--- title: The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 2: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (how Toad Hall was taken, a gun at the gate and a sunken boat) — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 2: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (how Toad Hall was taken, a gun at the gate and a sunken boat)», a lesson of the books course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: The Rat tells the whole st --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/) [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 XI, p… # The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 2: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (how Toad Hall was taken, a gun at the gate and a sunken boat) Lesson 66 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/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/0/) — The Rat tells the whole story. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/1/) — While Toad was in prison, the river-bankers stood up for him, but the Wild Wood animals said it served him right and he would never come back. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/2/) — Mole and Badger were sure he would, somehow, so they moved into Toad Hall to keep it aired and ready for him. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/3/) — Then, one very dark, wet, windy night, the Wild Wooders attacked from three sides at once: weasels up the front drive, ferrets through the kitchen-garden, stoats into the conservatory and billiard-room. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/4/) — Mole and Badger were sitting by the fire, unarmed and taken by surprise; there were hundreds against two. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/5/) — They were beaten with sticks and pushed out into the cold and the rain. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/6/) — Ever since, the weasels have been living in Toad Hall, lying in bed half the day, eating Toad's food and singing rude songs about him. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/7/) — Toad grabs a stick and marches off to see about it. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/9/) — Next he rows the Rat's boat up the river to the garden front. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/10/) — As he passes under the little bridge — Crash! — a great stone dropped by two stoats smashes through the bottom of the boat, and Toad has to swim for it while they laugh. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/11/) — The Rat is very cross: his boat is lost and his nice suit ruined. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/12/) — Toad apologises fully and promises to do nothing without the Rat's advice; the Rat says they must wait for Mole and Badger. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/14/) — Mole and Badger «argued from history»: no law had ever beaten «cheek and plausibility such as yours, combined with the power of a long purse» (plausibility = sounding believable; a long purse = lots of money). - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/15/) — So Mole and Badger moved into Toad Hall «and sleep there, and keep it aired, and have it all ready for you when you turned up». - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/17/) — Weasels crept up the carriage-drive to the front door; ferrets took the backyard through the kitchen-garden; stoats held the conservatory, the billiard-room and the French windows onto the lawn. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/18/) — Mole and Badger were telling stories by the fire in the smoking-room; «They were unarmed, and taken by surprise, and what can two animals do against hundreds?» They were beaten with sticks and turned out into the cold and wet. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/22/) — The Rat: «They've got sentries posted, and they are all armed. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/23/) — You must just wait.» (sentries = guards on watch) - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/24/) — Toad then rows the Rat's boat to the boat-house creek; two stoats on the bridge drop a great stone through the bottom of the boat, and it sinks. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/25/) — The stoats call «It will be your head next time, Toady!» and laugh «till they nearly had two fits—that is, one fit each, of course» (a fit here = a sudden attack of laughing). - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/66-willows-ch11-part2-the-wild-wooders-take-toad-hall/27/) — And simply ruined that nice suit of clothes that I lent you!» - ← previous: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 1: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (home at the Rat's, a telling-off, and bad news)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/65-willows-ch11-part1-why-steal-them/) - next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 3: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (loyal friends, cold pie and «Be quiet at once!»)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/67-willows-ch11-part3-badger-and-mole-come-home/) - ↑ back to [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/)