--- title: The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 3: Mr. Badger (the Otter comes through the snow, and the best home is underground) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 3: Mr. Badger (the Otter comes through the snow, and the best home is underground)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: The front-door bell clangs, and in bursts the O --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/) [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 IV, p… # The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 3: Mr. Badger (the Otter comes through the snow, and the best home is underground) Lesson 39 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 21 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/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/0/) — The front-door bell clangs, and in bursts the Otter, hugging the Rat so hard he splutters through his buttered toast. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/1/) — All the river bank was in a panic, he says — Rat and Mole gone all night! — but he guessed they'd be at Badger's, because anyone in trouble ends up at Badger's. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/3/) — He met a silly rabbit who said all the rabbits knew the Mole was being chased last night — and none of them did a thing to help. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/4/) — So the Otter cuffed him and left him. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/5/) — The Otter asks the Mole to fry him some ham, and the Mole sets the hedgehogs to do it. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/6/) — While they fry it, the Otter and the Rat talk river talk without end, and at last the Badger comes in, yawning and rubbing his eyes. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/7/) — He asks the Otter to lunch and sends the little hedgehogs home to their mother, with sixpence each and a pat on the head. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/8/) — At lunch the Mole tells the Badger how lovely it is to live underground: nothing can get at you, and you are your own master. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/9/) — The Badger beams — that's exactly what he thinks! - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/10/) — Floods chase the Rat out of his house, and a big house like Toad's can burn or leak; but underground there is no weather at all. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/11/) — «That's my idea of home!» - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/16/) — The Otter knew «when people were in any fix (= trouble) they mostly went to Badger, or else Badger got to know of it somehow». - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/17/) — In the snowy wood: snow slid off branches «with a flop!», there were «snow-castles and snow-caverns», and «robins perched and hopped on them in their perky conceited way, just as if they had done it themselves». (Conceited = too proud of yourself.) - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/18/) — He met a rabbit «cleaning his silly face with his paws», and «had to cuff his head once or twice» (cuff = hit with an open paw) to get any sense out of him. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/20/) — The Otter: «there are hundreds and hundreds of you … you could have taken him in». - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/21/) — The rabbit: «‘What, us? do something? us rabbits?’» - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/24/) — At lunch-time the two hedgehogs, hungry again after their porridge, looked up at the Badger without speaking, too shy to say so. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/25/) — The Badger gives the hedgehogs «sixpence apiece and a pat on the head»; they leave «with much respectful swinging of caps and touching of forelocks» (the old polite way of greeting your «betters» — today we don't sort people into betters and lesser folk). - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/26/) — The Mole: «Once well underground … you know exactly where you are. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/27/) — Nothing can happen to you, and nothing can get at you.» - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/39-willows-ch4-part3-the-otter-and-underground-homes/30/) — About Toad Hall: «quite the best house in these parts, as a house. - ← previous: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 2: Mr. Badger (bad news of Toad, a winter promise, and two lost hedgehogs)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/38-willows-ch4-part2-toad-news-and-hedgehogs/) - next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter IV, part 4: Mr. Badger (the city under the Wild Wood, and the way home)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/40-willows-ch4-part4-the-city-under-the-wood/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)