EPILOGUE
Not all stories have a satisfactory natural ending, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. This may help readers interested in the fate of various characters in this tale:
When spring weather came, Badger was often seen wandering around the village, stopping to exchange a few words with those he met and pat small children on the head. Many remarked on how much the recluse of the Wild Wood had changed. However, he never quite accepted that The Earth was his home, and was sometimes found wandering the Wild Wood looking for what was now lost to him. That summer he fell asleep while reading the newspaper, and never woke. His funeral outshone even Ma Ferret's in magnificence and numbers attending. His will left everything for the relief of the local poor.
Portly enlisted, underage, at the first opportunity, and lived a charmed life as a Royal Marine, seeing much action far from the battlefields of Europe. He emerged from the Great War a moustachioed, be-medalled officer, a handsome young fellow, his mother's pride and joy, and a cynosure for young ladies. He never went to university and never regretted it.
Ratty was conscripted into the army, and saw brief service abroad before being invalided out. He often said, "What does a missing leg matter when I still have two arms to row with." In later life his great joy was in instructing his children and grandchildren in all the ways of the River.
Upon the declaration of war, Toad generously gave Toad Hall to the nation for use as a military hospital, and Ratty was one of hundreds who convalesced there. Toad became a Member of Parliament, served on various committees, and worked his way up to becoming, briefly, the Minister of an obscure government department. He never married.
Otter found himself the head of the local Military Service Tribunal which sat in harsh and unyielding judgement on applicants for exemption from the call up. After visits to Toad Hall to see Ratty, where he saw and spoke with many injured servicemen, he had a change of heart and resigned.
Cola served as a civilian administrator at Toad Hall throughout the war years, and was made an MBE for her sterling work.
The real Mole joined the navy under an assumed name and served for a time as a sub-mariner, which suited him well. After the end of hostilities, Otter and Ratty tried to track him down, but drew a complete blank. Both became convinced that he was alive and working 'under cover' for the government as a secret agent.
Some, who claim to know these things, say that Saruman yet walks this Earth, a stooped shambling white-haired figure, ever seeking the palantÃr which he alone in this world might still command. Others, equally lacking in hard evidence, say that the palantÃr is hidden in plain sight: a crystal ball on a table in a much-visited National Trust house. A very few are pleased to believe that both are true.