The Willows and Beyond by Kenneth Grahame, William Horwood, Patrick Benson Read Free Book Online

correct. But it came with the cash attached and I have taken the liberty of taking said amount, leaving you with a profit of sixpence three farthings, which is a unique occurrence in the C.O.D. department. Congratulations! There! That’s done! Now, if you’ll follow me, gentlemen, you can take delivery.”
    They passed through a succession of vast rooms lined with a great many cages and pens, filled with innumerable varieties of animals. It cannot be said that all the odours of these rooms and pens were pleasant, and not every sight that met their eyes was a delight. But the overwhelming feature was the sound, an endless cacophony of grunts and bellows (from the oxen they had heard before), hissing (from a consignment of Indian vipers) and bubbling (from several tanks of Chinese carp), moos and baas (from more familiar cattle and sheep) and the avian sounds of hoopoes and giant cockatoos, and the chatter, fortunately in Malay, of a gross of green parrots.
    Every now and then the Rat or the Mole would stop and say, “Is it this?” or “Surely not that?” but always the Post Office official would urge them on.
    “Not far now, just through the next two buildings!” Finally, they reached the most dilapidated building they had yet come across.
    “There’s mainly pigs here,” said the official, “but you’ll find your item beyond them: number 2467 D. Be sure not to mix it up with the 2467 A & B, which are Peruvian goats, nor 2467 C, which I believe to be iguanas from the Galapagos Islands, though I can’t be sure as they’ve gone to ground in the hay This is the key to its cage, sir, so perhaps you could go and consider if you’ll accept it, while I attend to some other business. I’ll be with you by and by”
    With that he was gone, and they made their way past aisle after aisle of grunting pigs to where their item awaited them. The cages were well labelled, A through to D, and the Peruvian goats were plain to see, and to smell as well. In C they saw a good deal of hay, and protruding from the bottom two reptilian tails.
    Finally they came to cage D, which was somewhat in the shadows, since the only window at this end of the building was above the goats. At first it was hard to make out much at all, but as they grew accustomed to the gloom, they could make out the form of a living thing in the furthest corner of the cage — and then two bright eyes. Eyes that stared at them unblinkingly The creature was draped — dressed is too precise a word — with yards of a fabric that had long ago ceased to be white, and wore upon its head a curious hat, little more than a roundel of rags. “What on earth is it?” said Nephew, speaking for them all. “It is …” began the Mole, not at all sure he knew. “That is, it might be —“But the Rat knew what it was the moment he saw it, though he could not imagine why it had been sent to him.
    He knew what it was, and he was horror-struck.
    “It is a rat,” he said.
    “A young rat,” said the Mole.
    “The most strangely dressed rat I ever saw,” said Nephew “As if… as if.
    “As if it has come from Egypt and is used to hot sunshine,” continued the Mole.
    The Water Rat, ever practical, unlocked the cage door.
    The rat did not move, but only stared. Then, as if from very long habit, it tugged at some twine tied about its right wrist, to which was attached a large Royal Mail C.O.D. label, stamped Paid, upon which were several red-wax seals and other stamps, and some writing in black Indian ink.
    This read: To the Water Rat, Rat’s House, The River Bank, the River, nr The Town, Capital of the Empire.

    “Well!” said Ratty. “This doesn’t tell us much, now does it!”
    But then he saw that some extra words of guidance had been added less legibly after the address: The River lies sou’-sou’-west of the Town, and maybe three days’ good walking, a day by boat.
    The Rat repeated this slowly then muttered, “Well, it’s from a mariner of some kind, that’s