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This is not a podcast. 
Yeah, the podcast. 

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The story. 
What's the? 

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Podcast It's all gonna be all 
right in the air. 

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Gonna be on. 
You've got some worries, my dear

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little Arise. 
Rest your busy minds because 

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it's finally time the Stories 
from Now and Then. 

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Hello, everybody, and welcome 
back to Stories from Now and 

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Then. 
My name is Captain Blunderface 

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and I'm here in the old library 
with Debra Caddis. 

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And we just got something very 
exciting in the mail. 

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I actually thought I ordered it 
to my home address, but somehow 

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it ended up getting delivered to
the old library, which is weird.

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Oh, and what it is of course, 
it's an automatic cat feeder for

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Debra Caddis. 
So you fill the little 

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containers with food and it 
spins around twice a day exactly

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on time. 
It even has an app where you 

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depra catus. 
We haven't even tried it yet. 

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Why don't we just put the 
batteries in and set it up and 

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you will be hooked within the 
first meal I bet. 

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No, it's not replacing me. 
It just helps me in case I have 

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to do something else and forget 
something or if I'm late with 

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the feeding routine. 
Trust me, it'll be great. 

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I don't think I'm obsessed with 
new technology. 

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I just think it's cool, but not 
as cool as the two very cool 

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people we have for our shout 
out. 

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Today's shout out goes to Ellie 
and Jack from Maryland, USA. 

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They love listening to stories 
during long car rides and they 

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love to play make believe. 
So Ellie and Jack, thanks for 

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listening. 
This story is for you. 

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Keep using those imaginations. 
That's awesome. 

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Oh, and it looks like we just 
got a message from our sponsor. 

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Today's episode is brought to 
you by the brand new Stories 

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from Now and Then companion 
coloring book. 

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And we have pages that match the
stories so you can color along 

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as you listen. 
To learn more, check out our 

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Instagram profile at Stories 
from now and Then. 

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And with that, we'll pass it off
to the amazing Nicola for Part 3

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of Wind in the Willows and 
Deprecatus. 

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Do you think you could at least 
think about the automatic 

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feeder? 
In the last part of the story we

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met Toad and Toad definitely has
a problem. 

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He keeps buying cars and then 
crashing them or his friends Rat

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and Mole are very worried about 
it, and perhaps their other 

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friend Badger can help. 
Let's see the wind in the 

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willows, Part 3. 
The next afternoon came a cold, 

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still afternoon with a hard, 
steely sky overhead. 

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The country lay bare and 
entirely leafless. 

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Rat proposed that they visit the
Wildwood at once, before the 

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weather worsened. 
Mole, though willing, felt a 

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slight tightening inside him as 
they left the open river paths 

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behind. 
The Wildwood stood apart from 

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all cheerful country things. 
It's trees grew closer together,

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older and darker, their branches
crossing overhead, blocking out 

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the light. 
Roots rose unexpectedly along 

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the wandering narrow paths. 
At first, Rat walked briskly as 

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one who knew the place well 
enough not to fear it. 

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But Mole soon found that every 
tree looked like another tree. 

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Every turning looked much like 
the last, and the quiet itself 

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felt watchful. 
Small sounds became noticeable, 

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leaves stirring where no wind 
moved, distant cracklings, 

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little unseen movements in 
brushwood. 

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Keep close, said rat. 
Mole kept close. 

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They walked deeper. 
At length Rat paused. 

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We should be near Badger's 
place. 

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But finding Badger's home proved
less simple than saying so. 

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Several paths LED nowhere 
useful. 1 Hollow looked 

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promising and was not. 
The light faded sooner than 

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expected beneath the trees. 
Then Mole, who had been silent, 

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noticed something faint, a 
smell, warm, homey, 

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unmistakable. 
He stopped. 

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Rat, there's something there. 
Rat sniffed, then smiled. 

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A little farther on, half hidden
in a bank beneath roots and 

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Moss, they found a doorway. 
Rat knocked. 

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For a moment, nothing happened. 
Then bolts slid back inside and 

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the door opened to reveal Badger
himself. 

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Broad, solid, grave faced, with 
eyes that seemed to know far 

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more than they mentioned. 
Well, said Badger, as if he had 

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expected them yesterday rather 
than today. 

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Come in, then. 
Inside, they were met with 

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warmth at once. 
Passages opened into rooms built

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deep underground. 
Lamps glowed softly, Shelves 

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lined the walls. 
Everything suggested permanence 

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and long established order. 
Moles. 

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Fear vanished immediately. 
Badger LED them to a room where 

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a fire burned low and steady. 
You've come about, Toad, he 

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said, before either had spoken. 
Rat laughed. 

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Was it so obvious? 
Badger poured tea with Toad. 

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It usually is, they explained. 
The latest motor car obsession. 

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Badger listened without 
interruption. 

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At last he nodded. 
He must be stopped before he 

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spends all his money, breaks 
every gate in the county, and 

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lands himself in greater trouble
than usual. 

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He does not listen to me, said 
Rat. 

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He listens for a minute, said 
Badger, which is sometimes 

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enough if one uses the minute 
properly. 

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Mole watched him closely. 
Badger spoke slowly, but every 

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word seemed carefully chosen. 
After supper, excellent supper, 

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which Mole felt improved the 
quality of all plans, they 

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discussed what should be done 
towed. 

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Must remain at home for a while,
said Badger. 

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Without motor cars, especially 
without motor cars. 

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Rat looked doubtful. 
Toad at home against his will 

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may prove difficult. 
Yes, said Badger, but less 

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difficult than Toad. 
Loose upon the roads. 

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The next morning they set out 
together for Toad Hall. 

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Toad received them in excellent 
spirits, which generally meant 

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danger. 
He had already begun speaking 

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enthusiastically about a new 
machine he hoped soon to 

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purchase. 
Badger waited until the speech 

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paused. 
No, said Badger simply. 

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Toad blinked. 
No, he repeated. 

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No more motor cars. 
You are staying indoors until 

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this madness passes. 
Toad stared as if language 

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itself had failed him. 
But, my dear Badger, no. 

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My. 
Freedom, no. 

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My rights, no. 
It was remarkable how quickly 

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Toad's arguments weakened. 
Before Badger's steady refusal, 

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he agreed to stay indoors for a 
while. 

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Yet even while doing so, Toad's 
eyes wandered toward the window,

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where distant Rd. sounds might 
at any moment call him again. 

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Badger noticed. 
Rat noticed. 

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Mole noticed, and each 
understood that keeping toads 

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still would not be easy, for 
some creatures are built for 

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quiet habits, some for rivers, 
some for Burrows, and some, like

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Toad, seem always half prepared 
to leap toward the next 

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enthusiasm, whether wise or 
foolish. 

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Outside, the wind had softened. 
The river waited somewhere 

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beyond the meadows. 
The Wildwood stood dark behind 

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them, and Toad, those seated 
obediently for the moment, had 

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already begun glancing out of 
the window toward the road 

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again. 
Which meant, as Rat murmured to 

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Mole, that peace would probably 
not last very long at all. 

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For a little while after 
Badger's stern talk, there truly

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appeared some hope that reform 
might at last have taken hold of

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Toad. 
He breakfasted indoors. 

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He spoke of weather, books, and 
gardening. 

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He even attempted a discussion 
with Mole concerning vegetable 

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borders, though it soon became 
evident he had no interest at 

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all in vegetables except when 
Speaking of them made him appear

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serious. 
Rat, hearing this, allowed 

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himself cautious optimism. 
Badger did not. 

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He is too quiet, said Badger. 
With Toad, too much quiet 

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usually means planning. 
And Badger, as it happened, was 

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entirely right. 
For on the 3rd morning, Toad 

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vanished. 
A rope made of knotted bed linen

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hung from an upper window. 
A chair lay overturned beneath 

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it, and on the road outside tire
marks showed plainly enough that

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some passing machine had not 
merely attracted his attention 

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but carried him away. 
By afternoon came the news. 

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Everyone feared Toad had been 
arrested, so putting Toad in a 

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time out was not very 
successful. 

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He escaped out of the window and
being arrested means he is in 

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big, big trouble. 
Who's going to help him now? 

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We'll find out in the next and 
final part. 

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Thank you so much, Nicola. 
You know what, Deprecatus 

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technology is great. 
But after that story, I'm 

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thinking we can return the 
automatic feeder for now if you 

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really don't want it because you
know what, I can actually keep 

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your food fresher by not leaving
it in there for 2.5 days at a 

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time. 
Plus, I'll get to see you that 

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much more if that's OK with you.
Remember, if you'd like a shout 

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00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:51,840
out, send us Adm on Instagram at
Stories from Now and Then. 

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00:12:51,960 --> 00:12:55,160
We'd love to hear from you. 
If you're enjoying the show, 

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00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,840
please consider subscribing 
where you find our podcast so 

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00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:03,200
that you never miss an episode. 
Stories from Now and Then is 

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00:13:03,200 --> 00:13:07,560
narrated by Nicola Ward, music 
by yours truly, Captain 

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Blunderface, and we'll see you 
next time for the final chapter 

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of Wind in the Willows on 
Stories From Now and Then.