Ветер в ивах

           They’renotsobadreally;andwemustallliveandletlive.ButI’llpassthewordaroundto-morrow,andIthinkyou’llhavenofurthertrouble.Anyfriendofminewalkswherehelikesinthiscountry,orI’llknowthereasonwhy!"

           Whentheygotbacktothekitchenagain,theyfoundtheRatwalkingupanddown,veryrestless.Theundergroundatmospherewasoppressinghimandgettingonhisnerves,andheseemedreallytobeafraidthattheriverwouldrunawayifhewasn’ttheretolookafterit.Sohehadhisovercoaton,andhispistolsthrustintohisbeltagain."Comealong,Mole,"hesaidanxiously,assoonashecaughtsightofthem."Wemustgetoffwhileit’sdaylight.Don’twanttospendanothernightintheWildWoodagain."

           "It’llbeallright,myfinefellow,"saidtheOtter."I’mcomingalongwithyou,andIknoweverypathblindfold;andifthere’saheadthatneedstobepunched,youcanconfidentlyrelyuponmetopunchit."

           "Youreallyneedn’tfret,Ratty,"addedtheBadgerplacidly."Mypassagesrunfurtherthanyouthink,andI’vebolt-holestotheedgeofthewoodinseveraldirections,thoughIdon’tcareforeverybodytoknowaboutthem.Whenyoureallyhavetogo,youshallleavebyoneofmyshortcuts.Meantime,makeyourselfeasy,andsitdownagain.