- 'The Wind in the Willows' Review
- 'The Wind in the Willows' Text
- Quotes
- Questions for Study & Discussion
- 'The Wind in the Willows' Books
'The Wind in the Willows' Review is a favorite tale (full of colorful animal characters), by Kenneth Grahame. Here are a few quotes from that famous work.
'The Wind in the Willows' Quotes
- "The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 1
- "After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 1
- "There is nothing--absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 1
- "The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spell-bound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 1
- "Weasels--and stoats--and foxes--and so on. They're all right in a way--I'm very good friends with them--pass the time of day when we meet, and all that--but they break out sometimes, there's no denying it, and then--well, you can't really trust them, and that's the fact."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 1
- "'Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wide World,' said the Rat. 'And that's something that doesn't matter, either to you or me. I've never been there, and I'm never going, nor you either, if you've got any sense at all.'"
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 1
- "All along the backwater,
Through the rushes tall,
Ducks are a-dabbling,
Up tails all!"
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2
- "Glorious, stirring sight! The poetry of motion! The real way to travel! The only way to travel! Here today--in next week tomorrow! Villages skipped, towns and cities jumped--always somebody else's horizon! O bliss! O poop-poop! O my! O my!"
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2
- "Toad talked big about all he was going to do in the days to come, while stars grew fuller and larger all around them, and a yellow moon, appearing suddenly and silently from nowhere in particular, came to keep them company and listen to their talk."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2
- "Somehow, it soon seemed taken for granted by all three of them that the trip was a settled thing; and the Rat, though still unconvinced in his mind, allowed his good-nature to over-ride his personal objections."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2
- "A careful inspection showed them that, even if they succeeded in righting it by themselves, the cart would travel no longer. The axles were in a hopeless state, and the missing wheel was shattered into pieces."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2
- "It's never the wrong time to call on Toad. Early or late he's always the same fellow. Always good-tempered, always glad to see you, always sorry when you go!"
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 2
- "The Mole had long wanted to make the acquaintance of the Badger. He seemed, by all accounts, to be such an important personage and, though rarely visible, to make his unseen influence felt by everybody about the place."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 3
- "Badger hates Society, and invitations, and dinner, and all that sort of thing."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 3
- "The whole wood seemed running now, running hard, hunting, chasing, closing in round something or--somebody? In panic, he began to run too, aimlessly, he knew not whither."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 3
- "There was the noise of a bolt shot back, and the door opened a few inches, enough to show a long snout and a pair of sleepy blinking eyes."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 4
- "Animals arrived, liked the look of the place, took up their quarters, settled down, spread, and flourished. They didn't bother themselves about the past - they never do; they're too busy."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 4
- "The Wild Wood is pretty well populated by now; with all the usual lot, good, bad, and indifferent--I name no names. It takes all sorts to make a world."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 4
- "I see you don't understand, and I must explain it to you. Well, very long ago, on the spot where the Wild Wood waves now, before ever it had planted itself and grown up to what it now is, there was a city--a city of people, you know. Here, where we are standing, they lived, and walked, and talked, and slept, and carried on their business. Here they stabled their horses and feasted, from here they rode out to fight or drove out to trade. They were a powerful people, and rich, and great builders. They built to last, for they thought their city would last for ever."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 4
- "People come--they stay for a while, they flourish, they build--and they go. It is their way. But we remain. There were badgers here, I've been told, long before that same city ever came to be. And now there are badgers here again. We are an enduring lot, and we may move out for a time, but we wait, and are patient, and back we come. And so it will ever be."
- Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, Ch. 4
