Here is the summary of the book:
During spring cleaning, Mole decides not to clean his house and decides to go outside and breathe the fresh air. He greets the Water Rat, who is rowing his boat. The two decide to have a picnic near the Wild Wood, a place where a good mix of animals live. After the picnic, Mole tries to row the boat, but he doesn’t have much success.
Over the next few months, Mole has learned how to row the boat. The two decide to meet Toad, who is very rich and lives in a mansion named Toad Hall. They ride a horse-drawn cart, but soon, a motorcar zips right by them, causing the cart to tip over.
After this incident, Toad pursues the thought of driving a car. After the incident that leaves Rat angry at the driver, Mole wanders into the Wild Wood and gets chased into a hole in a tree. Rat soon finds him and the two stay at the Badger’s home in the heart of the woods.
The atmosphere was soothing as it melted away Rat’s and Mole’s chills from the cold, snowy weather. Mole and Rat decided to go on a hike, but shortly returned to Mole’s house. A group of field mice carolers spent the night at Mole’s house.
After that, the Badger joins the two to go to Toad Hall to settle his obsession with cars. However, Toad’s cleverness makes the three go to the village, allowing him to escape. He later steals a car and was apprehended and in the process gets one year for stealing a car, three more for careless driving, and fifteen more years for arguing with the police.
The judge sentenced him for 19 years, but he immediately rounded it off to 20. The jailer’s daughter became Toad’s caretaker. Together they hatched a plan to escape to disguise Toad in the caretaker’s aunt’s washing clothes. He snuck out of the jail and quickly boards the last train of the day, only to find that a police train was in hot pursuit of them. Both escaped without harm and Toad finds a barge, but a rude comment from the other passenger causes him to get off.
He rides his old horse and gets six shillings and all the food that the gypsy he met had to offer (all this in return for his horse). Toad sees the car that he had stolen. He offers to drive, but rude comments from the two other men causes him to drive carelessly again.
Mole and Rat attempt to find Little Portly, a child that always runs off. They find him between one of the hooves of a beast with a melodic pipe. Rat meets the Sea Rat and he tells Rat his voyages at sea. Rat was highly interested as the Sea Rat told his stories.
Toad is shocked that weasels and ferrets had taken over Toad Hall. Rat tells him about the invasion and how some of his friends disguised themselves and snuck in (such as Mole dressing up in a washwoman’s suit). Toad is angry at all this and wants to get even with the weasels and ferrets.
The four sneak into the house through an underground secret passage. They took the weasels by surprise and fended off the entire weasel and ferret troop. They had invited many friends to a party at Toad Hall the next night. Rat told him not to be boastful in order for the party to be a good one. The animals wanted him to do so, but he simply said no. They thought that Toad had gone through a change (and a good one, too)!
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