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„Nice? It’s the only thing,“ said the Water Rat solemnly, as he leant forward for his stroke. „Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,“ he went on dreamily:
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„messing – about – in – boats; messing -„
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„Look ahead, Rat!“ cried the Mole suddenly.
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It was too late. The boat struck the bank full tilt.
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The dreamer, the joyous oarsman, lay on his back at the bottom of the boat, his heels in the air.
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„- about in boats – or with boats,“ the Rat went on composedly, picking himself up with a pleasant laugh.
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„In or out of ‚em, it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems really to matter, that’s the charm of it.“
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„Whether you get away, or whether you don’t; whether you arrive at your destination or whether you reach somewhere else, or whether you never get anywhere at all, you’re always busy, and you never do anything in particular; and when you’ve done it there’s always something else to do, and you can do it if you like, but you’d much better not.“
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„Look here! If you’ve really nothing else on hand this morning, supposing we drop down the river together, and have a long day of it?“
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The Mole waggled his toes from sheer happiness, spread his chest with a sigh of full contentment, and leaned back blissfully into the soft cushions. „What a day I’m having!“ he said. „Let us start at once!“
Kenneth Grahame: The wind in the willows – 1908