One bright summer morning, Mole spoke to Water Rat. “Water Rat,” Mole said suddenly. “I want to ask you for a favor.”
Water Rat was sitting on the river bank. He was singing a little song. Water Rat wrote the song himself that morning. He was very happy with his song and did not listen to Mole.
Earlier that morning, Water Rat went swimming with the ducks. Sometimes the ducks put their heads under the water. Water Rat dived down and tickled their necks. The ducks were angry and they came up quickly.
Finally, the ducks told Water Rat to go away. Water Rat sat in the sun and wrote a song about them. He called the song “The Ducks’ Song.”
“All along the small river,
In the tall grass,
Ducks play in the water,
Tails in the air!
Yellow feet move,
Yellow beaks are hidden,
They are busy in the river.
Everyone likes different things!
We like to be,
Heads down, tails up,
Playing in the water!”
“I do not like that song very much,” Mole said. Mole was an honest animal and he did not like poetry.
“The ducks do not like it either,” Water Rat said cheerfully. “The ducks want to do what they like. They do not want me to watch them and write songs.”
“I agree with the ducks,” Mole said.
“I do not agree!” Water Rat cried.
“Okay, okay,” Mole said. “But I want to ask you something. Will you take me to meet Mr. Toad? I hear many stories about him.”
“Of course,” said the kind Water Rat. He stood up and forgot about his song. “Get the boat. We will go there now. Toad is always happy to see friends.”
“He sounds like a nice animal,” Mole said. Mole took the sculls (short wooden oars) and began to row. Water Rat sat in the back of the boat.
“Toad is the best animal,” Water Rat said. “He is simple and kind. He is not very clever and he is very proud. But Toad is a good friend.”
They moved around a turn in the river. They saw a large, beautiful house made of red bricks. It had green grass that went down to the water.
“That is Toad Hall,” Water Rat said. “The creek (a small, narrow river) on the left goes to his boat-house. We will leave our boat there. Toad is very rich and this is a great house.”
They moved into the dark boat-house. Mole saw many expensive boats there. But the boats were not in the water. The boat-house was very quiet and dusty.
Water Rat looked around. “I understand,” Water Rat said. “Toad is finished with boats. He is tired of them. I wonder what he likes now? Let’s go find him.”
They walked across the grass with many flowers. They found Toad in a garden chair. Toad had a large map on his knees.
“Hooray!” Toad cried when he saw them. He jumped up and shook their paws. He was very excited to see Mole and Water Rat. “This is wonderful! I was going to send a boat for you, Water Rat.”
“Let’s sit down, Toad,” Water Rat said. He sat in a chair. Mole sat in a chair too. Mole said that Toad had a very beautiful house.
“It is the best house on the river,” Toad said loudly. “It is the best house in the world!”
Water Rat touched Mole with his foot. Toad saw this and his face became red. Then Toad laughed. “It is okay, Water Rat. It is a good house. Now, I need your help. It is very important!”
“Is it about your rowing?” Water Rat asked. “You are better now, but you still splash a lot of water.”
“Boating!” Toad cried. “That is a silly hobby. I finished with boats a long time ago. Boating is a waste of time. I have a new hobby now. It is the only thing to do in life. Come with me to the yard!”
Toad led them to the yard behind the house. Water Rat did not look happy. In the yard, they saw a caravan (a small house on wheels pulled by a horse). It was bright yellow with green lines and red wheels.
“There it is!” Toad cried. “This is the real life! We will travel on the dusty roads. we will see fields and villages and cities! We will go to new places every day. This is the best cart in the world. Come inside!”
Mole was very interested. He followed Toad up the steps and into the cart. Water Rat stayed outside with his hands in his pockets.
The inside of the cart was very small and comfortable. There were small beds and a table. There was a small stove for cooking and many books. There were pots and pans and a bird in a cage.
“Everything is here!” Toad said. He opened a box. “We have biscuits and meat and juice. We have paper for letters and games to play. We have everything for our trip this afternoon.”
Water Rat spoke slowly. “Did you say ‘we’ and ‘this afternoon’?”
“My dear Water Rat,” Toad said. “Please do not be angry. You must come with me. I cannot go without you. Do not live in a hole in the river bank all your life. I want to show you the world!”
“I do not care,” Water Rat said. “I am not coming. I will stay at my river and live in my hole. Mole will stay with me too. Right, Mole?”
“Of course,” Mole said. “I will stay with you, Water Rat. But the yellow cart looks like fun.” Poor Mole wanted to see the world. He loved the yellow cart and everything inside it.
Water Rat saw that Mole was sad. Water Rat did not like to make his friends sad. Water Rat looked at Mole and then he looked at Toad.
“Come inside for lunch,” Toad said. “We can talk about it. We do not need to decide now. I only want you to be happy.”
During lunch, Toad talked a lot. He told Mole about the beautiful roads and the exciting travel. Mole was very excited. Soon, they all agreed to go. Water Rat was a good friend and he did not want to disappoint Mole and Toad.
They went to the paddock (a small field with grass for a horse). They had to catch an old grey horse. The horse was not happy about the trip. Then Toad put more food and hay on the cart. Finally, they started their journey.
It was a beautiful afternoon. The air was warm and birds sang in the trees. People on the road said “Good day” to them. Rabbits watched them from the side of the road.
Late in the evening, they were far from home. They stopped in a field. They let the horse eat grass. They sat on the grass and ate supper. Toad talked about his big plans. The stars and the moon came out.
Finally, they went to sleep in their small beds in the cart. Toad was very happy. “This is the real life!” Toad said. “It is better than the river!”
“I do not talk about my river,” Water Rat said quietly. “But I think about it all the time.”
Mole felt sorry for Water Rat. He reached out and touched Water Rat’s paw. “I will go home with you tomorrow, Water Rat,” Mole whispered.
“No,” Water Rat whispered back. “I must stay with Toad. He is not safe alone. The trip will finish soon. Toad always gets tired of new things. Good night.”
The next morning, Toad did not want to get out of bed. Water Rat and Mole did all the work. Water Rat looked after the horse and made a fire. Mole walked to a village to get milk and eggs.
They traveled all day. They walked over green hills and through small roads. The next morning, they reached a big road. Then something terrible happened.
They were walking slowly. Mole was at the horse's head. Toad and Water Rat were walking behind the cart. Suddenly, they heard a loud noise behind them. It sounded like a giant bee.
They looked back and saw a cloud of dust. Something was moving very fast. “Poop-poop!” the thing shouted. Suddenly, the thing was next to them.
It was a motor-car (an old name for a car). It was very large and fast. It made a loud noise and a lot of wind. The driver held the wheel tightly. The car was gone in a second. It left a big cloud of dust.
The old grey horse was very scared. He jumped and moved backwards. Mole tried to stop him, but he could not. The horse pushed the cart into a deep ditch (a long, narrow hole at the side of a road).
There was a loud crash. The beautiful yellow cart was on its side. It was broken and ruined.
Water Rat was very angry. He jumped up and down. “You bad people!” he shouted at the car. “I will call the police! You broke our cart!” Water Rat forgot about being home-sick. He was very angry for his friends.
Toad sat down in the dust in the middle of the road. He looked at the place where the car disappeared. He had a happy smile on his face. “Poop-poop!” Toad said quietly.
Mole helped the horse. Then Mole looked at the cart. The windows were broken. The wheels were bent. Food was everywhere on the road. The bird in the cage was crying.
Water Rat tried to fix the cart, but he could not. “Toad!” he shouted. “Come and help us!”
Toad did not move. He was in a dream. He only looked at the road. “Poop-poop!” he said again.
Water Rat shook Toad’s shoulder. “Are you going to help us, Toad?”
“What a beautiful sight!” Toad whispered. “That is the real way to travel! You see the whole world! Oh my! Oh my!”
“Stop being silly, Toad!” Mole cried.
“I never knew about cars!” Toad said in a dream. “I wasted my life with boats and carts. Now I know! I want to speed on the road. I want to make clouds of dust!”
“What can we do?” Mole asked Water Rat.
“Nothing,” Water Rat said. “Toad has a new hobby. He will be like this for days. He is in a dream. He cannot help us fix the cart.”
They looked at the cart again. It was impossible to fix. The wheels were in pieces.
Water Rat took the horse's rope. He took the bird-cage in his other hand. “Come on, Mole,” Water Rat said. “The town is six miles away. we must walk.”
“But we cannot leave Toad!” Mole said. “He is sitting in the road. It is not safe.”
“I do not care about Toad!” Water Rat said. He was very cross.
But soon, Toad ran after them. He walked between them and held their arms. He was still dreaming about the car.
“Toad,” Water Rat said. “When we get to town, you must go to the police. Tell them about that car. Then you must find a man to fix the cart.”
“The police? Fix the cart?” Toad said. “I do not want the cart. I never want to see a cart again. Oh, Water Rat! I am so happy I came on this trip! Now I have seen the car! It was like a sunbeam! It was wonderful!”
Water Rat looked at Mole. “He is hopeless,” Water Rat said. “When we get to town, we will take a train back to the river. I will never go on a trip with Toad again!”
They reached the town and went to the train station. They put Toad in a room and paid a man to watch him. They left the horse at a stable. Finally, a train took them home.
They took Toad to his house. They told his housekeeper to give him food and put him to bed. Then Water Rat and Mole took their boat and rowed home. They were very happy to be in their own house again.
The next evening, Mole was fishing by the river. Water Rat came to find him. “Have you heard the news?” Water Rat asked. “Everyone on the river bank is talking about it.”
“What happened?” Mole asked.
“Toad went to the city this morning,” Water Rat said. “And he ordered a very large, very expensive motor-car!”