["[Event happened on 2024-01-01 The user is reading a book]\n<User> The Rat put out a neat little brown paw, gripped Toad firmly by the\nscruff of the neck, and gave a great hoist and a pull; and the\nwater-logged Toad came up slowly but surely over the edge of the hole,\ntill at last he stood safe and sound in the hall, streaked with mud\nand weed, to be sure, and with the water streaming off him, but happy\nand high-spirited as of old, now that he found himself once more in\nthe house of a friend, and dodgings and evasions were over, and he\ncould lay aside a disguise that was unworthy of his position and\nwanted such a lot of living up to. \"O, Ratty!\" he cried. \"I've been through such times since I saw you\nlast, you can't think! Such trials, such sufferings, and all so nobly\nborne! Then such escapes, such disguises, such subterfuges, and all so\ncleverly planned and carried out! Been in prison--got out of it, of\ncourse! Been thrown into a canal--swam ashore! Stole a horse--sold him\nfor a large sum of money! Humbugged everybody--made 'em all do exactly\nwhat I wanted! Oh, I _am_ a smart Toad, and no mistake! What do you\nthink my last exploit was? Just hold on till I tell you--\"\n\n\"Toad,\" said the Water Rat, gravely and firmly, \"you go off upstairs\nat once, and take off that old cotton rag that looks as if it might\nformerly have belonged to some washerwoman, and clean yourself\nthoroughly, and put on some of my clothes, and try and come down\nlooking like a gentleman if you _can_; for a more shabby, bedraggled,\ndisreputable-looking object than you are I never set eyes on in my\nwhole life! Now, stop swaggering and arguing, and be off! I'll have\nsomething to say to you later!\" Toad was at first inclined to stop and do some talking back at him. He\nhad had enough of being ordered about when he was in prison, and here\nwas the thing being begun all over again, apparently; and by a Rat,\ntoo! However, he caught sight of himself in the looking-glass over the\nhat-stand, with the rusty black bonnet perched rakishly over one eye,\nand he changed his mind and went very quickly and humbly upstairs to\nthe Rat's dressing-room. There he had a thorough wash and brush-up,\nchanged his clothes, and stood for a long time before the glass,\ncontemplating himself with pride and pleasure, and thinking what utter\nidiots all the people must have been to have ever mistaken him for one\nmoment for a washerwoman. By the time he came down again luncheon was on the table, and very\nglad Toad was to see it, for he had been through some trying\nexperiences and had taken much hard exercise since the excellent\nbreakfast provided for him by the gipsy. While they ate Toad told the\nRat all his adventures, dwelling chiefly on his own cleverness, and\npresence of mind in emergencies, and cunning in tight places; and\nrather making out that he had been having a gay and highly-coloured\nexperience. But the more he talked and boasted, the more grave and\nsilent the Rat became. When at last Toad had talked himself to a standstill, there was\nsilence for a while; and then the Rat said, \"Now, Toady, I don't want\nto give you pain, after all you've been through already; but,\nseriously, don't you see what an awful ass you've been making of\nyourself? On your own admission you have been hand-cuffed, imprisoned,\nstarved, chased, terrified out of your life, insulted, jeered at, and\nignominiously flung into the water--by a woman, too! Where's the\namusement in that? Where does the fun come in? And all because you\nmust needs go and steal a motor-car. You know that you've never had\nanything but trouble from motor-cars from the moment you first set\neyes on one. But if you _will_ be mixed up with them--as you generally\nare, five minutes after you've started--why _steal_ them? Be a\ncripple, if you think it's exciting; be a bankrupt, for a change, if\nyou've set your mind on it: but why choose to be a convict? When are\nyou going to be sensible and think of your friends, and try and be\na credit to them? Do you suppose it's any pleasure to me, for\ninstance, to hear animals saying, as I go about, that I'm the chap\nthat keeps company with gaol-birds?\" [Illustration: _Dwelling chiefly on his own cleverness, and presence\nof mind in emergencies_]\n\nNow, it was a very comforting point in Toad's character that he was a\nthoroughly good-hearted animal, and never minded being jawed by those\nwho were his real friends. And even when most set upon a thing, he was\nalways able to see the other side of the question. So although, while\nthe Rat was talking so seriously, he kept saying to himself\nmutinously, \"But it _was_ fun, though! Awful fun!\" and making strange\nsuppressed noises inside him, k-i-ck-ck-ck, and poop-p-p, and other\nsounds resembling stifled snorts, or the opening of soda-water\nbottles, yet when the Rat had quite finished, he heaved a deep sigh\nand said, very nicely and humbly, \"Quite right, Ratty! How _sound_ you\nalways are! Yes, I've been a conceited old ass, I can quite see that;\nbut now I'm going to be a good Toad, and not do it any more. As for\nmotor-cars, I've not been at all so keen about them since my last\nducking in that river of yours. The fact is, while I was hanging on to\nthe edge of your hole and getting my breath, I had a sudden idea--a\nreally brilliant idea--connected with motor-boats--there, there! don't\ntake on so, old chap, and stamp, and upset things; it was only an\nidea, and we won't talk any more about it now. We'll have our coffee,\n_and_ a smoke, and a quiet chat, and then I'm going to stroll quietly\ndown to Toad Hall, and get into clothes of my own, and set things\ngoing again on the old lines. I've had enough of adventures. I shall\nlead a quiet, steady, respectable life, pottering about my property,\nand improving it, and doing a little landscape gardening at times. There will always be a bit of dinner for my friends when they come to\nsee me; and I shall keep a pony-chaise to jog about the country in,\njust as I used to in the good old days, before I got restless, and\nwanted to _do_ things.\" \"Stroll quietly down to Toad Hall?\" cried the Rat, greatly excited. \"What are you talking about? Do you mean to say you haven't _heard_?\" \"Heard what?\" said Toad, turning rather pale. \"Go on, Ratty! Quick! Don't spare me! What haven't I heard?\" \"Do you mean to tell me,\" shouted the Rat, thumping with his little\nfist upon the table, \"that you've heard nothing about the Stoats and\nWeasels?\" \"What, the Wild Wooders?\" cried Toad, trembling in every limb. \"No,\nnot a word! What have they been doing?\" \"--And how they've been and taken Toad Hall?\" continued the Rat. Toad leaned his elbows on the table, and his chin on his paws; and a\nlarge tear welled up in each of his eyes, overflowed and splashed on\nthe table, plop! plop! \"Go on, Ratty,\" he murmured presently; \"tell me all. The worst is\nover. I am an animal again. I can bear it.\" \"When you--got--into that--that--trouble of yours,\" said the Rat,\nslowly and impressively; \"I mean, when you--disappeared from society\nfor a time, over that misunderstanding about a--a machine, you know--\"\n\nToad merely nodded. \"Well, it was a good deal talked about down here, naturally,\"\ncontinued the Rat, \"not only along the riverside, but even in the Wild\nWood. Animals took sides, as always happens. The River-bankers stuck\nup for you, and said you had been infamously treated, and there was no\njustice to be had in the land nowadays. But the Wild Wood animals said\nhard things, and served you right, and it was time this sort of thing\nwas stopped. And they got very cocky, and went about saying you were\ndone for this time! You would never come back again, never, never!\" Toad nodded once more, keeping silence. \"That's the sort of little beasts they are,\" the Rat went on.\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-01, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-02 The user is reading a book]\n<User> \"But\nMole and Badger, they stuck out, through thick and thin, that you\nwould come back again soon, somehow. They didn't know exactly how, but\nsomehow!\" Toad began to sit up in his chair again, and to smirk a little. \"They argued from history,\" continued the Rat. \"They said that no\ncriminal laws had ever been known to prevail against cheek and\nplausibility such as yours, combined with the power of a long purse. So they arranged to move their things in to Toad Hall, and sleep\nthere, and keep it aired, and have it all ready for you when you\nturned up. They didn't guess what was going to happen, of course;\nstill, they had their suspicions of the Wild Wood animals. Now I come\nto the most painful and tragic part of my story. One dark night--it\nwas a _very_ dark night, and blowing hard, too, and raining simply\ncats and dogs--a band of weasels, armed to the teeth, crept silently\nup the carriage-drive to the front entrance. Simultaneously, a body of\ndesperate ferrets, advancing through the kitchen-garden, possessed\nthemselves of the backyard and offices; while a company of skirmishing\nstoats who stuck at nothing occupied the conservatory and the\nbilliard-room, and held the French windows opening on to the lawn. \"The Mole and the Badger were sitting by the fire in the smoking-room,\ntelling stories and suspecting nothing, for it wasn't a night for any\nanimals to be out in, when those bloodthirsty villains broke down the\ndoors and rushed in upon them from every side. They made the best\nfight they could, but what was the good? They were unarmed, and taken\nby surprise, and what can two animals do against hundreds? They took\nand beat them severely with sticks, those two poor faithful creatures,\nand turned them out into the cold and the wet, with many insulting and\nuncalled-for remarks!\" Here the unfeeling Toad broke into a snigger, and then pulled himself\ntogether and tried to look particularly solemn. \"And the Wild Wooders have been living in Toad Hall ever since,\"\ncontinued the Rat; \"and going on simply anyhow! Lying in bed half the\nday, and breakfast at all hours, and the place in such a mess (I'm\ntold) it's not fit to be seen! Eating your grub, and drinking your\ndrink, and making bad jokes about you, and singing vulgar songs,\nabout--well, about prisons and magistrates, and policemen; horrid\npersonal songs, with no humour in them. And they're telling the\ntradespeople and everybody that they've come to stay for good.\" \"O, have they!\" said Toad, getting up and seizing a stick. \"I'll jolly\nsoon see about that!\" \"It's no good, Toad!\" called the Rat after him. \"You'd better come\nback and sit down; you'll only get into trouble.\" But the Toad was off, and there was no holding him. He marched rapidly\ndown the road, his stick over his shoulder, fuming and muttering to\nhimself in his anger, till he got near his front gate, when suddenly\nthere popped up from behind the palings a long yellow ferret with a\ngun. \"Who comes there?\" said the ferret sharply. \"Stuff and nonsense!\" said Toad, very angrily. \"What do you mean by\ntalking like that to me? Come out of that at once or I'll--\"\n\nThe ferret said never a word, but he brought his gun up to his\nshoulder. Toad prudently dropped flat in the road, and _Bang_! a\nbullet whistled over his head. The startled Toad scrambled to his feet and scampered off down the\nroad as hard as he could; and as he ran he heard the ferret laughing\nand other horrid thin little laughs taking it up and carrying on the\nsound. He went back, very crestfallen, and told the Water Rat. \"What did I tell you?\" said the Rat. \"It's no good. They've got\nsentries posted, and they are all armed. You must just wait.\" Still, Toad was not inclined to give in all at once. So he got out the\nboat, and set off rowing up the river to where the garden front of\nToad Hall came down to the water-side. Arriving within sight of his old home, he rested on his oars and\nsurveyed the land cautiously. All seemed very peaceful and deserted\nand quiet. He could see the whole front of Toad Hall, glowing in the\nevening sunshine, the pigeons settling by twos and threes along the\nstraight line of the roof; the garden, a blaze of flowers; the creek\nthat led up to the boat-house, the little wooden bridge that crossed\nit; all tranquil, uninhabited, apparently waiting for his return. He\nwould try the boat-house first, he thought. Very warily he paddled up\nto the mouth of the creek, and was just passing under the bridge,\nwhen ... _Crash_! A great stone, dropped from above, smashed through the bottom of the\nboat. It filled and sank, and Toad found himself struggling in deep\nwater. Looking up, he saw two stoats leaning over the parapet of the\nbridge and watching him with great glee. \"It will be your head next\ntime, Toady!\" they called out to him. The indignant Toad swam to\nshore, while the stoats laughed and laughed, supporting each other,\nand laughed again, till they nearly had two fits--that is, one fit\neach, of course. The Toad retraced his weary way on foot, and related his disappointing\nexperiences to the Water Rat once more. \"Well, _what_ did I tell you?\" said the Rat very crossly. \"And, now, look\nhere! See what you've been and done! Lost me my boat that I was so fond\nof, that's what you've done! And simply ruined that nice suit of clothes\nthat I lent you! Really, Toad, of all the trying animals--I wonder you\nmanage to keep any friends at all!\" The Toad saw at once how wrongly and foolishly he had acted. He\nadmitted his errors and wrong-headedness and made a full apology to\nRat for losing his boat and spoiling his clothes. And he wound up by\nsaying, with that frank self-surrender which always disarmed his\nfriends' criticism and won them back to his side, \"Ratty! I see that I\nhave been a headstrong and a wilful Toad! Henceforth, believe me, I\nwill be humble and submissive, and will take no action without your\nkind advice and full approval!\" \"If that is really so,\" said the good-natured Rat, already appeased,\n\"then my advice to you is, considering the lateness of the hour, to\nsit down and have your supper, which will be on the table in a minute,\nand be very patient. For I am convinced that we can do nothing until\nwe have seen the Mole and the Badger, and heard their latest news, and\nheld conference and taken their advice in this difficult matter.\" \"Oh, ah, yes, of course, the Mole and the Badger,\" said Toad,\nlightly. \"What's become of them, the dear fellows? I had forgotten all\nabout them.\" \"Well may you ask!\" said the Rat reproachfully. \"While you were riding\nabout the country in expensive motor-cars, and galloping proudly on\nblood-horses, and breakfasting on the fat of the land, those two poor\ndevoted animals have been camping out in the open, in every sort of\nweather, living very rough by day and lying very hard by night;\nwatching over your house, patrolling your boundaries, keeping a\nconstant eye on the stoats and the weasels, scheming and planning and\ncontriving how to get your property back for you. You don't deserve to\nhave such true and loyal friends, Toad, you don't, really. Some day,\nwhen it's too late, you'll be sorry you didn't value them more while\nyou had them!\" \"I'm an ungrateful beast, I know,\" sobbed Toad, shedding bitter tears. \"Let me go out and find them, out into the cold, dark night, and share\ntheir hardships, and try and prove by--Hold on a bit! Surely I heard\nthe chink of dishes on a tray! Supper's here at last, hooray! Come\non, Ratty!\" The Rat remembered that poor Toad had been on prison fare for a\nconsiderable time, and that large allowances had therefore to be made. He followed him to the table accordingly, and hospitably encouraged\nhim in his gallant efforts to make up for past privations. They had just finished their meal and resumed their arm-chairs, when\nthere came a heavy knock at the door. Toad was nervous, but the Rat, nodding mysteriously at him, went\nstraight up to the door and opened it, and in walked Mr. Badger.\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-02, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-04 The user is reading a book]\n<User> He had all the appearance of one who for some nights had been kept\naway from home and all its little comforts and conveniences. His shoes\nwere covered with mud, and he was looking very rough and touzled; but\nthen he had never been a very smart man, the Badger, at the best of\ntimes. He came solemnly up to Toad, shook him by the paw, and said,\n\"Welcome home, Toad! Alas! what am I saying? Home, indeed! This is a\npoor home-coming. Unhappy Toad!\" Then he turned his back on him, sat\ndown to the table, drew his chair up, and helped himself to a large\nslice of cold pie. Toad was quite alarmed at this very serious and portentous style of\ngreeting; but the Rat whispered to him, \"Never mind; don't take any\nnotice; and don't say anything to him just yet. He's always rather low\nand despondent when he's wanting his victuals. In half an hour's time\nhe'll be quite a different animal.\" So they waited in silence, and presently there came another and a\nlighter knock. The Rat, with a nod to Toad, went to the door and\nushered in the Mole, very shabby and unwashed, with bits of hay and\nstraw sticking in his fur. \"Hooray! Here's old Toad!\" cried the Mole, his face beaming. \"Fancy\nhaving you back again!\" And he began to dance round him. \"We never\ndreamt you would turn up so soon! Why, you must have managed to\nescape, you clever, ingenious, intelligent Toad!\" The Rat, alarmed, pulled him by the elbow; but it was too late. Toad\nwas puffing and swelling already. \"Clever? O, no!\" he said. \"I'm not really clever, according to my\nfriends. I've only broken out of the strongest prison in England,\nthat's all! And captured a railway train and escaped on it, that's\nall! And disguised myself and gone about the country humbugging\neverybody, that's all! O, no! I'm a stupid ass, I am! I'll tell you\none or two of my little adventures, Mole, and you shall judge for\nyourself!\" \"Well, well,\" said the Mole, moving towards the supper-table;\n\"supposing you talk while I eat. Not a bite since breakfast! O my! O\nmy!\" And he sat down and helped himself liberally to cold beef and\npickles. Toad straddled on the hearth-rug, thrust his paw into his\ntrouser-pocket and pulled out a handful of silver. \"Look at that!\" he\ncried, displaying it. \"That's not so bad, is it, for a few minutes'\nwork? And how do you think I done it, Mole? Horse-dealing! That's how\nI done it!\" \"Go on, Toad,\" said the Mole, immensely interested. \"Toad, do be quiet, please!\" said the Rat. \"And don't you egg him on,\nMole, when you know what he is; but please tell us as soon as possible\nwhat the position is, and what's best to be done, now that Toad is\nback at last.\" \"The position's about as bad as it can be,\" replied the Mole grumpily;\n\"and as for what's to be done, why, blest if I know! The Badger and I\nhave been round and round the place, by night and by day; always the\nsame thing. Sentries posted everywhere, guns poked out at us, stones\nthrown at us; always an animal on the look-out, and when they see us,\nmy! how they do laugh! That's what annoys me most!\" \"It's a very difficult situation,\" said the Rat, reflecting deeply. \"But I think I see now, in the depths of my mind, what Toad really\nought to do. I will tell you. He ought to--\"\n\n\"No, he oughtn't!\" shouted the Mole, with his mouth full. \"Nothing of\nthe sort! You don't understand. What he ought to do is, he ought\nto--\"\n\n\"Well, I shan't do it, anyway!\" cried Toad, getting excited. \"I'm not\ngoing to be ordered about by you fellows! It's my house we're talking\nabout, and I know exactly what to do, and I'll tell you. I'm going\nto--\"\n\nBy this time they were all three talking at once, at the top of their\nvoices, and the noise was simply deafening, when a thin, dry voice\nmade itself heard, saying, \"Be quiet at once, all of you!\" and\ninstantly every one was silent. It was the Badger, who, having finished his pie, had turned round in\nhis chair and was looking at them severely. When he saw that he had\nsecured their attention, and that they were evidently waiting for him\nto address them, he turned back to the table again and reached out for\nthe cheese. And so great was the respect commanded by the solid\nqualities of that admirable animal, that not another word was uttered,\nuntil he had quite finished his repast and brushed the crumbs from his\nknees. The Toad fidgeted a good deal, but the Rat held him firmly\ndown. When the Badger had quite done, he got up from his seat and stood\nbefore the fireplace, reflecting deeply. At last he spoke. \"Toad,\" he said severely. \"You bad, troublesome little animal! Aren't\nyou ashamed of yourself? What do you think your father, my old friend,\nwould have said if he had been here to-night, and had known of all\nyour goings on?\" Toad, who was on the sofa by this time, with his legs up, rolled over\non his face, shaken by sobs of contrition. \"There, there!\" went on the Badger, more kindly. \"Never mind. Stop\ncrying. We're going to let bygones be bygones, and try and turn over a\nnew leaf. But what the Mole says is quite true. The stoats are on\nguard, at every point, and they make the best sentinels in the world. It's quite useless to think of attacking the place. They're too strong\nfor us.\" \"Then it's all over,\" sobbed the Toad, crying into the sofa cushions. \"I shall go and enlist for a soldier, and never see my dear Toad Hall\nany more!\" \"Come, cheer up, Toady!\" said the Badger. \"There are more ways of\ngetting back a place than taking it by storm. I haven't said my last\nword yet. Now I'm going to tell you a great secret.\" Toad sat up slowly and dried his eyes. Secrets had an immense\nattraction for him, because he never could keep one, and he enjoyed\nthe sort of unhallowed thrill he experienced when he went and told\nanother animal, after having faithfully promised not to. \"There--is--an--underground--passage,\" said the Badger, impressively,\n\"that leads from the river-bank, quite near here, right up into the\nmiddle of Toad Hall.\" \"O, nonsense! Badger,\" said Toad, rather airily. \"You've been\nlistening to some of the yarns they spin in the public-houses about\nhere. I know every inch of Toad Hall, inside and out. Nothing of the\nsort, I do assure you!\" \"My young friend,\" said the Badger, with great severity, \"your father,\nwho was a worthy animal--a lot worthier than some others I know--was a\nparticular friend of mine, and told me a great deal he wouldn't have\ndreamt of telling you. He discovered that passage--he didn't make it,\nof course; that was done hundreds of years before he ever came to live\nthere--and he repaired it and cleaned it out, because he thought it\nmight come in useful some day, in case of trouble or danger; and he\nshowed it to me. 'Don't let my son know about it,' he said. 'He's a\ngood boy, but very light and volatile in character, and simply cannot\nhold his tongue. If he's ever in a real fix, and it would be of use to\nhim, you may tell him about the secret passage; but not before.'\" The other animals looked hard at Toad to see how he would take it. Toad was inclined to be sulky at first; but he brightened up\nimmediately, like the good fellow he was. \"Well, well,\" he said; \"perhaps I am a bit of a talker. A popular\nfellow such as I am--my friends get round me--we chaff, we sparkle, we\ntell witty stories--and somehow my tongue gets wagging. I have the\ngift of conversation. I've been told I ought to have a _salon_,\nwhatever that may be. Never mind. Go on, Badger. How's this passage of\nyours going to help us?\"\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-04, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-07 The user is reading a book]\n<User> \"I've found out a thing or two lately,\" continued the Badger. \"I got\nOtter to disguise himself as a sweep and call at the back-door with\nbrushes over his shoulder, asking for a job. There's going to be a big\nbanquet to-morrow night. It's somebody's birthday--the Chief Weasel's,\nI believe--and all the weasels will be gathered together in the\ndining-hall, eating and drinking and laughing and carrying on,\nsuspecting nothing. No guns, no swords, no sticks, no arms of any sort\nwhatever!\" \"But the sentinels will be posted as usual,\" remarked the Rat. \"Exactly,\" said the Badger; \"that is my point. The weasels will trust\nentirely to their excellent sentinels. And that is where the passage\ncomes in. That very useful tunnel leads right up under the butler's\npantry, next to the dining-hall!\" \"Aha! that squeaky board in the butler's pantry!\" said Toad. \"Now I\nunderstand it!\" \"We shall creep out quietly into the butler's pantry--\" cried the\nMole.\n\n\" --with our pistols and swords and sticks--\" shouted the Rat.\n\n\" --and rush in upon them,\" said the Badger.\n\n\" --and whack 'em, and whack 'em, and whack 'em!\" cried the Toad in\necstasy, running round and round the room, and jumping over the\nchairs. \"Very well, then,\" said the Badger, resuming his usual dry manner,\n\"our plan is settled, and there's nothing more for you to argue and\nsquabble about. So, as it's getting very late, all of you go right off\nto bed at once. We will make all the necessary arrangements in the\ncourse of the morning to-morrow.\" Toad, of course, went off to bed dutifully with the rest--he knew\nbetter than to refuse--though he was feeling much too excited to\nsleep. But he had had a long day, with many events crowded into it;\nand sheets and blankets were very friendly and comforting things,\nafter plain straw, and not too much of it, spread on the stone floor\nof a draughty cell; and his head had not been many seconds on his\npillow before he was snoring happily. Naturally, he dreamt a good\ndeal; about roads that ran away from him just when he wanted them, and\ncanals that chased him and caught him, and a barge that sailed into\nthe banqueting-hall with his week's washing, just as he was giving a\ndinner-party; and he was alone in the secret passage, pushing onwards,\nbut it twisted and turned round and shook itself, and sat up on its\nend; yet somehow, at the last, he found himself back in Toad Hall,\nsafe and triumphant, with all his friends gathered round about him,\nearnestly assuring him that he really was a clever Toad. He slept till a late hour next morning, and by the time he got down he\nfound that the other animals had finished their breakfast some time before. The Mole had slipped off somewhere by himself, without telling any one\nwhere he was going to. The Badger sat in the arm-chair, reading the paper,\nand not concerning himself in the slightest about what was going to happen\nthat very evening. The Rat, on the other hand, was running round the room\nbusily, with his arms full of weapons of every kind, distributing them in\nfour little heaps on the floor, and saying excitedly under his breath, as\nhe ran, \"Here's-a-sword-for-the-Rat, here's-a-sword-for-the-Mole,\nhere's-a-sword-for-the-Toad, here's-a-sword-for-the-Badger! Here's-a-pistol-for-the-Rat, here's-a-pistol-for-the-Mole,\nhere's-a-pistol-for-the-Toad, here's-a-pistol-for-the-Badger!\" And so on,\nin a regular, rhythmical way, while the four little heaps gradually grew\nand grew. \"That's all very well, Rat,\" said the Badger presently, looking at the\nbusy little animal over the edge of his newspaper; \"I'm not blaming\nyou. But just let us once get past the stoats, with those detestable\nguns of theirs, and I assure you we shan't want any swords or pistols. We four, with our sticks, once we're inside the dining-hall, why, we\nshall clear the floor of all the lot of them in five minutes. I'd have\ndone the whole thing by myself, only I didn't want to deprive you\nfellows of the fun!\" \"It's as well to be on the safe side,\" said the Rat reflectively,\npolishing a pistol-barrel on his sleeve and looking along it. The Toad, having finished his breakfast, picked up a stout stick and\nswung it vigorously, belabouring imaginary animals. \"I'll learn 'em\nto steal my house!\" he cried. \"I'll learn 'em, I'll learn 'em!\" \"Don't say 'learn 'em,' Toad,\" said the Rat, greatly shocked. \"It's\nnot good English.\" \"What are you always nagging at Toad for?\" inquired the Badger, rather\npeevishly. \"What's the matter with his English? It's the same what I\nuse myself, and if it's good enough for me, it ought to be good enough\nfor you!\" \"I'm very sorry,\" said the Rat humbly. \"Only I _think_ it ought to be\n'teach 'em,' not 'learn 'em.'\" \"But we don't _want_ to teach 'em,\" replied the Badger. \"We want to\n_learn_ 'em--learn 'em, learn 'em! And what's more, we're going to\n_do_ it, too!\" \"Oh, very well, have it your own way,\" said the Rat. He was getting\nrather muddled about it himself, and presently he retired into a\ncorner, where he could be heard muttering, \"Learn 'em, teach 'em,\nteach 'em, learn 'em!\" till the Badger told him rather sharply to\nleave off. Presently the Mole came tumbling into the room, evidently very pleased\nwith himself. \"I've been having such fun!\" he began at once; \"I've\nbeen getting a rise out of the stoats!\" \"I hope you've been very careful, Mole?\" said the Rat anxiously. \"I should hope so, too,\" said the Mole confidently. \"I got the idea\nwhen I went into the kitchen, to see about Toad's breakfast being kept\nhot for him. I found that old washerwoman-dress that he came home in\nyesterday, hanging on a towel-horse before the fire. So I put it on,\nand the bonnet as well, and the shawl, and off I went to Toad Hall, as\nbold as you please. The sentries were on the look-out, of course, with\ntheir guns and their 'Who comes there?' and all the rest of their\nnonsense. 'Good morning, gentlemen!' says I, very respectful. 'Want\nany washing done to-day?' They looked at me very proud and stiff and\nhaughty, and said, 'Go away, washerwoman! We don't do any washing on\nduty.' 'Or any other time?' says I. Ho, ho, ho! Wasn't I _funny_,\nToad?\" \"Poor, frivolous animal!\" said Toad, very loftily. The fact is, he\nfelt exceedingly jealous of Mole for what he had just done. It was\nexactly what he would have liked to have done himself, if only he had\nthought of it first, and hadn't gone and overslept himself. \"Some of the stoats turned quite pink,\" continued the Mole, \"and the\nSergeant in charge, he said to me, very short, he said, 'Now run away,\nmy good woman, run away! Don't keep my men idling and talking on their\nposts.' 'Run away?' says I; 'it won't be me that'll be running away,\nin a very short time from now!'\" \"O _Moly_, how could you?\" said the Rat, dismayed. The Badger laid down his paper. \"I could see them pricking up their ears and looking at each other,\"\nwent on the Mole; \"and the Sergeant said to them, 'Never mind _her_;\nshe doesn't know what she's talking about.'\" \"'O! don't I?' said I. 'Well, let me tell you this. My daughter, she\nwashes for Mr. Badger, and that'll show you whether I know what I'm\ntalking about; and _you'll_ know pretty soon, too! A hundred\nbloodthirsty badgers, armed with rifles, are going to attack Toad Hall\nthis very night, by way of the paddock.\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-07, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-08 The user is reading a book]\n<User> Six boatloads of Rats, with\npistols and cutlasses, will come up the river and effect a landing in\nthe garden; while a picked body of Toads, known as the Die-hards, or\nthe Death-or-Glory Toads, will storm the orchard and carry everything\nbefore them, yelling for vengeance. There won't be much left of you to\nwash, by the time they've done with you, unless you clear out while\nyou have the chance!' Then I ran away, and when I was out of sight I\nhid; and presently I came creeping back along the ditch and took a\npeep at them through the hedge. They were all as nervous and flustered\nas could be, running all ways at once, and falling over each other,\nand every one giving orders to everybody else and not listening; and\nthe Sergeant kept sending off parties of stoats to distant parts of\nthe grounds, and then sending other fellows to fetch 'em back again;\nand I heard them saying to each other, 'That's just like the weasels;\nthey're to stop comfortably in the banqueting-hall, and have feasting\nand toasts and songs and all sorts of fun, while we must stay on guard\nin the cold and the dark, and in the end be cut to pieces by\nbloodthirsty Badgers!'\" \"Oh, you silly ass, Mole!\" cried Toad, \"You've been and spoilt\neverything!\" \"Mole,\" said the Badger, in his dry, quiet way, \"I perceive you have\nmore sense in your little finger than some other animals have in the\nwhole of their fat bodies. You have managed excellently, and I begin\nto have great hopes of you. Good Mole! Clever Mole!\" The Toad was simply wild with jealousy, more especially as he couldn't\nmake out for the life of him what the Mole had done that was so\nparticularly clever; but, fortunately for him, before he could show\ntemper or expose himself to the Badger's sarcasm, the bell rang for\nluncheon. It was a simple but sustaining meal--bacon and broad beans, and a\nmacaroni pudding; and when they had quite done, the Badger settled\nhimself into an arm-chair, and said, \"Well, we've got our work cut\nout for us to-night, and it will probably be pretty late before we're\nquite through with it; so I'm just going to take forty winks, while I\ncan.\" And he drew a handkerchief over his face and was soon snoring. The anxious and laborious Rat at once resumed his preparations,\nand started running between his four little heaps, muttering,\n\"Here's-a-belt-for-the-Rat, here's-a-belt-for-the-Mole,\nhere's-a-belt-for-the-Toad, here's-a-belt-for-the-Badger!\" and so on,\nwith every fresh accoutrement he produced, to which there seemed\nreally no end; so the Mole drew his arm through Toad's, led him out\ninto the open air, shoved him into a wicker chair, and made him tell\nhim all his adventures from beginning to end, which Toad was only too\nwilling to do. The Mole was a good listener, and Toad, with no one to\ncheck his statements or to criticise in an unfriendly spirit, rather\nlet himself go. Indeed, much that he related belonged more properly to\nthe category of what-might-have-happened-had-I-only-thought-of-it-in-\ntime-instead-of-ten-minutes-afterwards. Those are always the best and\nthe raciest adventures; and why should they not be truly ours, as much\nas the somewhat inadequate things that really come off? When it began to grow dark, the Rat, with an air of excitement and\nmystery, summoned them back into the parlour, stood each of them up\nalongside of his little heap, and proceeded to dress them up for the\ncoming expedition. He was very earnest and thorough-going about it,\nand the affair took quite a long time. First, there was a belt to go\nround each animal, and then a sword to be stuck into each belt, and\nthen a cutlass on the other side to balance it. Then a pair of\npistols, a policeman's truncheon, several sets of handcuffs, some\nbandages and sticking-plaster, and a flask and a sandwich-case. The\nBadger laughed good-humouredly and said, \"All right, Ratty! It amuses\nyou and it doesn't hurt me. I'm going to do all I've got to do with\nthis here stick.\" But the Rat only said, \"_Please_, Badger. You know\nI shouldn't like you to blame me afterwards and say I had forgotten\n_anything_!\" When all was quite ready, the Badger took a dark lantern in one paw,\ngrasped his great stick with the other, and said, \"Now then, follow\nme! Mole first, 'cos I'm very pleased with him; Rat next; Toad last. And look here, Toady! Don't you chatter so much as usual, or you'll be\nsent back, as sure as fate!\" The Toad was so anxious not to be left out that he took up the\ninferior position assigned to him without a murmur, and the animals\nset off. The Badger led them along by the river for a little way, and\nthen suddenly swung himself over the edge into a hole in the river\nbank, a little above the water. The Mole and the Rat followed\nsilently, swinging themselves successfully into the hole as they had\nseen the Badger do; but when it came to Toad's turn, of course he\nmanaged to slip and fall into the water with a loud splash and a\nsqueal of alarm. He was hauled out by his friends, rubbed down and\nwrung out hastily, comforted, and set on his legs; but the Badger was\nseriously angry, and told him that the very next time he made a\nfool of himself he would most certainly be left behind. [Illustration: _The Badger said, \"Now then, follow me! \"_]\n\nSo at last they were in the secret passage, and the cutting-out\nexpedition had really begun! It was cold, and dark, and damp, and low, and narrow, and poor Toad\nbegan to shiver, partly from dread of what might be before him, partly\nbecause he was wet through. The lantern was far ahead, and he could\nnot help lagging behind a little in the darkness. Then he heard the\nRat call out warningly, \"_Come_ on, Toad!\" and a terror seized him of\nbeing left behind, alone in the darkness, and he \"came on\" with such a\nrush that he upset the Rat into the Mole, and the Mole into the\nBadger, and for a moment all was confusion. The Badger thought they\nwere being attacked from behind, and, as there was no room to use a\nstick or a cutlass, drew a pistol, and was on the point of putting a\nbullet into Toad. When he found out what had really happened he was\nvery angry indeed, and said, \"Now this time that tiresome Toad _shall_\nbe left behind!\" But Toad whimpered, and the other two promised that they would be\nanswerable for his good conduct, and at last the Badger was pacified,\nand the procession moved on; only this time the Rat brought up the\nrear, with a firm grip on the shoulder of Toad. So they groped and shuffled along, with their ears pricked up and\ntheir paws on their pistols, till at last the Badger said, \"We ought\nby now to be pretty nearly under the Hall.\" Then suddenly they heard, far away as it might be, and yet apparently\nnearly over their heads, a confused murmur of sound, as if people were\nshouting and cheering and stamping on the floor and hammering on\ntables. The Toad's nervous terrors all returned, but the Badger only\nremarked placidly, \"They _are_ going it, the weasels!\" The passage now began to slope upwards; they groped onward a little\nfurther, and then the noise broke out again, quite distinct this time,\nand very close above them. \"Ooo-ray-oo-ray-oo-ray-ooray!\" they heard,\nand the stamping of little feet on the floor, and the clinking of\nglasses as little fists pounded on the table. \"_What_ a time they're\nhaving!\" said the Badger. \"Come on!\" They hurried along the passage\ntill it came to a full stop, and they found themselves standing under\nthe trap-door that led up into the butler's pantry. Such a tremendous noise was going on in the banqueting-hall that there\nwas little danger of their being overheard. The Badger said, \"Now,\nboys, all together!\" and the four of them put their shoulders to the\ntrap-door and heaved it back. Hoisting each other up, they found\nthemselves standing in the pantry, with only a door between them and\nthe banqueting-hall, where their unconscious enemies were carousing.\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-08, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-11 The user is reading a book]\n<User> The noise, as they emerged from the passage, was simply deafening. At\nlast, as the cheering and hammering slowly subsided, a voice could be\nmade out saying, \"Well, I do not propose to detain you much\nlonger\"--(great applause)--\"but before I resume my seat\"--(renewed\ncheering)--\"I should like to say one word about our kind host, Mr.\nToad. We all know Toad!\" --(great laughter)--\"_Good_ Toad, _modest_\nToad, _honest_ Toad!\" (shrieks of merriment). \"Only just let me get at him!\" muttered Toad, grinding his teeth. \"Hold hard a minute!\" said the Badger, restraining him with\ndifficulty. \"Get ready, all of you!\" \"--Let me sing you a little song,\" went on the voice, \"which I have\ncomposed on the subject of Toad\"--(prolonged applause). Then the Chief Weasel--for it was he--began in a high, squeaky voice--\n\n        \"Toad he went a-pleasuring\n         Gaily down the street--\"\n\nThe Badger drew himself up, took a firm grip of his stick with both\npaws, glanced round at his comrades, and cried--\n\n\"The hour is come! Follow me!\" And flung the door open wide. My! What a squealing and a squeaking and a screeching filled the air! Well might the terrified weasels dive under the tables and spring\nmadly up at the windows! Well might the ferrets rush wildly for the\nfireplace and get hopelessly jammed in the chimney! Well might tables\nand chairs be upset, and glass and china be sent crashing on the\nfloor, in the panic of that terrible moment when the four Heroes\nstrode wrathfully into the room! The mighty Badger, his whiskers\nbristling, his great cudgel whistling through the air; Mole, black and\ngrim, brandishing his stick and shouting his awful war-cry, \"A Mole! A\nMole!\" Rat, desperate and determined, his belt bulging with weapons of\nevery age and every variety; Toad, frenzied with excitement and\ninjured pride, swollen to twice his ordinary size, leaping into the\nair and emitting Toad-whoops that chilled them to the marrow! \"Toad he\nwent a-pleasuring!\" he yelled. \"_I'll_ pleasure 'em!\" and he went\nstraight for the Chief Weasel. They were but four in all, but to the\npanic-stricken weasels the hall seemed full of monstrous animals,\ngrey, black, brown and yellow, whooping and flourishing enormous\ncudgels; and they broke and fled with squeals of terror and dismay,\nthis way and that, through the windows, up the chimney, anywhere to\nget out of reach of those terrible sticks. The affair was soon over. Up and down, the whole length of the hall,\nstrode the four Friends, whacking with their sticks at every head that\nshowed itself; and in five minutes the room was cleared. Through the\nbroken windows the shrieks of terrified weasels escaping across the\nlawn were borne faintly to their ears; on the floor lay prostrate some\ndozen or so of the enemy, on whom the Mole was busily engaged in\nfitting handcuffs. The Badger, resting from his labours, leant on his\nstick and wiped his honest brow. \"Mole,\" he said, \"you're the best of fellows! Just cut along outside\nand look after those stoat-sentries of yours, and see what they're\ndoing. I've an idea that, thanks to you, we shan't have much trouble\nfrom _them_ to-night!\" The Mole vanished promptly through a window; and the Badger bade the\nother two set a table on its legs again, pick up knives and forks and\nplates and glasses from the _debris_ on the floor, and see if they\ncould find materials for a supper. \"I want some grub, I do,\" he said,\nin that rather common way he had of speaking. \"Stir your stumps, Toad,\nand look lively! We've got your house back for you, and you don't\noffer us so much as a sandwich.\" Toad felt rather hurt that the Badger didn't say pleasant things to\nhim, as he had to the Mole, and tell him what a fine fellow he was,\nand how splendidly he had fought; for he was rather particularly\npleased with himself and the way he had gone for the Chief Weasel and\nsent him flying across the table with one blow of his stick. But he\nbustled about, and so did the Rat, and soon they found some guava\njelly in a glass dish, and a cold chicken, a tongue that had hardly\nbeen touched, some trifle, and quite a lot of lobster salad; and in\nthe pantry they came upon a basketful of French rolls and any quantity\nof cheese, butter, and celery. They were just about to sit down when\nthe Mole clambered in through the window, chuckling, with an armful of\nrifles. \"It's all over,\" he reported. \"From what I can make out, as soon as\nthe stoats, who were very nervous and jumpy already, heard the shrieks\nand the yells and the uproar inside the hall, some of them threw down\ntheir rifles and fled. The others stood fast for a bit, but when the\nweasels came rushing out upon them they thought they were betrayed;\nand the stoats grappled with the weasels, and the weasels fought to\nget away, and they wrestled and wriggled and punched each other, and\nrolled over and over, till most of 'em rolled into the river! They've\nall disappeared by now, one way or another; and I've got their rifles. So _that's_ all right!\" \"Excellent and deserving animal!\" said the Badger, his mouth full of\nchicken and trifle. \"Now, there's just one more thing I want you to\ndo, Mole, before you sit down to your supper along of us; and I\nwouldn't trouble you only I know I can trust you to see a thing done,\nand I wish I could say the same of every one I know. I'd send Rat, if\nhe wasn't a poet. I want you to take those fellows on the floor there\nupstairs with you, and have some bedrooms cleaned out and tidied up\nand made really comfortable. See that they sweep _under_ the beds, and\nput clean sheets and pillow-cases on, and turn down one corner of the\nbed-clothes, just as you know it ought to be done; and have a can of\nhot water, and clean towels, and fresh cakes of soap, put in each\nroom. And then you can give them a licking a-piece, if it's any\nsatisfaction to you, and put them out by the back-door, and we shan't\nsee any more of _them_, I fancy. And then come along and have some of\nthis cold tongue. It's first rate. I'm very pleased with you, Mole!\" The good-natured Mole picked up a stick, formed his prisoners up in a\nline on the floor, gave them the order \"Quick march!\" and led his\nsquad off to the upper floor. After a time, he appeared again,\nsmiling, and said that every room was ready and as clean as a new pin. \"And I didn't have to lick them, either,\" he added. \"I thought, on the\nwhole, they had had licking enough for one night, and the weasels,\nwhen I put the point to them, quite agreed with me, and said they\nwouldn't think of troubling me. They were very penitent, and said\nthey were extremely sorry for what they had done, but it was all the\nfault of the Chief Weasel and the stoats, and if ever they could do\nanything for us at any time to make up, we had only got to mention it. So I gave them a roll a-piece, and let them out at the back, and off\nthey ran, as hard as they could!\" Then the Mole pulled his chair up to the table, and pitched into the\ncold tongue; and Toad, like the gentleman he was, put all his jealousy\nfrom him, and said heartily, \"Thank you kindly, dear Mole, for all\nyour pains and trouble to-night, and especially for your cleverness\nthis morning!\" The Badger was pleased at that, and said, \"There spoke\nmy brave Toad!\" So they finished their supper in great joy and\ncontentment, and presently retired to rest between clean sheets, safe\nin Toad's ancestral home, won back by matchless valour, consummate\nstrategy, and a proper handling of sticks.\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-11, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-12 The user is reading a book]\n<User> The following morning, Toad, who had overslept himself as usual, came\ndown to breakfast disgracefully late, and found on the table a\ncertain quantity of egg-shells, some fragments of cold and leathery\ntoast, a coffee-pot three-fourths empty, and really very little else;\nwhich did not tend to improve his temper, considering that, after all,\nit was his own house. Through the French windows of the breakfast-room\nhe could see the Mole and the Water Rat sitting in wicker chairs out\non the lawn, evidently telling each other stories; roaring with\nlaughter and kicking their short legs up in the air. The Badger, who\nwas in an arm-chair and deep in the morning paper, merely looked up\nand nodded when Toad entered the room. But Toad knew his man, so he\nsat down and made the best breakfast he could, merely observing to\nhimself that he would get square with the others sooner or later. When\nhe had nearly finished, the Badger looked up and remarked rather\nshortly: \"I'm sorry, Toad, but I'm afraid there's a heavy morning's\nwork in front of you. You see, we really ought to have a Banquet at\nonce, to celebrate this affair. It's expected of you--in fact, it's\nthe rule.\" \"O, all right!\" said the Toad, readily. \"Anything to oblige. Though\nwhy on earth you should want to have a Banquet in the morning I cannot\nunderstand. But you know I do not live to please myself, but merely to\nfind out what my friends want, and then try and arrange it for 'em,\nyou dear old Badger!\" \"Don't pretend to be stupider than you really are,\" replied the\nBadger, crossly; \"and don't chuckle and splutter in your coffee while\nyou're talking; it's not manners. What I mean is, the Banquet will be\nat night, of course, but the invitations will have to be written and\ngot off at once, and you've got to write 'em. Now sit down at that\ntable--there's stacks of letter-paper on it, with 'Toad Hall' at the\ntop in blue and gold--and write invitations to all our friends, and if\nyou stick to it we shall get them out before luncheon. And _I'll_ bear\na hand, too, and take my share of the burden. _I'll_ order the\nBanquet.\" \"What!\" cried Toad, dismayed. \"Me stop indoors and write a lot of\nrotten letters on a jolly morning like this, when I want to go around\nmy property and set everything and everybody to rights, and swagger\nabout and enjoy myself! Certainly not! I'll be--I'll see you--Stop a\nminute, though! Why, of course, dear Badger! What is my pleasure or\nconvenience compared with that of others! You wish it done, and it\nshall be done. Go, Badger, order the Banquet, order what you like;\nthen join our young friends outside in their innocent mirth, oblivious\nof me and my cares and toils. I sacrifice this fair morning on the\naltar of duty and friendship!\" The Badger looked at him very suspiciously, but Toad's frank, open\ncountenance made it difficult to suggest any unworthy motive in this\nchange of attitude. He quitted the room, accordingly, in the direction\nof the kitchen, and as soon as the door had closed behind him, Toad\nhurried to the writing-table. A fine idea had occurred to him while he\nwas talking. He _would_ write the invitations; and he would take care\nto mention the leading part he had taken in the fight, and how he had\nlaid the Chief Weasel flat; and he would hint at his adventures, and\nwhat a career of triumph he had to tell about; and on the fly-leaf he\nwould set out a sort of a programme of entertainment for the\nevening--something like this, as he sketched it out in his head:--\n\n        SPEECH                                      BY TOAD. (There will be other speeches by TOAD during\n                         the evening.) ADDRESS                                     BY TOAD. SYNOPSIS--Our Prison System--the Waterways of Old\n        England--Horse-dealing, and how to deal--Property,\n        its rights and its duties--Back to the Land--A\n        Typical English Squire. SONG                                        BY TOAD. (_Composed by himself._)\n\n        OTHER COMPOSITIONS                          BY TOAD\n                 will be sung in the course of the\n                 evening by the           COMPOSER. The idea pleased him mightily, and he worked very hard and got all the\nletters finished by noon, at which hour it was reported to him that\nthere was a small and rather bedraggled weasel at the door, inquiring\ntimidly whether he could be of any service to the gentleman. Toad\nswaggered out and found it was one of the prisoners of the previous\nevening, very respectful and anxious to please. He patted him on the\nhead, shoved the bundle of invitations into his paw, and told him to\ncut along quick and deliver them as fast as he could, and if he liked\nto come back again in the evening, perhaps there might be a shilling\nfor him, or, again, perhaps there mightn't; and the poor weasel seemed\nreally quite grateful, and hurried off eagerly to do his mission. When the other animals came back to luncheon, very boisterous and\nbreezy after a morning on the river, the Mole, whose conscience had\nbeen pricking him, looked doubtfully at Toad, expecting to find him\nsulky or depressed. Instead, he was so uppish and inflated that the\nMole began to suspect something; while the Rat and the Badger\nexchanged significant glances. As soon as the meal was over, Toad thrust his paws deep into his\ntrouser-pockets, remarked casually, \"Well, look after yourselves, you\nfellows! Ask for anything you want!\" and was swaggering off in the\ndirection of the garden, where he wanted to think out an idea or two\nfor his coming speeches, when the Rat caught him by the arm. Toad rather suspected what he was after, and did his best to get away;\nbut when the Badger took him firmly by the other arm he began to see\nthat the game was up. The two animals conducted him between them into\nthe small smoking-room that opened out of the entrance-hall, shut the\ndoor, and put him into a chair. Then they both stood in front of him,\nwhile Toad sat silent and regarded them with much suspicion and\nill-humour. \"Now, look here, Toad,\" said the Rat. \"It's about this Banquet, and\nvery sorry I am to have to speak to you like this. But we want you to\nunderstand clearly, once and for all, that there are going to be no\nspeeches and no songs. Try and grasp the fact that on this occasion\nwe're not arguing with you; we're just telling you.\" Toad saw that he was trapped. They understood him, they saw through\nhim, they had got ahead of him. His pleasant dream was shattered. \"Mayn't I sing them just one _little_ song?\" he pleaded piteously. \"No, not _one_ little song,\" replied the Rat firmly, though his heart\nbled as he noticed the trembling lip of the poor disappointed Toad. \"It's no good, Toady; you know well that your songs are all conceit\nand boasting and vanity; and your speeches are all self-praise\nand--and--well, and gross exaggeration and--and--\"\n\n\"And gas,\" put in the Badger, in his common way. \"It's for your own good, Toady,\" went on the Rat. \"You know you _must_\nturn over a new leaf sooner or later, and now seems a splendid time to\nbegin; a sort of turning-point in your career. Please don't think that\nsaying all this doesn't hurt me more than it hurts you.\" Toad remained a long while plunged in thought. At last he raised his\nhead, and the traces of strong emotion were visible on his features. \"You have conquered, my friends,\" he said in broken accents. \"It was,\nto be sure, but a small thing that I asked--merely leave to blossom\nand expand for yet one more evening, to let myself go and hear the\ntumultuous applause that always seems to me--somehow--to bring out my\nbest qualities. However, you are right, I know, and I am wrong. Henceforth I will be a very different Toad. My friends, you shall\nnever have occasion to blush for me again. But, O dear, O dear, this\nis a hard world!\" And, pressing his handkerchief to his face, he left the room, with\nfaltering footsteps. \"Badger,\" said the Rat, \"I feel like a brute; I wonder what _you_ feel\nlike?\" \"O, I know, I know,\" said the Badger gloomily. \"But the thing had to\nbe done.\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-12, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far.", "[Event happened on 2024-01-15 The user is reading a book]\n<User> This good fellow has got to live here, and hold his own, and\nbe respected. Would you have him a common laughing-stock, mocked and\njeered at by stoats and weasels?\" \"Of course not,\" said the Rat. \"And, talking of weasels, it's lucky we\ncame upon that little weasel, just as he was setting out with Toad's\ninvitations. I suspected something from what you told me, and had a\nlook at one or two; they were simply disgraceful. I confiscated the\nlot, and the good Mole is now sitting in the blue _boudoir_, filling\nup plain, simple invitation cards.\" *       *       *       *       *\n\nAt last the hour for the banquet began to draw near, and Toad, who on\nleaving the others had retired to his bedroom, was still sitting\nthere, melancholy and thoughtful. His brow resting on his paw, he\npondered long and deeply. Gradually his countenance cleared, and he\nbegan to smile long, slow smiles. Then he took to giggling in a shy,\nself-conscious manner. At last he got up, locked the door, drew the\ncurtains across the windows, collected all the chairs in the room and\narranged them in a semicircle, and took up his position in front of\nthem, swelling visibly. Then he bowed, coughed twice, and, letting\nhimself go, with uplifted voice he sang, to the enraptured audience\nthat his imagination so clearly saw:\n\n                TOAD'S LAST LITTLE SONG\n\n        The Toad--came--home! There was panic in the parlours and howling in the halls,\n        There was crying in the cow-sheds and shrieking in the stalls,\n        When the Toad--came--home! When the Toad--came--home! There was smashing in of window and crashing in of door,\n        There was chivvying of weasels that fainted on the floor,\n        When the Toad--came--home! Bang! go the drums! The trumpeters are tooting and the soldiers are saluting,\n        And the cannon they are shooting and the motor-cars are hooting,\n        As the--Hero--comes! Shout--Hoo-ray! And let each one of the crowd try and shout it very loud,\n        In honour of an animal of whom you're justly proud,\n        For it's Toad's--great--day! He sang this very loud, with great unction and expression; and when he\nhad done, he sang it all over again. Then he heaved a deep sigh; a long, long, long sigh. Then he dipped his hairbrush in the water-jug, parted his hair in the\nmiddle, and plastered it down very straight and sleek on each side of\nhis face; and, unlocking the door, went quietly down the stairs to\ngreet his guests, who he knew must be assembling in the drawing-room. All the animals cheered when he entered, and crowded round to\ncongratulate him and say nice things about his courage, and his\ncleverness, and his fighting qualities; but Toad only smiled faintly,\nand murmured, \"Not at all!\" Or, sometimes, for a change, \"On the\ncontrary!\" Otter, who was standing on the hearthrug, describing to an\nadmiring circle of friends exactly how he would have managed things\nhad he been there, came forward with a shout, threw his arm round\nToad's neck, and tried to take him round the room in triumphal\nprogress; but Toad, in a mild way, was rather snubby to him, remarking\ngently, as he disengaged himself, \"Badger's was the master mind; the\nMole and the Water Rat bore the brunt of the fighting; I merely served\nin the ranks and did little or nothing.\" The animals were evidently\npuzzled and taken aback by this unexpected attitude of his; and Toad\nfelt, as he moved from one guest to the other, making his modest\nresponses, that he was an object of absorbing interest to every one. The Badger had ordered everything of the best, and the banquet was a\ngreat success. There was much talking and laughter and chaff among the\nanimals, but through it all Toad, who of course was in the chair,\nlooked down his nose and murmured pleasant nothings to the animals on\neither side of him. At intervals he stole a glance at the Badger and\nthe Rat, and always when he looked they were staring at each other\nwith their mouths open; and this gave him the greatest satisfaction. Some of the younger and livelier animals, as the evening wore on, got\nwhispering to each other that things were not so amusing as they used\nto be in the good old days; and there were some knockings on the table\nand cries of \"Toad! Speech! Speech from Toad! Song! Mr. Toad's song!\" But Toad only shook his head gently, raised one paw in mild protest,\nand, by pressing delicacies on his guests, by topical small-talk, and\nby earnest inquiries after members of their families not yet old\nenough to appear at social functions, managed to convey to them that\nthis dinner was being run on strictly conventional lines. He was indeed an altered Toad! *       *       *       *       *\n\nAfter this climax, the four animals continued to lead their lives, so\nrudely broken in upon by civil war, in great joy and contentment,\nundisturbed by further risings or invasions. Toad, after due\nconsultation with his friends, selected a handsome gold chain and\nlocket set with pearls, which he dispatched to the gaoler's daughter,\nwith a letter that even the Badger admitted to be modest, grateful,\nand appreciative; and the engine-driver, in his turn, was properly\nthanked and compensated for all his pains and trouble. Under severe\ncompulsion from the Badger, even the barge-woman was, with some\ntrouble, sought out and the value of her horse discreetly made good\nto her; though Toad kicked terribly at this, holding himself to be an\ninstrument of Fate, sent to punish fat women with mottled arms who\ncouldn't tell a real gentleman when they saw one. The amount involved,\nit was true, was not very burdensome, the gipsy's valuation being\nadmitted by local assessors to be approximately correct. Sometimes, in the course of long summer evenings, the friends would\ntake a stroll together in the Wild Wood, now successfully tamed so far\nas they were concerned; and it was pleasing to see how respectfully\nthey were greeted by the inhabitants, and how the mother-weasels would\nbring their young ones to the mouths of their holes, and say,\npointing, \"Look, baby! There goes the great Mr. Toad! And that's the\ngallant Water Rat, a terrible fighter, walking along o' him! And\nyonder comes the famous Mr. Mole, of whom you so often have heard your\nfather tell!\" But when their infants were fractious and quite beyond\ncontrol, they would quiet them by telling how, if they didn't hush\nthem and not fret them, the terrible grey Badger would up and get\nthem. This was a base libel on Badger, who, though he cared little\nabout Society, was rather fond of children; but it never failed to\nhave its full effect. _The Wind in the Willows_\n\n<System> Please remember what the user reads on 2024-01-15, save the details within the book, and retain a summary of the book the user has read so far."]
[{"question": "Summarize the content of the book I read from 2024-01-01 to 2024-01-15", "answer": "Toad, Rat, Badger, Mole, Otter, Toad Hall, weasels, stoats, Wild Wood, Chief Weasel, secret passageway, birthday party, jailbreak, washerwoman clothing, weapons, ambush, intervention, invitations, speech, humility, reimbursement, Alfred Lord Tennyson, \"Home they brought her warrior dead\", Chapter 11, Chapter 12, post-jail adventure, shameful escape, gentlemanly behavior, party, honor, friendship, self-involvement, character growth"}]