--- title: The Wind in the Willows, chapter VI, part 4: Mr. Toad (the car in the inn-yard, twenty years, and the deepest dungeon) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The Wind in the Willows, chapter VI, part 4: Mr. Toad (the car in the inn-yard, twenty years, and the deepest dungeon)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Toad struts along the high road, miles from home, sin --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/) [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 VI, p… # The Wind in the Willows, chapter VI, part 4: Mr. Toad (the car in the inn-yard, twenty years, and the deepest dungeon) Lesson 48 of the books course of Mova's primary school: 30 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/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/0/) — Toad struts along the high road, miles from home, singing his own praises: brain has beaten brute force! - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/1/) — Poor old Ratty — a decent fellow, but not clever. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/2/) — Hungry, he walks into the Red Lion inn in a little town and orders the best lunch they have. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/3/) — Halfway through, he hears it: «Poop-poop!» A motor-car pulls into the inn-yard and its owners come in, chattering about their drive. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/4/) — Toad trembles and holds on to the table leg. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/5/) — At last he slips out, pays, and goes round to the yard — just to LOOK at it, surely there's no harm in that. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/7/) — «I wonder if this sort of car starts easily?» Next moment, as if in a dream, he is in the driver's seat roaring out onto the open road — Toad the Terror, Lord of the lone trail! - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/8/) — Then we jump to a courtroom. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/10/) — The Clerk adds it up: twelve months for the theft, three years for the driving, fifteen years for the cheek — nineteen years. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/11/) — «Make it a round twenty.» «Excellent!» says the Chairman. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/12/) — Toad is dragged off in chains, shrieking, across the market-place where people throw carrots and jeer, over a drawbridge into a grim old castle, up winding stairs, past soldiers and guard-dogs, to the deepest dungeon of all. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/13/) — The old gaoler's rusty key creaks, the door clangs — and Toad is a helpless prisoner. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/14/) — At first Toad «had taken by-paths, and crossed many fields, and changed his course several times, in case of pursuit» (pursuit = being chased). - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/15/) — «All Nature joining in a chorus of approval to the song of self-praise that his own heart was singing to him, he almost danced along the road in his satisfaction and conceit.» - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/16/) — Toad: «Smart piece of work that! … Brain against brute force—and brain came out on the top». - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/17/) — About the Rat: «A worthy fellow, Ratty, with many good qualities, but very little intelligence and absolutely no education.» - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/18/) — «The sign of “The Red Lion”» reminds him «that he had not breakfasted that day». - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/19/) — He orders «the best luncheon that could be provided at so short a notice» and eats in the coffee-room. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/21/) — The car's owners are «hungry, talkative, and gay» (gay = cheerful, in the old meaning). - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/23/) — «I wonder if this sort of car starts easily?» He finds «he had hold of the handle and was turning it» (old cars were started by turning a handle at the front). - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/24/) — «As if in a dream … all sense of right and wrong, all fear of obvious consequences, seemed temporarily suspended.» He is «Toad the terror, the traffic-queller, the Lord of the lone trail». - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/25/) — The Chairman of the Bench of Magistrates (the judges of a local court) calls Toad «the incorrigible rogue and hardened ruffian» (incorrigible = can't be made better) and asks how to «make it sufficiently hot» for him. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/26/) — Three offences: «first, of stealing a valuable motor-car; secondly, of driving to the public danger; and, thirdly, of gross impertinence to the rural police» (impertinence = rude cheek). - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/29/) — The joke: cheek gets the biggest punishment, much more than stealing. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/30/) — Real courts don't work like this — the writer is mocking judges who care most about their own importance. - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/31/) — The crowd pelt him «with jeers, carrots, and popular catch-words»; school children enjoy «the sight of a gentleman in difficulties». - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/32/) — The castle: «the hollow-sounding drawbridge», «the spiky portcullis» (a heavy gate that drops down), «men-at-arms in casquet and corselet of steel» (helmets and armour), «mastiffs» (big guard-dogs), and «ancient warders … dozing over a pasty». - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/33/) — The sergeant speaks in old-fashioned words: «Oddsbodikins! … Rouse thee, old loon» (= Goodness! - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/34/) — Wake up, old fool). - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/48-willows-ch6-part4-twenty-years-in-the-dungeon/36/) — Talk in this lesson: «yeet» = throw hard; «ate and left no crumbs» = did it perfectly; «gutted» (UK) = very disappointed; «rad» (older US) = great; «robot» (South Africa) = traffic light. - ← previous: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter VI, part 3: Mr. Toad (the doctor, the lawyer, and the rope of sheets)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/47-willows-ch6-part3-toad-tricks-the-rat/) - next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter VII, part 1: The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (Portly is missing)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/49-willows-ch7-part1-portly-is-missing/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)