杨柳风01（在线收听）

Bedtime Reading

The Wind in the Willows

Chapter One By the River

It was a lovely spring day in the country. The little animal called the Mole had been working hard all morning. He was cleaning his house which was under the ground. He cleaned every part of his house with soap and water. Then he swept the floors. Soon the Mole was very dirty and tired. He wanted to go outside and see the beautiful day.

“I’m tired of cleaning.” He said to himself cheerfully.

He dropped his broom and ran out of his house without even putting on his coat. The Mole had created some path under the ground. These paths led from his house up to the grass.

Soon the Mole was standing in a pretty green field. The sun was shining brightly and a strong cool wind was blowing.

“This is much better than cleaning.” cried the Mole.

Birds were singing loudly, happy that winter was over. The Mole felt very happy to be alive. He jumped in the air with the excitement and began to run across the field.

“Just a moment!” The Mole heard a voice say nearby. It was an old rabbit. “It will cost you money to pass by this private road.”

But the Mole didn’t listen to him. Many other rabbits were watching him pass by, whispering to each other. Mole just laughed at the rabbits. He thought they were very stupid animals.

Mole thought that everything around him seemed too beautiful and good to be real. In every tree birds were building their nests and laying eggs. Flowers and new leaves were growing. Mole didn’t care that he still had much more cleaning to do. He suddenly felt as if he was on a vacation after the long cold winter.

Just when the Mole thought that things couldn’t get any better, he saw something amazing that he had never seen before.

It was a river.

Mole ran over to the river’s edge and stared at the shining water. It was so beautiful and mysterious. Moles are animals that live under the ground and so Mole had never been in the water before. As the river water passed him by, it made strange noises. To Mole, it seemed that the river was laughing. Mole walked slowly along the river’s edge for a while. When he felt tired, he sat down under warm grass and listened to the beautiful songs of the water.

As he rested, Mole noticed something on the other side of the river. It was a small hole in a hill. He thought about how nice it would be to live inside that hole. You could always hear the river water flowing by your house. As he stared at the hole, he saw something moving inside it. Mole looked more closely. He realized that there was someone in the hole and he was watching him. Soon a little brown animal with small ears, a long tail and bright shining eyes came out of the hole. It was the Water Rat.

“Hello, Mole.” said the Rat.

“Hello, Rat.” said the Mole.

Mole and Rat did not know each other. They stood still and looked at each other carefully.

“Would you like to come and visit?” asked the Rat after a few moments.

“Well, I don’t know.” said the Mole. He was a little afraid of the water, because he had never seen it before.

The Rat walked down to the edge of the river. He stepped into a small blue boat. It was the perfect size for two animals. Mole was very interested. The Rat rowed the little boat across the river towards Mole.

“Come on. Get in.” he said, giving Mole his paw.

The Mole stepped carefully into the boat and sat down in the front of it.

“This has been a wonderful day!” he said excitedly to the Rat. “Did you know that I’ve never been in a boat before.”

“What?” cried the Rat, “You’ve never been in a boat? Well, what have you been doing in your whole life, then?”

“Is riding in a boat really so nice?” said the Mole. He made himself comfortable.

“Riding in a boat is the best thing to do!” said the Rat as he began to push the boat into the river’s current. “Believe me, my friend. There is nothing more fun than riding in a boat.”

For a few minutes after this, the Rat didn’t speak. He seemed to be thinking happily about boats.

“Look out, Rat!” cried the Mole suddenly. But it was too late. The little boat hit the land next to the river and the Rat fell over on his back, but he wasn’t hurt.

“Oh, yes. There is nothing nicer than a boat.” said the Rat as if nothing had happened.

Now standing up, “Listen here. If you really don’t have anything to do this morning, why don’t we travel down the river for a while?”

The Mole couldn’t believe his good luck. His whole body moved with excitement.

“What a day this is!” he said. “Let’s begin at once.”

“All right! Wait just a moment.” said the Rat.

He reached down and picked up a basket.

“Put the basket under your feet.” he said to Mole.

“What’s inside it?” asked the Mole.

“Oh, just a little lunch.” said the Rat. “Cold chicken, cold ham, cold beef, pickles, salad, bread, sandwiches, soda water, ginger beer……”

“Stop!” cried the Mole happily. “It’s too much!”

“Do you think so?” asked the Rat seriously. “I always like to take a little snack with me on my trips. The other animals are always telling me I never bring enough to eat.”

But the Mole was not listening. He was too busy staring at the wonderful new world around him. He put his paw into the cool water and lay back in the boat. The Water Rat didn’t disturb him. Instead, he guided the boat down the river. After a little while, the Mole sat up.

“I’m sorry, Rat.” he said. “You must think that I’m very rude for not speaking. It’s just that I’ve never seen anything like this before. So this is a river.”

“The river!” said the Rat.

“And you really live next to the river? What a happy life!”

“Yes. The river is the only home I’ve ever had. I don’t want any other.” said the Rat. “In the winter, summer, spring or autumn, the river is always full of beauty and excitement.”

“But doesn’t it get boring and lonely, just you and the river?” asked the Mole. “Don’t you want someone to talk to?”

“Boring and lonely?” cried the Rat. “Well, I must understand that you don’t know the river. The truth is that my neighborhood is very crowded. Many animals are moving away. Many others and water birds live here. They always want me to play with them as if I didn’t have important things to do.”

Suddenly the Mole saw something interesting.

“Rat, what’s that over there?” he said, pointing.

“Oh, that, that’s just the Wild Forest.” said the Rat. “We river animals don’t go there very much.”

“Are there nice animals in there?” asked the Mole. He felt a little nervous.

“Well,” said the Rat slowly, “let me think. The squirrels are all right. Some of the rabbits are nice, but others aren’t. And then there is Badger, of course. He is a wonderful old friend. He lives right in the middle of the forest and he wouldn’t live anywhere else, not if you paid him. No one tries to bother him. They’d better not.” he said.

“What do you mean? Why would anyone bother him?” asked the Mole.

“Well, there are other animals.” said the Rat. “Weasels, and foxes, and others. Sometimes they are nice to me, but you can’t trust them. Sometimes they decide that they don’t like you. You have to be very careful when you enter the Wild Forest.”

The Mole knew that it is against the animal custom to worry about things that might happen in the future. He changed the subject.

“What is beyond the Wild Forest?” he asked. “I think I see some hills or towns, but I’m not sure.”

“Beyond the Wild Forest is the great wide world.” said the Rat. “I’ve never been there and I’m never going to go there. The world isn’t important, not to you or me. If you are smart, you won’t go there. Don’t ever mention it again, please. Now, it’s time for lunch. Here is where we get out.”

The Rat guided the boat next to the land and the two animals got out. They sat on a little hill beside the river. The hill was surrounded by a few beautiful old trees. The trees were so old that the branches touched the water. It was so beautiful that the Mole could not speak.

Mole and the Rat took all the food out of the basket. Each dish was more delicious than the last.

When everything was sitting on the blanket, the Rat said, “Let’s eat.” and the Mole was happy to obey. For a while, the two new friends didn’t talk. They were too busy eating.

After a while, the Rat said, “What are you looking at?”

The Mole was staring at something in the water.

“I see some bubbles in the water and they are moving. It looks like something in the water is swimming towards us.” said the Mole.

“Aha,” cried the Rat. “Just wait.”

In a few seconds, Mole saw a large brown otter climb out of the water. The Otter sat next to him. He shook the water from his body.

“You greedy pigs,” he said laughing. “Why didn’t you invite me to your party, Rat?”

“Oh, it was a very small party.” said Rat. “Otter, this is my friend Mole.”

“Nice to meet you!” said Otter.

And the two animals were friends from then on.

“It seems that everyone is outside today.” said the Otter. “I was just trying to have a peaceful swim, but then I found you two.”

Suddenly the three animals heard some noises behind them. They turned around and saw another animal coming out of the bushes. It was the Badger.

“Hello, old Badger.” shouted the Rat.

The Badger looked at them with his small eyes.

“Hmm, company.” he said and disappeared.

“That’s the kind of animal he is.” said the Rat happily. “He hates society. Now we wouldn’t see any more of him today. Tell us, Otter, who else is out on the river today?”

“Well, Toad is here.” said the Otter. “I saw him and his new boat.”

Rat and Otter looked at each other and laughed loudly.

“You know Toad.” said the Otter. “He gets bored so easily. He is always getting tired of one project and starting something else. One day it’s a new boat, and the next day it’s something else. He will get tired of his boat before two days are over, I’m sure.

From where they sat they could see a shining new boat coming down the river. There was a toad guiding the boat. He was making a lot of noise and moving the boat around in the water.

“Silly Toad!” said the Rat. “He doesn’t know anything about boats.”

“I’m sure he’ll fall into the water.” And with that the Otter jumped back into the water and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The Mole and the Rat rested on the grass for a while longer.

Soon the Rat said, “Well, I guess it’s time to pack up the lunch basket.”

He didn’t sound so excited about this, because cleaning up is not much fun.

“Oh, please, let me do it.” said the Mole and of course the Rat agreed.

After everything was cleaned up, the two animals got back into the boat. The Rat prepared to return to his house. They were traveling back the way they had come.

It was late afternoon and the Rat was in a calm happy mood. He was rowing the boat slowly and saying poetry to himself. He wasn’t paying much attention to the Mole. Mole was feeling very pleased and excited about his adventures. He was also feeling a little restless.

After a while, he said, “Please, Rat, let me row the boat now.”

But the Rat only shook his head and smiled. “Not yet, my young friend. Wait until you have some lessens. It’s not as easy as it looks.”

The Mole was quiet for a few minutes, but the desire to row the boat was very strong and he began to feel a little jealous of Rat. He said to himself that he could row just as well as his friend.

Suddenly, before Rat had time to stop him, Mole jumped up and grabbed the oars.

“Mole, you silly animal!” cried the Rat. “You’ll fall in!”

But the Mole was not listening. He tried to push the oars into the water, but he slipped and fell over backwards into the boat. The little boat suddenly turned over and the two animals fell into the water.

How cold the water was! And how dark! Mole could not swim. He tried to keep his head above water, but he began to sink. He felt terrified!

Suddenly he felt a paw grab him by the neck and the next thing he knew his head was above the water.

Rat was an excellent swimmer, of course. He was laughing as he helped Mole to the river’s shore. Mole was too shocked, wet, cold and ashamed to say anything for a moment.

“Now, run around in the warm sun for a while and dry off. I’m going to dive into the river and find the boat and the lunch basket.”

Mole was wet on the outside and unhappy on the inside. He walked around for a while in the sun. Rat found the boat, the basket and his other things. Soon, everything had been put inside the boat. Mole was seated in the boat once more.

Mole said in a very sad voice, “Rat, my fine friend, I’m very sorry. I have been very stupid and I know it. My heart almost breaks when I think that I might have lost your lovely lunch basket and the other things. Can you ever forgive me?”

“That’s all right, dear Mole.” said the Rat. “A little water never hurt anything. Most of the time, I’m swimming in the river anyway. Don’t think about it anymore. But listen, don’t you think you’d better come and stay with me for a while? My home is very plain. It’s not like Toad’s. Oh, I forgot. You haven’t seen Toad’s house yet. I’ll make sure you’ll happy. I’ll teach you to row and boat and swim until you are skilled on the river as I am.”

The Mole was so touched by this great kindness that he could not speak for a minute. He wiped away some happy tears with his paw. The Rat, who was very kind, gave him time to calm himself. Soon the Mole felt better and he was even able to shout at some water birds who were laughing at his wet and messy appearance.

Soon Mole and Rat arrived at the Rat’s house. Rat made a big warm fire. Mole sat down in a large comfortable chair. Rat gave him some slippers and a warm robe. He told Mole stories of the river and the forest until it was time for dinner. For Mole who lived underground, these stories were amazing and interesting.

After supper, Mole was so sleepy that Rat had to help him to his little bed. As Mole fell asleep, he could hear the river water singing outside. And so Mole’s first day with Rat ended. But that was only the beginning of many more exciting days to come as spring turned into summer.

Mole learned to swim and to row the boat and to fish. He became acquainted with many river animals and became close friends with the Water Rat.