--- title: The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 3: The Wild Wood (the Rat finds the Mole, and the snow comes) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 3: The Wild Wood (the Rat finds the Mole, and the snow comes)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: The Rat marches into the darkening wood. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/) [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 III,… # The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 3: The Wild Wood (the Rat finds the Mole, and the snow comes) Lesson 35 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 35 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/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/0/) — The Rat marches into the darkening wood. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/1/) — Wicked little faces pop out of holes — and vanish at the sight of him, his pistols and his big ugly stick; the whistling and pattering stop. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/2/) — For an hour or more he searches the whole wood, calling cheerfully, «Moly, Moly, Moly! - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/3/) — Where are you? - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/4/) — It's me—it's old Rat!» - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/5/) — At last a feeble voice answers from an old beech tree: «Ratty! - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/6/) — Is that really you?» The Mole is worn out and still shaking. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/7/) — The Rat explains: river-bankers never come here alone; you need to know the passwords, signs, sayings, plants and tricks — unless you're Badger or Otter. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/8/) — And Toad wouldn't come here alone for a hatful of gold! - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/9/) — The Rat's laughter and his gleaming pistols cheer the Mole up. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/10/) — But he's too tired to walk, so they rest in the dry leaves; the Mole sleeps, and the Rat keeps watch with a pistol in his paw. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/11/) — When the Rat peeps out — «Snow is up ... or rather, down.» The scary wood has turned white and magical. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/12/) — But the snow hides every path, and the Rat doesn't know where they are. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/13/) — For an hour or two they stumble on, pretending every tree is an old friend, falling into holes, soaked and bruised. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/14/) — Hopelessly lost, they sit on a fallen log. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/15/) — The Rat has a plan: go down into a lumpy little valley ahead and find a dry cave or hole to rest in. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/16/) — «Here and there wicked little faces popped out of holes, but vanished immediately at sight of the valorous animal, his pistols, and the great ugly cudgel in his grasp» (valorous = brave). - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/17/) — He searched «the whole ground, and all the time calling out cheerfully, "Moly, Moly, Moly! - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/18/) — Where are you? - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/19/) — It's me—it's old Rat!"» - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/21/) — Is that really you?» The Mole: «O Rat! - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/22/) — I've been so frightened, you can't think!» - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/23/) — The Rat: «You shouldn't really have gone and done it, Mole. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/24/) — I did my best to keep you from it. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/25/) — We river-bankers, we hardly ever come here by ourselves. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/27/) — «there are a hundred things one has to know ... passwords, and signs, and sayings which have power and effect, and plants you carry in your pocket, and verses you repeat, and dodges and tricks you practise». - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/32/) — The Rat let him sleep, and «lay patiently waiting, with a pistol in his paw». - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/33/) — «"What's up, Ratty?" — "Snow is up," replied the Rat briefly; "or rather, down. - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/34/) — It's snowing hard."» — a little joke on «What's up?» - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/35/) — The snow made the wood «a gleaming carpet of faery» (faery = fairyland) that «looked too delicate to be trodden upon by rough feet», and «a fine powder filled the air and caressed the cheek with a tingle». - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/36/) — The Rat: «The worst of it is, I don't exactly know where we are. - [37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/37/) — And now this snow makes everything look so very different.» - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/39/) — «There seemed to be no end to this wood, and no beginning, and no difference in it, and, worst of all, no way out.» - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/40/) — The Rat's plan: a dell (small valley) «where the ground seems all hilly and humpy and hummocky» — look for «a cave or hole with a dry floor to it» to rest; «the snow may leave off, or something may turn up». - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/35-willows-ch3-part3-snow-in-the-wild-wood/41/) — Talk in this lesson: «knackered» (UK) = worn out; «no cap» = honestly; «wee» (Scotland) = small; «sound» (Liverpool) = fine; «lowkey» = quietly, a bit; «wicked» (UK) = brilliant. - ← previous: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 2: The Wild Wood (the faces, the whistling, the pattering — and the Rat sets out)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/34-willows-ch3-part2-the-terror-of-the-wild-wood/) - next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 4: The Wild Wood (the door-scraper, the door-mat, and a green door)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)