The Wind in the Willows

“[…] the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.”

The story’s animals, all-too-human in their attitudes, are easy to identify with. They give priority to having fun with friends, something young readers understand. Mole, the first character who appears, is a hard worker, but Springtime lures him from his labors and sends him on the first of his many adventures.

“Never in his life had he seen a river before—this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling, gripping things with a gurgle and leaving them with a laugh, to fling itself on fresh playmates that shook themselves free, and were caught and held again. All was a-shake and a-shiver—glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. 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.”

The author combines elegant descriptions with metaphors and similes that capture a young person’s imagination. In his words, the river comes playfully alive; he likens it to a man telling stories to a small child. This connects readers to the story—they’re either very young or can remember their youth, with its sense of innocent wonder—and they settle in and listen eagerly.

“Believe me, my young friend, there is NOTHING—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

The water rat loves to enjoy himself, and boats provide much of the fun. His enthusiasm infects Mole too. Rat’s life centers on the river, and boats are his way around it. He knows who he is and what he wants from life, and boats are a big part of that. Mole feels drawn to him precisely because Rat shows the rare quality of being at home with himself and his world.