Ветер в ивах
The River Bank
Don’tyouthinkanymoreaboutit;andlookhere!Ireallythinkyouhadbettercomeandstopwithmeforalittletime.It’sveryplainandrough,youknow—notlikeToad’shouseatall—butyouhaven’tseenthatyet;still,Icanmakeyoucomfortable.AndI’llteachyoutorowandtoswim,andyou’llsoonbeashandyonthewaterasanyofus."
TheMolewassotouchedbyhiskindmannerofspeakingthathecouldfindnovoicetoanswerhim;andhehadtobrushawayatearortwowiththebackofhispaw.ButtheRatkindlylookedinanotherdirection,andpresentlytheMole’sspiritsrevivedagain,andhewasevenabletogivesomestraightback-talktoacoupleofmoorhenswhoweresniggeringtoeachotherabouthisbedraggledappearance.
Whentheygothome,theRatmadeabrightfireintheparlour,andplantedtheMoleinanarm-chairinfrontofit,havingfetcheddownadressing-gownandslippersforhim,andtoldhimriverstoriestillsupper-time.Verythrillingstoriestheywere,too,toanearth-dwellinganimallikeMole.Storiesaboutweirs,andsuddenfloods,andleapingpike,andsteamersthatflunghardbottles—atleastbottleswerecertainlyflung,andfromsteamers,sopresumablybythem;andaboutherons,andhowparticulartheywerewhomtheyspoketo;andaboutadventuresdowndrains,andnight-fishingswithOtter,orexcursionsfara-fieldwithBadger
