This is not a podcast. Yeah, the podcast.
The story. What's the?
Podcast It's all gonna be all right in the air.
Gonna be on. You've got some worries, my dear
little Arise. Rest your busy minds because
it's finally time the Stories from Now and Then.
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to Stories from Now and
Then. My name is Captain Blunderface
and I'm here in the old library with Debra Caddis.
And we just got something very exciting in the mail.
I actually thought I ordered it to my home address, but somehow
it ended up getting delivered to the old library, which is weird.
Oh, and what it is of course, it's an automatic cat feeder for
Debra Caddis. So you fill the little
containers with food and it spins around twice a day exactly
on time. It even has an app where you
depra catus. We haven't even tried it yet.
Why don't we just put the batteries in and set it up and
you will be hooked within the first meal I bet.
No, it's not replacing me. It just helps me in case I have
to do something else and forget something or if I'm late with
the feeding routine. Trust me, it'll be great.
I don't think I'm obsessed with new technology.
I just think it's cool, but not as cool as the two very cool
people we have for our shout out.
Today's shout out goes to Ellie and Jack from Maryland, USA.
They love listening to stories during long car rides and they
love to play make believe. So Ellie and Jack, thanks for
listening. This story is for you.
Keep using those imaginations. That's awesome.
Oh, and it looks like we just got a message from our sponsor.
Today's episode is brought to you by the brand new Stories
from Now and Then companion coloring book.
And we have pages that match the stories so you can color along
as you listen. To learn more, check out our
Instagram profile at Stories from now and Then.
And with that, we'll pass it off to the amazing Nicola for Part 3
of Wind in the Willows and Deprecatus.
Do you think you could at least think about the automatic
feeder? In the last part of the story we
met Toad and Toad definitely has a problem.
He keeps buying cars and then crashing them or his friends Rat
and Mole are very worried about it, and perhaps their other
friend Badger can help. Let's see the wind in the
willows, Part 3. The next afternoon came a cold,
still afternoon with a hard, steely sky overhead.
The country lay bare and entirely leafless.
Rat proposed that they visit the Wildwood at once, before the
weather worsened. Mole, though willing, felt a
slight tightening inside him as they left the open river paths
behind. The Wildwood stood apart from
all cheerful country things. It's trees grew closer together,
older and darker, their branches crossing overhead, blocking out
the light. Roots rose unexpectedly along
the wandering narrow paths. At first, Rat walked briskly as
one who knew the place well enough not to fear it.
But Mole soon found that every tree looked like another tree.
Every turning looked much like the last, and the quiet itself
felt watchful. Small sounds became noticeable,
leaves stirring where no wind moved, distant cracklings,
little unseen movements in brushwood.
Keep close, said rat. Mole kept close.
They walked deeper. At length Rat paused.
We should be near Badger's place.
But finding Badger's home proved less simple than saying so.
Several paths LED nowhere useful. 1 Hollow looked
promising and was not. The light faded sooner than
expected beneath the trees. Then Mole, who had been silent,
noticed something faint, a smell, warm, homey,
unmistakable. He stopped.
Rat, there's something there. Rat sniffed, then smiled.
A little farther on, half hidden in a bank beneath roots and
Moss, they found a doorway. Rat knocked.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then bolts slid back inside and
the door opened to reveal Badger himself.
Broad, solid, grave faced, with eyes that seemed to know far
more than they mentioned. Well, said Badger, as if he had
expected them yesterday rather than today.
Come in, then. Inside, they were met with
warmth at once. Passages opened into rooms built
deep underground. Lamps glowed softly, Shelves
lined the walls. Everything suggested permanence
and long established order. Moles.
Fear vanished immediately. Badger LED them to a room where
a fire burned low and steady. You've come about, Toad, he
said, before either had spoken. Rat laughed.
Was it so obvious? Badger poured tea with Toad.
It usually is, they explained. The latest motor car obsession.
Badger listened without interruption.
At last he nodded. He must be stopped before he
spends all his money, breaks every gate in the county, and
lands himself in greater trouble than usual.
He does not listen to me, said Rat.
He listens for a minute, said Badger, which is sometimes
enough if one uses the minute properly.
Mole watched him closely. Badger spoke slowly, but every
word seemed carefully chosen. After supper, excellent supper,
which Mole felt improved the quality of all plans, they
discussed what should be done towed.
Must remain at home for a while, said Badger.
Without motor cars, especially without motor cars.
Rat looked doubtful. Toad at home against his will
may prove difficult. Yes, said Badger, but less
difficult than Toad. Loose upon the roads.
The next morning they set out together for Toad Hall.
Toad received them in excellent spirits, which generally meant
danger. He had already begun speaking
enthusiastically about a new machine he hoped soon to
purchase. Badger waited until the speech
paused. No, said Badger simply.
Toad blinked. No, he repeated.
No more motor cars. You are staying indoors until
this madness passes. Toad stared as if language
itself had failed him. But, my dear Badger, no.
My. Freedom, no.
My rights, no. It was remarkable how quickly
Toad's arguments weakened. Before Badger's steady refusal,
he agreed to stay indoors for a while.
Yet even while doing so, Toad's eyes wandered toward the window,
where distant Rd. sounds might at any moment call him again.
Badger noticed. Rat noticed.
Mole noticed, and each understood that keeping toads
still would not be easy, for some creatures are built for
quiet habits, some for rivers, some for Burrows, and some, like
Toad, seem always half prepared to leap toward the next
enthusiasm, whether wise or foolish.
Outside, the wind had softened. The river waited somewhere
beyond the meadows. The Wildwood stood dark behind
them, and Toad, those seated obediently for the moment, had
already begun glancing out of the window toward the road
again. Which meant, as Rat murmured to
Mole, that peace would probably not last very long at all.
For a little while after Badger's stern talk, there truly
appeared some hope that reform might at last have taken hold of
Toad. He breakfasted indoors.
He spoke of weather, books, and gardening.
He even attempted a discussion with Mole concerning vegetable
borders, though it soon became evident he had no interest at
all in vegetables except when Speaking of them made him appear
serious. Rat, hearing this, allowed
himself cautious optimism. Badger did not.
He is too quiet, said Badger. With Toad, too much quiet
usually means planning. And Badger, as it happened, was
entirely right. For on the 3rd morning, Toad
vanished. A rope made of knotted bed linen
hung from an upper window. A chair lay overturned beneath
it, and on the road outside tire marks showed plainly enough that
some passing machine had not merely attracted his attention
but carried him away. By afternoon came the news.
Everyone feared Toad had been arrested, so putting Toad in a
time out was not very successful.
He escaped out of the window and being arrested means he is in
big, big trouble. Who's going to help him now?
We'll find out in the next and final part.
Thank you so much, Nicola. You know what, Deprecatus
technology is great. But after that story, I'm
thinking we can return the automatic feeder for now if you
really don't want it because you know what, I can actually keep
your food fresher by not leaving it in there for 2.5 days at a
time. Plus, I'll get to see you that
much more if that's OK with you. Remember, if you'd like a shout
out, send us Adm on Instagram at Stories from Now and Then.
We'd love to hear from you. If you're enjoying the show,
please consider subscribing where you find our podcast so
that you never miss an episode. Stories from Now and Then is
narrated by Nicola Ward, music by yours truly, Captain
Blunderface, and we'll see you next time for the final chapter
of Wind in the Willows on Stories From Now and Then.