'Now, look here, Toad,' said the Rat. 'It's about this Banquet, and
very sorry I am to have to speak to you like this. But we want you to
understand clearly, once and for all, that there are going to be no
speeches and no songs. Try and grasp the fact that on this occasion
we're not arguing with you; we're just telling you.'
Toad saw that he was trapped. They understood him, they saw through
him, they had got ahead of him. His pleasant dream was shattered.
'Mayn't I sing them just one LITTLE song?' he pleaded piteously.
'No, not ONE little song,' replied the Rat firmly, though his heart
bled as he noticed the trembling lip of the poor disappointed Toad.
'It's no good, Toady; you know well that your songs are all conceit
and boasting and vanity; and your speeches are all self-praise and--
and--well, and gross exaggeration and--and----'
'And gas,' put in the Badger, in his common way.
'It's for your own good, Toady,' went on the Rat. 'You know you MUST
turn over a new leaf sooner or later, and now seems a splendid time to
begin; a sort of turning-point in your career.
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