a lesson from The Water Rat

In my cot in municipal albergue Tarjados, I  rereading "The Wind in the Willows" by Kenneth Graham. The lighthearted & humorous tone is a healthy escape from the arduous & dour mood of the Camino. 

In the story, The Mole has spent much of summer in company of Ratty learning the ways of the waterfront & boats. Eventually Mole's urge to meet Toad is addressed & the two fellows row to the elaborate & well-stocked boat shed at Toad Hall. 
They might ordinarilly expect to visit a fellow boater to discuss boats & the waterfront happenings. However Ratty suspects that the "boastful & conceited but otherwise having great qualities" Toad, has developed another interest. He had noted that Toad's latest boat was lashed away & gathering dust. 
Typically, Toad is effervescent in his praise of his latest interest, which happens to be touring in a horsedrawn gypsy's caravan. Toad insists they both join him that very afternoon in his new adventure. Ratty, well prepared for such a circus, denies that boats & the waterfront are one bit boring or tedious & refuses to join Toad in his shining new, well appointed chariot. 
But, Mole is enamoured with the concept & urges Ratty to reconsider. Bless his kind heart, Ratty's great affection for Mole is indented, & he sees this response as a predictable one for a person only so recently exposed to a life of adventure. Every new type of adventure is apt to drag at his heart.
Well, not that I'm new to sailing, surfing or cycling, it does explain my tendency to spread the jam too thinly on occasions.

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