The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

I have very fond memories as a child of my mother reading this book aloud to me.  We sat by the fireplace in the family room of a house we lived in in Minneapolis.  I was four or five years old. 

As an adult, I'd forgotten much of the story but the title alone stirred warm feelings in my heart. I love the slow and kind Mole and adventurous Water Rat.  And who couldn't be endeared to the wild Mr. Toad?  The others knew him to be a loose cannon, setting a bad example for the animal world.  Even the best intentions of friends had difficulty reining in the Toad.

But the part of the tale, I'd lost touch with behind the reason I loved to ride Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disney World.  Mole, Rat and Badger had tried their best to keep Toad in line. Crazy Toady, raced off in a stolen motor car, was arrested for reckless driving, and escaped from jail hitching a ride on a train.  The low tech Disney ride in a jalopy captured the essence of Mr. Toad and his trip back to Toad Hall complete with jerks and jolts and escape just in the nick of time from an oncoming locomotive. Even as a fugitive, Mr. Toad's friends stood by him and eventually led him to a life of good manners and composure. The Disney ride didn't have as much success and was closed in 1998.  My sense is that without a ride at the Magic Kingdom, a generation has never heard of this wonderful tale.

We can learn alot from the Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad.  The Wind in the Willows is still an exciting and heartwarming story of the power of friendship and all that is good in the world.  I still love it and long to hear it all again, read to me by the fireplace.