Wind in the Willows ~ The Grand

"The mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.  First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms.  Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.  It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said 'Bother!' and 'O blow!' and also 'Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat...his snout came out into the sunlight, and he found himself rolling in the warm grass of a great meadow."

~ from one of the best-loved children's classics, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908.
[Photo:  Spring 2013 lbw]