Mole ate a pickle, and Badger ate some beef.
"Toad, we walked all around your place," said Mole.
"The ferrets are everywhere.
They shoot bullets and throw stones."
"And they laugh!" added Toad.
Rat thought deeply.
"Well, I think it's clear," Rat said.
"Toad should try to—"
"Now wait," said Mole, his mouth full.
"First, Toad should—"
"You can't tell me what to do!" cried Toad.
"It's my house, and I'll say what we do!"
Mole, Toad, and Rat all shouted at once.
They all had different plans.
"Everyone be quiet!" shouted another voice.
It was Badger.
They stopped yelling.
Badger finished eating his pie.
"Mole's right," Badger said.
"The Wild-Wooders are too strong for us."
"Then it's all over!" cried Toad.
"I'll never get Toad Hall back!"
He burst into tears.
Badger looked at them calmly.
"There is a way," he said.
"We can defeat the weasels and ferrets."
They all looked at him.
"I'm going to tell you a secret," said Badger.
Toad sat up.
He loved secrets.
Of course he never could keep them.