The Wind in
the Willows

Retold from the Kenneth Grahame original
by Martin Woodside

Illustrated by Jamel Akib

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Woodside, Martin.

 The wind in the willows / retold from the Kenneth Grahame original by Martin Woodside ; illustrated by Jamel Akib ; afterword by Arthur Pober, EdD.

   p. cm.—(Classic starts)

 Summary: An abridged version of Kenneth Grahame's classic tale of the escapades of four animal friends who live along a river in the English countryside—Toad, Mole, Rat, and Badger.

  ISBN 978-1-4027-3696-4

 [1. Animals—Fiction.] I. Akib, Jamel, ill. II. Grahame, Kenneth, 1859–1932.

 Wind in the willows. III. Title. IV. Series.

PZ7.W867Win 2007

[Fic]—dc22

2006014669

4  6  8  10  9  7  5  3

Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
387 Park Avenue South, NewYork, NY 10016
Copyright © 2007 by Martin Woodside
Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Jamel Akib
Distributed in Canada by Sterling Publishing
c/o Canadian Manda Group, 165 Dufferin Street,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M6K 3H6
Distributed in the United Kingdom by GMC Distribution Services,
Castle Place, 166 High Street, Lewes, East Sussex, England BN7 1XU
Distributed in Australia by Capricorn Link (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
P.O. Box 704, Windsor, NSW 2756, Australia

Classic Starts is a trademark of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Printed in China
All rights reserved

Sterling ISBN 978-1-4027-3696-4

For information about custom editions, special sales, premium and corporate purchases, please contact Sterling Special Sales Department at 800-805-5489 or specialsales@sterlingpublishing.com.

CONTENTS

Chapter 1 :
The Riverbank

Chapter 2 :
New Friends and a New Life

Chapter 3 :
The Open Road

Chapter 4 :
The Motorcar’s Spell

Chapter 5 :
The Wild Wood

Chapter 6 :
Rescued

Chapter 7 :
Mr. Badger

Chapter 8 :
Dolce Domum

Chapter 9 :
Mr. Toad

Chapter 10 :
Escape and Ruin

Chapter 11 :
Toad Faces the Judge

Chapter 12 :
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Chapter 13 :
Toad’s Adventures

Chapter 14 :
Wayfarers All

Chapter 15 :
The Further Adventures of Toad

Chapter 16 :
Like Summer Storms Came His Tears

Chapter 17 :
The Return of Ulysses

What Do You Think?

Afterword

Classic Starts™ Library

CHAPTER 1

The Riverbank

The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring cleaning. First with brooms, then with dusters, then on ladders and steps and chairs, till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and an aching back and weary arms.

Spring was moving in the air above and in the air below and around him, even his dark and lowly little house. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said “No more spring cleaning!” and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something above was calling him. So he scraped and scraped and scratched and scraped, working busily with his little paws and muttering, “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 green meadow.

The sunshine struck hot on his fur and soft breezes soothed his heated brow. He rambled busily through the meadows. Birds were building nests, flowers were budding—everything was happy. His happiness was complete when suddenly he stood by the edge of a river. He had never seen a river before. It was chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh. The Mole was delighted. He sat on the bank while the river chattered to him. It was the finest sound he had ever heard.

A dark hole in the riverbank opposite caught his eye. As he gazed, something bright and small seemed to twinkle in the heart of it like a tiny star. Then as he looked, it winked at him. It was an eye! A small face gradually began to grow around it.

A little brown face, with whiskers.

It had small neat ears and thick silky hair.

It was the Water Rat!

“Hello, Mole!” said the Water Rat.

“Hello, Rat!” said the Mole.

The Rat stepped onto a little boat that Mole had not observed. It was painted blue outside, and white within, and was just the size for two animals. Mole’s whole heart went out to it at once. The Rat rowed across smartly. Then he held up his forepaw as the Mole stepped gingerly down. “Lean on that!” he said. “Now then, step lively!” And the Mole, to his surprise, found himself seated in a real boat.

“This has been a wonderful day,” said he, as the Rat shoved off. “Do you know, I’ve never been in a boat before.”

“What?” cried the Rat, openmouthed. “Never been—you never—well, I—what have you been doing then?”

“Is it so nice as all that?” asked the Mole shyly.

“Nice? It’s the only thing,” said the Water Rat dreamily. “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing— absolutely nothing—half so much fun as being in a boat.”

Absorbed in his new life, in the sparkle, the ripple, the scents, the sounds, and the sunlight, the Mole trailed a paw in the water and daydreamed.

“I beg your pardon,” said the Mole, pulling himself together with an effort. “You must think me very rude, but all this is so new to me. So, this is a river?”

“The river,” corrected the Rat

“And you really live by the river? What a jolly life! What lies over there?” asked the Mole, waving a paw toward a background of dark trees on one side of the river.

“That’s just the Wild Wood,” said the Rat shortly. “We don’t go there very much, we riverbankers.”

“Aren’t they—aren’t they very nice people in there?” said the Mole, a bit nervously.

“W-ell,” replied the Rat, “let me see. The squirrels are all right, but the rabbits are a mixed lot. And then there’s Badger, of course. Nobody interferes with him. They had better not,” he said significantly.

“And, of course—there are others,” continued the Rat in a hesitating sort of way. “Weasels—and stoats—and foxes—and so on. They’re all right in a way—but there’s no denying it—well—you can’t really trust them and that’s the fact.”

The Mole knew well that an animal with good manners does not dwell on possible trouble ahead, so he dropped the subject.

“And beyond the Wild Wood?” the Mole asked. “It looks all blue and dim, and one sees what may be hills and something like the smoke of towns, or is only a cloud drift?”

“Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Human World,” said the Rat, “and that’s something that doesn’t matter, either to you or to me. I’ve never been there and I’m never going, nor you, either, if you’ve got any sense. Now then! We’re going to lunch.”

The Rat brought the boat alongside the bank, tied it up, helped awkward Mole safely ashore, and swung out the picnic basket. The Mole begged to be allowed to unpack it all by himself. He took out all the mysterious packets one by one and arranged their contents, gasping “O my! O my!” at each fresh surprise. When all was ready, the Rat said, “Now dig in, old fellow!” and the Mole was very glad to obey, for he had started his spring cleaning at a very early hour and was now quite hungry.