--- title: The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a dusty home, a sardine supper, and voices outside) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a dusty home, a sardine supper, and voices outside)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Inside, the Mole sees dust everywhere, a cold, small, shabby, l --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/) [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 V, pa… # The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a dusty home, a sardine supper, and voices outside) Lesson 43 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 23 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/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/0/) — Inside, the Mole sees dust everywhere, a cold, small, shabby, long-forgotten house — and flops onto a hall-chair in despair. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/1/) — Why did he drag poor Ratty here, when he could be toasting his toes at home? - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/2/) — But the Rat isn't listening. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/3/) — He is running about lighting lamps and candles: «What a capital little house this is! - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/4/) — So well planned!» - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/5/) — The Rat lights a roaring fire and sets the Mole dusting. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/6/) — Then the Mole despairs again: there's nothing to eat, not a crumb! - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/8/) — He has spotted a sardine-opener — so there must be sardines somewhere. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/9/) — They hunt and find sardines, biscuits and a sausage. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/10/) — The Rat jokes about the missing luxuries and comes back from the cellar with bottles of beer. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/12/) — The Rat is starving, but he nods and says «wonderful» — he knows what his friend needs. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/13/) — Just as the Rat gets the sardine tin open, there are scuffling feet and tiny voices outside: «Now, all in a line — hold the lantern up a bit, Tommy». - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/14/) — It's the field-mice, out carol-singing, as they do every year — and they always come to Mole End last. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/15/) — Eight or ten of them stand in a half-circle in red woolly scarves, and «one, two, three!» they begin. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/16/) — The Mole sees «the dust lying thick on everything … the cheerless, deserted look of the long-neglected house, and its narrow, meagre dimensions» (meagre = small and poor). - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/17/) — «O Ratty! why ever did I do it? - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/19/) — «The Rat paid no heed to his doleful self-reproaches» (doleful = sad; self-reproaches = blaming yourself). - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/20/) — «What a capital little house this is! … Everything here and everything in its place!» (Capital = excellent.) - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/21/) — The Rat admires the «little sleeping-bunks in the wall» and orders: «you get a duster, Mole … and try and smarten things up a bit. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/22/) — Bustle about, old chap!» - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/23/) — Mole «promptly had another fit of the blues» (the blues = feeling very sad): «I've nothing to give you—nothing—not a crumb!» - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/27/) — From the cellar the Rat brings «a bottle of beer in each paw and another under each arm»: «Self-indulgent beggar you seem to be, Mole … Deny yourself nothing.» (Self-indulgent = treating yourself — said as a friendly joke.) - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/30/) — Voices outside: «Now, all in a line—hold the lantern up a bit, Tommy—clear your throats first—no coughing after I say one, two, three.—Where's young Bill?» - ← previous: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 2: Dulce Domum (the Mole's sobs, the Rat turns back, and Mole End)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/42-willows-ch5-part2-mole-end/) - next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 4: Dulce Domum (the carol, a magic supper, and a home to come back to)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/44-willows-ch5-part4-the-carol-and-a-happy-homecoming/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)