The Wind in the Willows: The Secret Passage

The Rat pulled Toad out of the water and told him to wash and put on some proper clothes at once.Over lunch, Toad boasted about all his adventures, but the Rat grew more and more serious.“Toad, you’ve been chased, laughed at, and thrown in the water,” he said. “Where is the fun in that?”

Toad said sorry and promised to live a quiet life at Toad Hall, but the Rat said, “Haven’t you heard? The stoats and weasels have taken Toad Hall!”On a stormy night, a crowd of Wild Wood animals had broken in and chased the Mole and the Badger out into the rain.Toad marched off angrily, but a ferret with a gun fired at him from the gate, and two stoats dropped a stone through his boat.

That evening the Badger arrived, tired and muddy, and then the Mole came in with straw in his fur.The Badger looked at Toad sternly and said, “You bad, troublesome little animal! What would your father have said?”Toad cried into the sofa cushions, but the Badger said more kindly, “Cheer up. Now I’m going to tell you a great secret.”

“There is an underground passage from the river bank right up into the middle of Toad Hall,” he said.“Your father showed it to me, but he told me not to tell you, because you can never keep a secret.”The Badger had also learned that the next night the Chief Weasel would have a big birthday dinner, and all the weasels would be there without their weapons.

“The passage comes up under the butler’s pantry, right next to the dining hall,” said the Badger.“We’ll creep up quietly,” said the Mole. “With our swords and sticks,” said the Rat. “And whack them!” cried Toad, jumping over the chairs.The next morning, the Mole put on Toad’s old washerwoman dress and went to Toad Hall to play a trick on the guards.

He told the stoats that a hundred badgers, boatloads of rats, and an army of toads were going to attack that very night.The frightened guards ran around in confusion, and the Mole hurried home, very pleased with himself.“Well done, Mole!” said the Badger. “Tonight, we take back Toad Hall.”