrown by Toad's four friends and become mostly reformed.

The Jailor's Daughter: The daughter of the jailer befriends Toad while he is imprisoned. She aids his escape and he later repays her kindness.

The Seafarer: The seafarer is a ship's rat who takes a short break from his seafaring ways and talks to Rat about his adventures at sea, going to places like Constantinople. His stories briefly lull Rat into trying to leave the river, but Mole brings him back to his senses.

Pan: Pan is a satyr from Greek mythology who is said to watch over the wild animals, who see him as a god. Mole and Rat see him when they find Otter's son Portly safe and sound in his presence, and he wipes the memory of this encounter out of their minds.

Film adaptations

In 1949, Walt Disney released his version of "The Wind in the Willows" in his film "The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad". The film also included Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow". However, Disney made some major changes to the original story. For example, in Disney's version, Toad is framed for stealing the motorcar, whereas in the original story, he steals it himself. Additionally, Disney changed Rat's character from a Bohemian sailor to a stuffy yet caring Englishman. Lastly, Disney made Badger Scottish instead of British.

In 1983, Cosgrove Hall Films released a stop-motion animated movie for Thames Television. This movie was followed by an animated TV series the next year and had five seasons. The first season included two stories adapted from the book: "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and "Wayfarers All". The other episodes were original adventures such as Mole meeting his city playwright cousin and a railway threatening the Riverbankers and Wild Wood animals' ways of life. The series had another movie called A Tale of Two Toads which dealt with a Toad imposter attempting to divide Toad's friends and take over Toad Hall with the weasels while Toad was kidnapped. This second movie took place during the fourth and fifth seasons.

In 1987, Rankin/Bass released an animated film featuring well-known actors such as Charles Nelson Reilly and Roddy McDowall. Notable changes from the original book include making Portly - Otter's son - a badger and Badger's nephew, and changing Rat to a common brown rat instead of a water vole.

In 1995, an animated film was created that remains faithful to the original book. A sequel to the film called The Willows in Winter was released in 1996. This sequel tells the story of Toad's new obsession with airplanes, which gets him into trouble with the law again. Meanwhile, Mole is missing, so Rat and Mole's nephew (who is staying with his uncle in Mole End) lead a search party to find him.

1996 had a live-action adaptation with human characters instead of animal characters. However, those who play the animal characters have some animal characteristics, like whiskers and tails.

External links

• The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame - Audiobook at LibriVox