Kenneth Grahame: The Wind in the Willows

3. THE WILD WOOD (continued)

`Well, never mind what done it,' said the Mole, forgetting his grammar in his pain. `It hurts just the same, whatever done it.'

But the Rat, after carefully tying up the leg with his handkerchief, had left him and was busy scraping in the snow. He scratched and shovelled and explored, all four legs working busily, while the Mole waited impatiently, remarking at intervals, `O, COME on, Rat!'

Suddenly the Rat cried `Hooray!' and then `Hooray-oo-ray-oo-ray- oo-ray!' and fell to executing a feeble jig in the snow.

`What HAVE you found, Ratty?' asked the Mole, still nursing his leg.

`Come and see!' said the delighted Rat, as he jigged on.

The Mole hobbled up to the spot and had a good look.

`Well,' he said at last, slowly, `I SEE it right enough. Seen the same sort of thing before, lots of times. Familiar object, I call it. A door-scraper! Well, what of it? Why dance jigs around a door-scraper?'

`But don't you see what it MEANS, you--you dull-witted animal?' cried the Rat impa-tiently.

`Of course I see what it means,' replied the Mole. `It simply means that some VERY careless and forgetful person has left his door-scraper lying about in the middle of the Wild Wood, JUST where it's SURE to trip EVERYBODY up. Very thoughtless of him, I call it. When I get home I shall go and complain about it to--to somebody or other, see if I don't!'

`O, dear! O, dear!' cried the Rat, in despair at his obtuseness. `Here, stop arguing and come and scrape!' And he set to work again and made the snow fly in all directions around him.

After some further toil his efforts were rewarded, and a very shabby door-mat lay exposed to view.

`There, what did I tell you?' exclaimed the Rat in great triumph.