--- title: The Wind in the Willows, chapter I, part 1: The River Bank (the Mole leaves his spring-cleaning and meets the Rat) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The Wind in the Willows, chapter I, part 1: The River Bank (the Mole leaves his spring-cleaning and meets the Rat)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: The Mole has been spring-cleaning his little underground --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/) / The Wind in the Willows, chapter I, pa… # The Wind in the Willows, chapter I, part 1: The River Bank (the Mole leaves his spring-cleaning and meets the Rat) Lesson 25 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 24 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/0/) — The Mole has been spring-cleaning his little underground home all morning, until he is covered in dust and whitewash and fed up. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/1/) — Suddenly he throws down his brush, says «Hang spring-cleaning!» and digs his way up into the sunshine of a big meadow. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/2/) — He is so happy that he knocks over a fussy old rabbit who wants sixpence to let him pass, and runs on through the fields while everyone else is busy. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/3/) — He feels like the only one on holiday, and that is half the fun. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/4/) — Then he sees a river for the first time in his life. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/5/) — It seems alive — chattering, chuckling, sparkling — and he sits on the bank, spellbound, as if it were telling him stories. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/6/) — In a hole in the opposite bank something twinkles: an eye, then a whiskered brown face. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/8/) — The Rat rows across in a little blue-and-white boat, helps the Mole in, and the Mole admits he has never been in a boat before. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/9/) — The Rat is amazed, and dreamily tells him there is nothing «half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats» — and crashes into the bank while he says it. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/10/) — He just laughs, and invites the Mole to spend the whole day on the river with him. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/11/) — The book is «The Wind in the Willows» by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908; the animals talk, wear clothes and live in little houses, but still live like animals in many ways. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/12/) — The Mole was spring-cleaning with brooms, dusters and a pail of whitewash (a white paint for walls) till he had «dust in his throat and eyes» and an aching back. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/13/) — He threw down his brush and said «Bother!» and «O blow!» and «Hang spring-cleaning!» — all old, mild ways of saying «I've had enough!» - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/14/) — He dug up his tunnel: «he scraped and scratched and scrabbled and scrooged», muttering to himself «Up we go! - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/17/) — The Mole shouted «Onion-sauce! - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/18/) — Onion-sauce!» at the rabbits as a cheeky jeer; onion sauce was served with roast rabbit, so it was a rude joke. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/19/) — The rabbits only blamed each other once it was too late: «How stupid you are! - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/20/) — Why didn't you tell him—». - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/21/) — The book says: «the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.» - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/22/) — The Mole had never seen a river before, and was «bewitched, entranced, fascinated»; it seemed to him «this sleek, sinuous, full-bodied animal, chasing and chuckling» (sinuous = winding like a snake). - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/24/) — When the Rat asks «Would you like to come over?», the Mole answers «rather pettishly» (a bit crossly) «Oh, it's all very well to talk», because he is new to the river and cannot see how to get across. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/27/) — The Rat: «there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.» While saying it he hit the bank and fell on his back with «his heels in the air», and then just picked himself up «with a pleasant laugh» and carried on talking calmly: «Nothing seems really to matter, that's the charm of it. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/28/) — Whether you get away, or whether you don't ... you're always busy, and you never do anything in particular.» - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/25-willows-ch1-part1-the-mole-meets-the-river/29/) — Old words in this part: «hither and thither» = here and there; «gingerly» = very carefully; «rapture» = great joy; «pettishly» = a bit sulkily; «composedly» = calmly; «Hold up!» = stop! - ← previous: [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 2: Alice's Evidence (sentence first, a pack of cards, and waking up)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/24-alice-alices-evidence-2/) - next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter I, part 2: The River Bank (the picnic basket, the Wild Wood and the Wide World)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/26-willows-ch1-part2-the-river-and-the-wild-wood/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)