He Had Got Down To The Bones

Toad Talked Big About All He Was Going To Do In The Days To Come, While Stars Grew Fuller And Larger All Around Them, And A Yellow Moon, Appearing Suddenly And Silently From Nowhere In Particular, Came To Keep Them Company And Listen To Their Talk.

It Seemed A Place Where Heroes Could Fitly Feast After Victory, Where Weary Harvesters Could Line Up In Scores Along The Table And Keep Their Harvest Home With Mirth And Song, Or Where Two Or Three Friends Of Simple Tastes Could Sit About As They Pleased And Eat And Smoke And Talk In Comfort And Contentment.

No Animal, According To The Rules Of Animal-etiquette, Is Ever Expected To Do Anything Strenuous, Or Heroic, Or Even Moderately Active During The Off-season Of Winter.

A Careful Inspection Showed Them That, Even If They Succeeded In Righting It By Themselves, The Cart Would Travel No Longer. The Axles Were In A Hopeless State, And The Missing Wheel Was Shattered Into Pieces.

All Along The Backwater, Through The Rushes Tall, Ducks Are A-dabbling, Up Tails All!