Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Mr. Toad

It was a sunny morning in early summer.The creek has returned to its original form: its usual banks and its customary flow.The hot sun seemed to be pulling all kinds of green, tufted, and spiky things out of the ground toward itself, and up, as if on strings.The Mole and the Rat were busy with the boat, and with the boating season, from daybreak; they painted and varnished, repaired the oarlocks and pads, looked for missing poles, and so on.Just as they were finishing breakfast in their little drawing-room, and discussing vigorously their plans for the day, there was a loud knock on the door.

"What a nuisance!" said the Rat, who only cared about eating the eggs. "Go and see who it is, Mole, and do a good deed, and you've already eaten anyway." The Mole answered the door, and the Rat heard him cry out, open the drawing-room door, and announce solemnly: "Mr. Badger is here!" It was a strange thing that Badger should come to see them, or rather, to see people.Even if you are in a hurry to find the fairy, you have to catch him when he is walking quietly along the hedge in the early morning or evening, or you have to find his home deep in the forest. This is no joke matter.

The Badger came plodding into the room, and stood looking at the two animals with a very serious expression.The Rat let his custard spoon fall on the table-cloth, and sat there with his mouth open. "The time has come at last!" said the Badger at last, with great dignity. "What time?" asked the Rat, very anxiously, looking at the clock above the mantelpiece. "You might as well say someone's time," replied the Badger. "Well, it's Toad's time! It's Toad's time! As I said, I'll deal with him as soon as winter is over, and I'll deal with him today." !"

"It's time to deal with the toad, so it goes without saying!" the Mole exclaimed happily. "Okay! I remember now! We're going to make him a sane toad!" "Just this morning," Badger went on, sitting in the armchair, "I heard from reliable sources last night that a new super-powerful car was going to be driven to Toad Manor for a test drive. If you don't want it, you can return it. At this moment, Toad is probably busy putting on his beloved's hideous suit, which transforms him from a (relatively) handsome toad into a monster that would drive any decent animal mad. We must proceed Go and stop it, or it will be too late. You two will accompany me to Toad Manor immediately, and we must save him."

"You're right!" cried the Rat, jumping up. "We're going to save the poor hapless animal! We're going to change him! He's going to be a different toad than he was before we changed him!" They set out on the road to do their good work, with the Badger leading the way.When animals walk together, they always walk neatly and intelligently. They walk in one line instead of wandering across the road. In case of trouble or danger, walking like this is not conducive to supporting each other. They came to the driveway of Toad Manor, and, as Badger had just prophesied, saw a shiny new car, a large one, painted bright red (Toad's favorite color), parked in front of the house.As they approached the door, it flew open, and Mr. Toad swaggered down the steps in goggles, cap, high boots, and an enormous overcoat, pulling his long gloves over his arms.

"Hello! Come on, boys!" he exclaimed cheerfully as soon as he saw them. "You guys come at the right time, come with me and have fun... let's go and have fun... go... this... have a good time..." As soon as he noticed that the faces of his three silent friends stiffened His expression, his enthusiastic tone of speech wavered and disappeared, and he didn't finish his invitation. Badger strode up the stage. "Bring him in," he said firmly to his two companions. Then, as the toad struggled and protested and was dragged through the door, the Badger turned his head back at the driver of the new car.

"I'm afraid I don't need you today," he said. "Mr. Toad has changed his mind. He doesn't want to buy the car. Please understand that this is the final decision. You don't have to wait any longer." Then he followed them inside , closed the door. "There!" he said to Toad, when the four of them stood in the hall. "First, take off your ridiculous things!" "I won't take it off!" replied Toad, furiously. "What do you mean by being so vicious? I demand an explanation at once." "Then you two take those things off him for him," commanded the Badger simply.

They had to pin down the kicking and cussing Toad before they could properly undress him.Then the Rat was on top of him and the Mole took off his driving clothes one by one before they got him back on his feet.Now that his fine attire was gone, his ruthless air seemed to have disappeared quite a bit.Now he is just a toad, no longer the overlord of the road, and he giggles weakly, looking from one to the other with pleading eyes, as if he knows his current situation well. "You knew you'd come to this sooner or later, Toad," explained the Badger fiercely to him. "You have ignored all our advice to you, you have been squandering the family money your father left you, you have given us animals a terrible reputation in this place by driving wildly, getting into accidents, and repeatedly arguing with the police .It's great to be independent, but we animals never allow our friends to go too far, and you've reached your limit. Speaking of which, you're pretty good in many ways, and I don't want to make it hard for you. I just want to do it again Try to bring yourself back to your senses. Come with me into the smoking room, and there you will hear something about yourself; and we shall see if you come out of that room exactly as you went in, unchanged."

He took Toad firmly by the arm, and drew him into the smoking-room, closing the door behind him. "That's no use!" said the Rat contemptuously. "Talking to Toad will never cure him. He always has something to say, 18 nonsense." The two of them sat comfortably in the armchairs and waited patiently.Through the closed door all they could hear was the badger's endless humming, its tone rising and falling.They soon noticed that the long lesson was continually interrupted by drawn-out whimpers, evidently emanating from Toad's heart, a soft-hearted fellow with affection, who easily—at least in the For now - be changed by any arguments.

After about three quarters of an hour, the door opened, and the Badger reappeared, pulling out a limp and despondent toad solemnly in his paws.The skin on his body was flabby, his legs were hanging down, and his cheeks were streaked with tears brought up by the Badger's touching talk. "Sit down here, Toad," said the Badger kindly, pointing to a chair. "My friends," he went on, "I am very pleased to tell you that Toad has finally realized that he was wrong. He is now truly sorry for his past wrongdoing, and he has made up his mind to leave the car forever. For In this matter, I have obtained his solemn guarantee."

"That's wonderful news," said the Mole gravely. "That's good news," said the Rat dubiously, "if only... if only..." He stared at Toad as he said this, and could not help feeling that he saw in his still sad eyes Something like a door light. "There is one thing still to be done," went on the contented Badger. "I want you, Toad, to repeat solemnly, before your friends, what you just confessed to me in the smoking-room. First, Do you regret what you did, do you know the stupidity of these actions?" There was no sound for a long time.Toad looked this way and that helplessly, while the others waited silently.Finally he spoke. "No!" His voice was low, but strong. "I have no regrets. These things are not stupid at all! They are simply remarkable!" "What?" exclaimed the Badger, startled. "You rebellious animal, didn't you just tell me there..." "Oh, yes, yes, I said it there," said the Toad impatiently, "I said everything there. You said it so rightly, my dear Badger, and so touchingly and convincingly." , you put all your opinions so amazingly well--you can do what you want me to do there, you know. But then I asked myself and thought everything through, and I found that I was a little bit No regrets or remorse, so it doesn't have to be that way at all, right?" "So he didn't promise never to touch a car again?" said Badger. "Of course not!" Toad said emphatically. "On the contrary, I sincerely promise, as soon as I see the first car, boo boo! I'll get in it and go!" "Didn't I tell you?" said the Rat to the Mole. "Very well," said the Badger firmly, rising to his feet. "Since you won't listen to us, we'll try to see what we can do by force. I've always feared we'd come to this point. You've often asked us to Come to live with you, please let us live in this beautiful house of yours, well, Toad, we will come and live now. We can go when we have changed you, but we won't go until then. You two take him upstairs and lock him in his bedroom while we figure out what to do. " "It's all for your own good, Toad, you know," said the Rat kindly to Toad, as he kicked and struggled, and was dragged up-stairs by his two faithful friends. "Just imagine how much fun we'll all have together, as we always have, when you've completely got over this... your tormenting sickness!" "We'll take care of everything for you, Toad, till you get well," said the Mole. "We'll take care of your money not being squandered like it used to be." "And no more trouble for the police, Toad," said the Rat, pushing him into his bedroom. "And no more staying in the hospital week after week, listening to the lady nurse dictate, Toad," added the Mole, turning the key in front of him. They came downstairs, and Toad yelled at them through the keyhole.Then the three friends held a meeting to discuss the situation at hand. "That's a nasty thing to put off," sighed the Badger. "I've never seen a toad eat his heart out like this. Anyway, we'll get this thing over with. He There can't be one minute left unattended. We're going to take turns staying with him until he's rehabilitated." They arranged watch shifts.Each animal took turns spending the night in Toad's room, and divided the days between guards.Toad's guardian animal, the toad at first is really difficult to deal with.He even arranged the chairs in the bedroom in the shape of a car when his mania struck, curled up in the front chair, stooped forward, stared straight ahead, and uttered wild and terrible cries , when he climaxes, he does a 180-degree somersault and lies between crushed chairs, apparently momentarily contented.As time passed, the fits of this disorder became less frequent, and several of his friends tried to turn his mind to new directions.But he didn't seem interested in anything else, and he was visibly listless and depressed. One morning the Rat's turn came, and when he went upstairs to relieve Badger, he saw that Badger was restless and anxious to get out, and had to walk the long way around the woods and under the crypt to walk his legs. "Toad's still in bed," he told the Rat, looking back through the bedroom door. "There's no way to get him to say anything else, he just keeps saying, 'Oh, leave me alone, I don't want anything, maybe I'll be better off like this, it'll pass, don't worry too much . . . 'Wait. Now watch out, Rat! By the time Toad gets quiet and obedient, and pretends to be a Sunday-school hero, he's at his cunningest. There's got to be something. I know His way. Well, now I have to go." "How are you today, old chap?" asked the Rat cheerfully, coming to Toad's bed. He waited several minutes for an answer.At last a feeble voice answered, "Thank you very much, dear Rat! Thank you for asking me how you are! But first please tell me, how are you, the great Mole?" "Oh, we are all well," replied the Rat. "The Mole," he added carelessly, "he's out and about with the Badger. They don't come back until lunch time, so you and I are going to have a nice morning together, and I'll do my best to make you Happy. Get up now, be good, don’t lie in bed moping on such a sunny morning!” "Dear good Rat," said Toad grunt, "you don't know my body so well that I can't 'get up'--couldn't get up if I wanted to! But don't worry about me. I don't want to be A burden to my friends, I don't want to be that again. Honestly, I just don't want to be." "No, I don't want to," said the Rat sincerely. "You've been doing us such a hard time these days, and I'm glad to hear it's coming to an end. And the weather's such a fine day, the boating season's on! You're too bad, Toad! We don't mind the trouble, but you We lost so much fun." "But I'm afraid you care about trouble," replied the Toad listlessly. "I quite understand that. It's quite natural. You're sick of me. I can't beg you to do anything more. I A scourge, I know that." "You are a scourge indeed," said the Rat. "But let me tell you, as long as you can be a rational animal, I'm willing to do any troublesome things in the world for you." "If that's the case, Rat," said Toad, more listlessly than ever, "then I'll beg you...for the last time perhaps...get to the village as soon as possible...even though it may be too late... A doctor is called, but never mind, don't bother. It's just a nuisance, and maybe we can just leave it to our fate." "Why, what do you want the doctor for?" asked the Rat, coming closer to see him.He did lie quite still, his voice weaker and his appearance much changed. "You must have noticed the dead..." muttered Toad, "no... why should you? Noticing things is just an annoyance. To-morrow, really, you might be saying to yourself, 'Oh, I was Would have liked to have noticed earlier! I just had to figure out something! 'Oh no, it's a nuisance, don't take it to heart...forget about what I'm asking you to do." "Listen, man," said the Rat, beginning to panic, "if you really think you need a doctor, of course I'm going to get you one. But you can't be this bad yet. Let's Let's talk about something else." "I'm afraid, my dear friend," said the Toad, with a wry smile, "that in such a case it's no use 'talking about something else' . But... when you go to call the doctor... I hate to trouble you, but it suddenly occurred to me that you will pass by the lawyer's house... Can you bring the lawyer at the same time? It will be convenient for me, Because sometimes... maybe I should say there was a time... a dying person, no matter what, has to face unpleasant things!" "Lawyer! Oh, he must be dead!" said the terrified Rat to himself, and hurried out of the room, though he did not forget to lock the door carefully after going out. Once outside, he paused to think.The other two walked away, and he had no one to talk to. "Better play it safe," he said after considering it. "I've heard of Toad's sudden and unreasonable fantasies about how awful he is; but I've never heard of him asking for a lawyer! If it's all right, the doctor will tell him he's an old ass , to make him happy; then it was not in vain. I'd better accommodate him and walk one time, anyway, it doesn't take much work." So he ran to the village to do good deeds. When Toad heard the sound of the key turning in the lock, he jumped softly out of bed, and watched anxiously from the window till the Rat disappeared down the driveway.Then Toad laughed heartily, put on the best clothes he could find at the moment as quickly as possible, took the cash from a small drawer of the dresser, stuffed several pockets, and twisted and knotted the sheets on the bed, One end of this improvised rope was fastened to the stone mullion of the handsome Tudor window which formed the character of his bedroom.He climbed out of the window, slid lightly down the rope to the ground, blew a merry tune, and strode with ease in the opposite direction to the Rat. When the Badger and the Mole came back at last, the Rat had such a hard meal that he had to tell them his sad and unconvincing story at the table. Badger's sarcasm, not to mention harshness, was conceivable, and that was all right, and what troubled the Rat most was that, although the Mole sided with his friend as much as he could, But he couldn't help saying, "You've been a little dishonest this time, Rat! And so is Toad, who is the most dishonest of all animals!" "He's really pretending," said the dejected Rat. "He's really pretending to you!" Badger answered him sharply. "But anyway, it's useless to talk about it now. He's gone now, of course; but the worst thing is, he thinks he's clever and arrogant, and he's going to do all kinds of stupid things in the end. The only consolation is that we are free now and don't have to waste our precious time on sentry posts. But we'd better sleep some more time here at Toad Manor. Toad will be sent back at any moment - or put on a stretcher Lift it back up, or be pinched back by two policemen." That's what the Badger said, without knowing what the future would hold, or how much water -- or how cloudy it would be -- had to flow under the bridge before Toad could sit comfortably again on his ancestral estate. Now Toad was walking briskly down the road, happy and free, and was miles from home.At first he took paths, crossed fields, and changed his route several times, lest he be pursued; but now he felt safe, would not be caught again, the sun smiled brightly on him, and all nature converged. It became a chorus to the self-praise that was singing in his own heart, and he was so satisfied and triumphant that he almost danced along the way. "Nice job!" he said to himself, giggling. "Brains against violence... Brain wins... Could it be. Poor Rat! Ha-ha! Badger won't know it when he comes home! Rat A good fellow, with many qualities, but too little wit and no breeding. I'll have him in my hand some day, and see if I can use him for anything." With all this conceited thought in his head, he strutting his way, until he came to a small town, and there was a sign on the street that said "Red Lion Hotel," and it crossed the road, swaying to and fro, Remind him that he hasn't had breakfast that day, that he's starving from all the walking.He strode into the restaurant, ordered the most sumptuous lunch that could be prepared in no time, and sat down in the coffee-room to eat it. Halfway through eating, an all-too-familiar sound from the street made him jump up and sit down, trembling.The bubbling came closer and closer, and the car could be heard turning into the hotel yard and coming to a stop, and Toad had to hold on to a table leg so that no one could see the emotions that dominated him.Immediately a group of people came into the coffee room, their stomachs growling, talking and exuberant, talking endlessly about their experience of the morning and the virtues of the car, which had carried them so well along the way. Toad listened eagerly, pricked up his ears, and listened for a long time; at last, unable to bear it any longer, he slipped out of the room quietly, and went to the counter to pay the bill.Once outside, he walked quietly around the hotel courtyard, thinking, "I'll just go and see it, it won't do any harm!" The car was parked in the middle of the yard, unattended, and the driver and other attendants were eating their lunch.Toad walked slowly around the car, watching it carefully, judging it, fascinated. "I don't know," he thought again at once, "I don't know if this kind of car is easy to drive?" Then, somehow, he had taken hold of the handle and turned it.When the familiar voice sounded, the passion from the past immediately dominated Toad, completely controlling him, including his body and his heart. Like a dream, he has already sat in the driver's seat; like a dream, he pulls the gear, let the car turn in the yard, and then drives out the gate, like a dream, what is right and wrong, what is afraid of the obvious consequences , seems to have been forgotten for a while.He speeded up the car, and as the car sped down the street, onto the highway, and across the fields, he felt like a toad again, the supreme toad, the terror king toad, the king of traffic jams, the god of the back road Everyone in front of him must get out of the way, or be crushed to death and sent to the underworld. He flew all the way, singing, and the car answered him with a loud whine; mile after mile of road passed under his body, and he seemed to fly without knowing where he was going, only to satisfy his instinct, try to He was so happy in front of him that he didn't care what would happen next. "In my opinion," said the magistrate cheerfully, "the case is clear enough that the only difficulty is how we can punish this unrepentant scoundrel and hard-hearted scoundrel. In my opinion: there is nothing more clear than evidence that he is guilty, first, of stealing an expensive motor vehicle; second, of causing public danger by driving; One thing, what is the most severe punishment? Naturally, there is no need to assume that the prisoner may be fine, because the evidence is overwhelming." The clerk wiped his nose with the barrel of his pen. "One would think," he said, "that the greatest crime is the theft of motor vehicles; and that is certainly true. But the most severe punishment is insolence to the police; Months - that's light; 3 years for insane driving - that's a lot; 15 years for vexatious aggravation - based on the witness statements we've heard, even if I believe only a tenth of it, as I've always done , this kind of unreasonable trouble is extremely bad... If you add these figures together accurately, the total is 19 years..." "Excellent!" said the judge. "...So you'd better lock him up for about 20 years, which is safer." The clerk ended his words. "A terrific proposal!" the judge praised. "Prisoner! Concentrate yourself and stand upright. This time you will be sentenced to 20 years. Remember, no matter what you are accused of, if you appear in front of us again, we will punish you severely!" Then the vicious policeman sprang upon the hapless Toad, chained him, and dragged him out of the courtroom, screaming, begging, and protesting. They made their way through the market, joking crowds that were always harsh on detected criminals and sympathetic and helpful to those who were merely "cleared," throwing jeers, carrots, and catchphrases at the toads. When they passed the squawking elementary school students, their innocent little faces lit up with joy. They were always so happy to see a gentleman suffer. They crossed the hollow-sounding drawbridge; they passed under the castle portcullis with its great iron spikes; It was full of off-duty soldiers, grinning grinningly; when they passed by the sentry, the sentry coughed in a mocking manner, and the sentry on duty only dared to show contempt and hatred for criminals like this; they stepped up the rotten winding ladder, Passing by armed soldiers in steel helmets and armor, the soldiers cast vicious glances from under their helmets; they crossed the prison yard, some fierce dogs tried to break free from the leash, and tried to rush at him with their teeth and claws; they passed the jailers in ancient costumes, The halberd leaned against the wall, and their heads dozed over a cake and a jug of beer; and they walked, past the execution-chambers of the gauntlets and thumb-pinches, past the junction of the road to the gallows, till they came to The doorway to the darkest dungeon of the innermost prison. There they stopped at last, and there was a jailer in ancient clothes sitting before the door, fingering a large bunch of keys. "Little old man!" said the police officer, taking off his helmet and wiping his forehead. "Wake up, old fool, and take this rotten toad from us. He's guilty of the greatest crimes, and cunning. You'll do your best to take care of him; warn you, Greybeard. , if something happens, your old head will be lost... You two are going to be killed!" The jailer nodded sullenly, and laid his thin hand on poor Toad's shoulder.The rusty key clicked in the lock, and the great door clanged shut behind them; and then Toad was a member of the deepest dungeon in the best guarded prison in the strongest castle in all merry England. The most hopeless prisoner ever. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ [UK] Graham -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ (The information in this book is collected online, and the copyright belongs to the original author) Xinty665 free production Chapter 6 Mr. Toad It was a sunny morning in early summer.The creek has returned to its original form: its usual banks and its customary flow.The hot sun seemed to be pulling all kinds of green, tufted, and spiky things out of the ground toward itself, and up, as if on strings.The Mole and the Rat were busy with the boat, and with the boating season, from daybreak; they painted and varnished, repaired the oarlocks and pads, looked for missing poles, and so on.Just as they were finishing breakfast in their little drawing-room, and discussing vigorously their plans for the day, there was a loud knock on the door. "What a nuisance!" said the Rat, who only cared about eating the eggs. "Go and see who it is, Mole, and do a good deed, and you've already eaten anyway." The Mole answered the door, and the Rat heard him cry out, open the drawing-room door, and announce solemnly: "Mr. Badger is here!" It was a strange thing that Badger should come to see them, or rather, to see people.Even if you are in a hurry to find the fairy, you have to catch him when he is walking quietly along the hedge in the early morning or evening, or you have to find his home deep in the forest. This is no joke matter. The Badger came plodding into the room, and stood looking at the two animals with a very serious expression.The Rat let his custard spoon fall on the table-cloth, and sat there with his mouth open. "The time has come at last!" said the Badger at last, with great dignity. "What time?" asked the Rat, very anxiously, looking at the clock above the mantelpiece. "You might as well say someone's time," replied the Badger. "Well, it's Toad's time! It's Toad's time! As I said, I'll deal with him as soon as winter is over, and I'll deal with him today." !" "It's time to deal with the toad, so it goes without saying!" the Mole exclaimed happily. "Okay! I remember now! We're going to make him a sane toad!" "Just this morning," Badger went on, sitting in the armchair, "I heard from reliable sources last night that a new super-powerful car was going to be driven to Toad Manor for a test drive. If you don't want it, you can return it. At this moment, Toad is probably busy putting on his beloved's hideous suit, which transforms him from a (relatively) handsome toad into a monster that would drive any decent animal mad. We must proceed Go and stop it, or it will be too late. You two will accompany me to Toad Manor immediately, and we must save him." "You're right!" cried the Rat, jumping up. "We're going to save the poor hapless animal! We're going to change him! He's going to be a different toad than he was before we changed him!" They set out on the road to do their good work, with the Badger leading the way.When animals walk together, they always walk neatly and intelligently. They walk in one line instead of wandering across the road. In case of trouble or danger, walking like this is not conducive to supporting each other. They came to the driveway of Toad Manor, and, as Badger had just prophesied, saw a shiny new car, a large one, painted bright red (Toad's favorite color), parked in front of the house.As they approached the door, it flew open, and Mr. Toad swaggered down the steps in goggles, cap, high boots, and an enormous overcoat, pulling his long gloves over his arms. "Hello! Come on, boys!" he exclaimed cheerfully as soon as he saw them. "You guys come at the right time, come with me and have fun... let's go and have fun... go... this... have a good time..." As soon as he noticed that the faces of his three silent friends stiffened His expression, his enthusiastic tone of speech wavered and disappeared, and he didn't finish his invitation. Badger strode up the stage. "Bring him in," he said firmly to his two companions. Then, as the toad struggled and protested and was dragged through the door, the Badger turned his head back at the driver of the new car. "I'm afraid I don't need you today," he said. "Mr. Toad has changed his mind. He doesn't want to buy the car. Please understand that this is the final decision. You don't have to wait any longer." Then he followed them inside , closed the door. "There!" he said to Toad, when the four of them stood in the hall. "First, take off your ridiculous things!" "I won't take it off!" replied Toad, furiously. "What do you mean by being so vicious? I demand an explanation at once." "Then you two take those things off him for him," commanded the Badger simply. They had to pin down the kicking and cussing Toad before they could properly undress him.Then the Rat was on top of him and the Mole took off his driving clothes one by one before they got him back on his feet.Now that his fine attire was gone, his ruthless air seemed to have disappeared quite a bit.Now he is just a toad, no longer the overlord of the road, and he giggles weakly, looking from one to the other with pleading eyes, as if he knows his current situation well. "You knew you'd come to this sooner or later, Toad," explained the Badger fiercely to him. "You have ignored all our advice to you, you have been squandering the family money your father left you, you have given us animals a terrible reputation in this place by driving wildly, getting into accidents, and repeatedly arguing with the police .It's great to be independent, but we animals never allow our friends to go too far, and you've reached your limit. Speaking of which, you're pretty good in many ways, and I don't want to make it hard for you. I just want to do it again Try to bring yourself back to your senses. Come with me into the smoking room, and there you will hear something about yourself; and we shall see if you come out of that room exactly as you went in, unchanged." He took Toad firmly by the arm, and drew him into the smoking-room, closing the door behind him. "That's no use!" said the Rat contemptuously. "Talking to Toad will never cure him. He always has something to say, 18 nonsense." The two of them sat comfortably in the armchairs and waited patiently.Through the closed door all they could hear was the badger's endless humming, its tone rising and falling.They soon noticed that the long lesson was continually interrupted by drawn-out whimpers, evidently emanating from Toad's heart, a soft-hearted fellow with affection, who easily—at least in the For now - be changed by any argument. After about three quarters of an hour, the door opened, and the Badger reappeared, pulling out a limp and despondent toad solemnly in his paws.The skin on his body was flabby, his legs were hanging down, and his cheeks were streaked with tears brought up by the Badger's touching talk. "Sit down here, Toad," said the Badger kindly, pointing to a chair. "My friends," he went on, "I am very pleased to tell you that Toad has finally realized that he was wrong. He is now truly sorry for his past wrongdoing, and he has made up his mind to leave the car forever. For In this matter, I have obtained his solemn guarantee." "That's wonderful news," said the Mole gravely. "That's good news," said the Rat dubiously, "if only... if only..." He stared at Toad as he said this, and could not help feeling that he saw in his still sad eyes Something like a door light. "There is one thing still to be done," went on the contented Badger. "I want you, Toad, to repeat solemnly, before your friends, what you just confessed to me in the smoking-room. First, Do you regret what you did, do you know the stupidity of these actions?" There was no sound for a long time.Toad looked this way and that helplessly, while the others waited silently.Finally he spoke. "No!" His voice was low, but strong. “我不感到后悔。这些事根本不愚蠢！它们简直了不起！” “什么？”獾大吃一惊，叫了起来。“你这只出尔反尔的动物，你刚才不是还在那里对我说过……” “噢，对，对，我在那里说过，”癞蛤蟆不耐烦地说，“在那里我什么都说了。你说得那么有道理，亲爱的獾，说得那么感动人，那么有说服力，你把你所有的看法说得那么惊人之好——在那里你可以要我怎样就怎样，这你知道。可是接下来我扪心自问，把所有的事想了一通，我发现我实在一丁点儿也不后悔或者懊恼，因此一点儿也不用说我是这样，对吗？” “这么说，他不答应永远不再碰汽车了？”獾说。 “当然不答应！”癞蛤蟆加重口气说。“正好相反，我真诚地保证，我只要看见第一辆汽车，卜卜！我就坐上它走了！” “我不对你说了吗？”河鼠对鼹鼠说。 “那很好，”獾站起来斩钉截铁地说，“既然你不肯听我们劝，我们就要试试看用武力能够做到点什么。我一直担心会走到这一步。你曾经常常请我们3 个来跟你住在一起，请我们住在你这漂亮的房子里，那好，癞蛤蟆，我们现在就来住。等我们把你改变好了我们可以走，但在这以前我们不走。 你们两位把他带到楼上去，锁在他的卧室里，而我们来商量一下怎么办。 " “癞蛤蟆，你要知道，这都是为你好，”当癞蛤蟆又是踢又是挣扎，被他的两个忠实朋友拉上楼时，河鼠好心地对他说。 “你倒想想，等你完全克服了这种……你这种使你痛苦的毛病以后，我们大家在一起会过得多么好玩啊，就像一向那样！” “癞蛤蟆，在你变好之前，我们要替你照料一切，”鼹鼠说。 “我们要照顾着不让你的钱像原来那样挥霍浪费。”“也不会再有给警察添麻烦的遗憾事情了，癞蛤蟆。”河鼠一面把他推进他的卧室，一面说道。 “也不会再一个星期又一个星期住在医院里，听女护士指手划脚了，癞蛤蟆。”鼹鼠在他面前转着钥匙，加上一句。 他们下楼来，癞蛤蟆在锁孔里对他们破口大骂。接着3 个朋友开会商量眼前的情况。 “这件讨厌事情有日子可拖了，”獾叹着气说，“我还没见过癞蛤蟆像这样吃了秤铊铁了心。不管怎么样，我们还是要把这件事情办好。他不能有一分钟没人看管。我们要轮流陪着他，直到他改邪归正为止。”他们安排好看守班次。每只动物轮班到癞蛤蟆的房间过夜，白天平分时间看守。对于看守癞蛤蟆的动物来说，癞蛤蟆起先实在不好对付。当他的毛病狂热发作时，他甚至把卧室里的椅子摆成汽车的样子，蜷缩在最前面的一把椅子上，向前弯着腰，紧盯住前面看，发出粗野和可怕的叫声，到高潮时，他翻一个180 度的大跟斗，趴在压破了的椅子中间，这时候他显然暂时感到心满意足。随着时间过去，这种毛病的发作总算渐渐不那么频繁，他的几个朋友努力把他的心思转到新的方面去。可是他对其他事情看来不感兴趣，他显然变得无精打采，垂头丧气了。 一天早晨轮到河鼠值班，他上楼去接替獾时，只见獾坐立不安，急着要出动，要走长路到树林周围和地穴下面去溜溜腿。 “癞蛤蟆还在床上，”他出了卧室门，回头告诉河鼠说。“没法子让他说别的话，他一个劲儿就是说：'噢，让我一个人待着吧，我什么也不要，也许我这样会好点儿，到时候会过去的，用不着过分担心……'等等。现在你当心点，河鼠！等到癞蛤蟆安静下来，样样听话，装成可以获得主日学校奖赏的英雄，他就是到了最狡猾的时候。那准定有什么鬼。我知道他那一套。好，现在我得走了。” “你今天好吗，老伙计？”河鼠来到癞蛤蟆床边，高兴地问道。 他等了几分钟才得到回答。最后，一个软弱无力的声音回答说：“太谢谢你了，亲爱的河鼠！谢谢你来问我好！不过先请告诉我，你自己好吗，了不起的鼹鼠好吗？” “噢，我们都很好，”河鼠回答说。“鼹鼠嘛，”他不小心地补充说，“他和獾一起出动走走。他们都要到吃中饭时候才回来，因此你和我要在一起过一个愉快的上午，我将尽力使你高兴。现在起床吧，乖乖的，今天这么晴朗的一个早晨，你可别躺在床上闷闷不乐啊！” “亲爱的好心河鼠，”癞蛤蟆咕噜说，“你多么不了解我的身体，我实在没办法'起来'——想要起来也起不来！不过你别为我担心。我不希望成为我朋友的负担，我不想再成为这样的人。说实在的，我简直不希望这样。” “对，我也不希望，”河鼠诚恳地说。“你这些日子害得我们好苦，我很高兴听到这件事就要收场了。而且天气这样好，划船季节就要开始！你太糟糕了，癞蛤蟆！我们倒不在乎什么麻烦，可是你害得我们失去了这么多乐趣。” “不过我怕你们在乎的还是麻烦，”癞蛤蟆无精打采地回答说，“我完全理解这一点。这是十分自然的。你为我都烦透了。我怎么也不能求你再做什么事。我是一个祸害，这我知道。” “你的确是个祸害。”河鼠说。“不过我告诉你，只要你能做一只有理智的动物，天底下任何麻烦事我都愿意为你做。” “要是这样的话，河鼠，”癞蛤蟆比任何时候更无精打采他说，“那我就要请求你……这也许是最后一次了……尽快到村里去……哪怕现在可能太晚了……把一位医生请来，不过算了，你别费心了。这只是一个麻烦，也许我们可以一切听天由命。” “怎么，你要请医生干什么？”河鼠问道，走得近一点来看他。他确实直挺挺地躺在那里一动不动，他的声音更弱，样子也大变了。 “你一定注意到那位去世的……”癞蛤蟆嘟哝说，“不……你干吗要注意呢？注意事情只是一个烦恼。到明天，真的，你可能会对自己说：'噢，我当时更早一点注意到就好了！我当时只要想点办法就好了！'噢，不，这是一个麻烦，别放在心上……忘掉我请求你的事。” “听我说，老兄，”河鼠开始吓坏了，说道，“如果你真认为你需要医生，我当然要去把他给你请来。不过你还不可能糟到这种地步。让我们来谈点别的。” “我怕，亲爱的朋友，”癞蛤蟆露出苦笑说，“碰到这种情况，'谈点别的'没有用……就是医生也无能为力；不过即使一根最轻的稻草也必须抓住不放。但是……在你去请医生的时候……我最恨给你添麻烦，不过我忽然想起，你会经过律师家……你能同时把律师也请来吗？这对我就方便了，因为有些时候……也许我该说有一个时候……一个奄奄一息的人，不管怎么样也只好面对不愉快的事情！” “律师！唉呀，他一定的确不行了！”吓坏了的河鼠对自己说着，赶紧走出房间，不过到底没有忘记在出门以后小心地锁上房门。 到了外面，他停下来动脑筋。另外两个走远了，他没有人可以商量。 “最好还是稳当点，”他考虑过以后说。“我是听说过癞蛤蟆会忽然无缘无故地幻想自己糟糕得不得了；不过我还从来没听说过他要请律师！要是真没毛病，医生会告诉他，说他是一只老蠢驴，使他高兴起来的；那就算是没白跑了。我还是迁就他，走上一次吧，反正不用花多大工夫。”于是他向着村子跑去做好事。 癞蛤蟆一听见钥匙在锁孔里转动的声音，已经轻轻地跳下床，从窗口焦急地看着，直到河鼠顺着行车道跑得不见了为止。接着癞蛤蟆开怀大笑，尽快穿上他这时能找到的最漂亮的衣服，从梳妆台一个小抽屉里拿出现款，塞满了几个口袋，然后把床上的那些床单扭起来结在一起，把这根临时做成的绳子的一头拴在构成他卧室特色的漂亮都铎式窗子的石头中棂上。他爬出窗子，轻轻地顺着绳子滑到地面，吹起快乐的旋律，轻松地大踏步对着河鼠相反的方向走。 等到獾和鼹鼠终于回来，河鼠这顿中饭吃得实在难以下咽，他得在桌旁面对着他们讲他那个又惨又无法说服人的故事。 獾说出那番挖苦——且不说是粗暴——的话是可想而知的，那也就算了，而使河鼠最难受的，是鼹鼠虽然尽可能站在他这位朋友一边，却还是忍不住说：“这回你可是有点说话不老实了，河鼠！癞蛤蟆也是的，他是所有动物中说话最不老实的！” “他可是装得真像啊，”垂头丧气的河鼠说。 “对你他是装得真像！”獾狠狠地回答他。“不过不管怎样，现在光说也无补于事。他如今是一去不回了，这是不用说的；然而最糟糕的是，他自以为聪明，不可一世，结果就什么傻事都会干出来。唯一的安慰是，我们现在自由了，不用再浪费我们的宝贵时间去放哨站岗了。不过我们最好还是在这癞蛤蟆庄园再睡些时间。癞蛤蟆随时会被送回来——或者是放在担架上抬回来，或者是被两个警察夹回来。” 獾话是这么说，却不知道未来会怎样，或者得有多少水——也不知它混浊成怎样——在桥下流过，癞蛤蟆才会重新舒舒服服地坐在他这祖传的庄园里。 这会儿癞蛤蟆又快活又无拘无束地顺着公路轻快地走着，离家有好几英里了。起先他走小路，穿过一片片田野，换了好几次路线，生怕有人在后面追他；可现在他觉得安全了，不会再被捉住了，太阳明亮地对他微笑，整个大自然汇成了一个大合唱，和着他自己心中在唱的自我赞美歌，他心满意足，得意洋洋，一路上几乎跳起舞来。 “干得真不错！”他咯咯笑着对自己说，“用脑子对付暴力……脑子获胜……还能不是如此。可怜的河鼠！哈哈！等獾回家，他还莫名其妙呢！河鼠是个好人，有许多优点，可是太不聪明，一点没有教养。有一天我得把他捏在手里，看看我是不是能拿他派个什么用处。” 他满脑子都是这种自高自大的思想，昂头阔步，一路走去，一直来到一个小镇，大街上有一个招牌，上面写着“红狮饭店”，横过马路，摇来晃去，提醒他这一天他还没有吃早饭，他走了那么多路，肚子都饿过头了。他大步走进这家饭店，点了马上就能做好的最丰盛的午餐，在咖啡室里坐下来就吃。 吃到一半，从街上传来一个太熟悉了的声音，使他跳起来又坐下，浑身发抖。卜卜声越来越近，听得见那辆汽车拐弯开进饭店的院子，停了下来，癞蛤蟆得抓住一条桌子腿，好不让人看见支配着他的情绪。马上有一群人走进咖啡室，肚子饿得咕咕叫，高谈阔论，兴高采烈，没完没了地说他们一个上午的经历和汽车的优点，它载着他们一路开得好极了。 癞蛤蟆起劲地听着，竖起了耳朵，听了半天；最后再也忍耐不住，悄悄地溜出房间，到柜台付了帐。一到外面，他悄悄地绕到饭店的院子，心里说：“我只去看看它，那不会有什么坏处！” 汽车停在院子中央，根本没有人照管，司机和其他随从都在吃他们的中饭。癞蛤蟆慢慢地绕着汽车转，仔细看它，品评着，入了迷。 “我不知道，”他马上又想，“我不知道这种汽车开动起来是不是容易？” 紧接着也不知怎么搞的，他已经抓住把手，把它转动起来。等到熟悉的声音一响，过去的那种激情马上支配了癞蛤蟆，把他完全左右了，连身体连他的心。 他像做梦一样，已经坐到司机座上；他像做梦一样，把排档一拉，让汽车在院子里转，接着开出了大门，他像做梦一样，什么对与不对，什么害怕明显的后果，好像一时都置诸脑后了。他加快车速，当汽车在街上飞驰，开到公路，穿过田野时，他只觉得自己又是癞蛤蟆了，是至高无上的癞蛤蟆，是恐怖霸王癞蛤蟆，是阻塞交通的大王，是荒僻小路的上帝，在他前面人人都得让路，要不然就给压死，送到阴间去。 他一路飞驰，唱着歌，汽车用响亮的呜呜声回答他；一英里又一英里的路在他身体底下过去，他飞也似地不知要开到哪里去，只顾满足他的本能，图个眼前痛快，根本不顾接下来会怎么样。 “依我看，”地方法官快活地说，“这个案子已经十分清楚，唯一的困难是，我们怎么才能严惩这个不思悔改的无赖和冷酷的坏蛋。依我看：再清楚不过的证据表明他是有罪的，第一，他偷了一辆昂贵的汽车；第二，开车造成公共危险；第三，对乡村警察横蛮无礼。书记员先生，是不是请你告诉我们，对这些罪行的每一件，最严厉的处罚是什么？自然不必假定犯人有可能无事，因为证据确凿。” 书记员用他的钢笔杆擦擦鼻子。“有人会认为，”他说，“最大的罪行是偷汽车；这无疑是对的。不过实在应受最严厉惩罚的是对警察无礼；这无疑是应该的。假定说由于偷窃囚禁12个月——这是很轻的；由于疯狂开车囚禁3 年——这是很宽的；由于无理取闹囚禁15年——根据我们听到的证人陈述，哪怕如我一向那样只相信其十分之一，这种无理取闹是极恶劣的……把这些数字准确地加在一起，合计是19年……” “好极了！”法官说。 “……因此你最好关他20年左右，这样比较稳妥点。”书记员结束他的话说。 “一个了不起的建议！”法官称赞说。“犯人！你聚精会神起来，肃立。这一回要判你20年。记好了，不管你为了什么事情被控，如若再次出现在我们面前的话，我们将非严惩你本可！” 于是凶狠的警察一下向倒霉的癞蛤蟆扑上来，给他套上锁链，把他拉出法庭，他又是尖叫，又是哀求，又是抗议。 他们穿过市场，爱开玩笑的人群向来对被侦破的罪犯十分严厉，而对仅仅被“通辑”的人则表示同情和帮忙，他们向癞蛤蟆投来嘲笑、胡萝卜和流行口号。 经过哇哇叫的小学生时，他们天真的小脸快乐得亮堂起来，他们看见绅士受难总是这么快乐的。 他们走过发出空洞声音的吊桥；从钉有大铁钉的城堡吊闸底下过去；穿过森严的老城堡的可怕拱道，城堡的古塔楼高耸在头顶上；他们经过一个个警卫室，那里面满是下了班的兵士，龇牙咧嘴地笑；经过哨兵面前时，哨兵用狠狠嘲笑的样子咳嗽一声，值勤的哨兵也只敢这样对罪犯表示蔑视和憎恨；他们走上朽坏的盘梯，经过戴钢盔穿钢甲的武装士兵面前，士兵们从脸盔下投来恶狠狠的目光；他们穿过监狱院子，一些猛犬想挣脱皮带，张牙舞爪要来扑他；他们经过穿古代服装的狱卒身边，长戟靠在墙边，头垂在一个饼和一壶啤酒上面打盹；他们走啊走，经过拉肢刑和夹拇指刑的行刑室，经过通到绞刑架去的路的路口，一直来到最里面一个监狱的最阴暗的地牢的门口。 最后他们在那里停下来，有一个穿古代服装的狱卒坐在门前，用手指玩弄着一束大钥匙。 “小老头！”警官说着摘下头盔，擦着脑门。“你醒醒，老傻瓜，接过我们手里这只坏透了的癞蛤蟆吧，他犯有最大的罪，而且诡计多端。你要使出你的浑身解数来看好他；警告你，灰胡子，万一出了事情，你那个老脑袋就要不保……你们两个天杀的！” 狱卒阴着脸点点头，把他一只干瘦的手搭在可怜的癞蛤蟆的肩头上。发锈的钥匙在锁眼里咯啦一声，巨大的门在他们身后哐当关上；于是癞蛤蟆就成了整个快乐的英国里这个最坚固的城堡中防卫最严密的监狱内最深的地牢里的一名最没救的囚犯。