The Mole Quiz | Entertainment by Themes

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Mole is the first character we meet at the opening of the book 'The Wind in the Willows'. In what activity is he engaged, from which he decides to take a break?

Answer: Spring cleaning

The lovely spring weather lures Mole out of his den, to wander through the woods. He comes across the river, which he has never seen before. There he is introduced to the pleasures of boating by Ratty (actually a water vole). Their trips lead them to a visit to Toad Hall, where Toad has recently abandoned boating for a new hobby, a horse-drawn caravan; this craze, however, is soon replaced by a passion for automobiles. Toad's obsessive behavior leads to exciting escapades for the friends, who also engage in bucolic forest activities in the interludes between their adventures.

2. In 1929 a stage play based on the portions of the book which detailed Toad's adventures was produced in London. Which of these authors, better known for his stories about a bear and his boy, wrote this adaptation?

Answer: A A Milne

In his book 'The Enchanted Place', Christopher Milne (immortalised in his father's writings as Christopher Robin, owner of Winnie the Pooh), describes 'The Wind in the Willows' as a family favorite, with his father preferring the sections which chronicled the adventures of Toad (along with Mole, Rat and Badger), while his mother favored the pastoral interludes. 'Toad of Toad Hall' premiered on 17 December 1929 at the Lyric Theatre in London.

It has been produced many times since, and was adapted into a 1947 movie.

3. When Disneyland opened in 1955, one of the rides was Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, in which patrons are seated in cars that take them past a series of tableaux based on Disney's 1949 adaptation of 'The Wind in the Willows'. In which activity is Mole engaged when he is first seen?

Answer: Eating in the dining room of Toad Hall

The scenes in this ride bear very little resemblance to the original book, especially once the ride leaves Toad Hall, but they do recreate some of the sense of Toad's harum-scarum driving antics. Disney's film, titled 'The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad', had two segments, one loosely based on 'The Wind in the Willows' and one on 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'.

The ride was still active in 2015, 60 years after Disneyland opened, but it was significantly upgraded in 1983. There was another version in Walt Disney World in Florida between 1971 and 1998, which had two separate tracks, so that you did not always see the same sights on your journey. One of these tracks showed Mole boating on the river.

4. Pink Floyd's 1967 album 'The Piper at the Gates of Dawn' took its title from Chapter 7 of 'The Wind in the Willows', in which Mole and Rat are looking for someone. Who is missing?

Answer: Otter's son, Portly

Sid Barrett came up with the title for Pink Floyd's debut album for reasons best known to himself, as there is little apparent connection between the book and the album, unless it is a hope that their psychedelic music will be as entrancing as that described by Kenneth Graham.

In the book, Rat returns from dinner with the Otter family to report to Mole that they are concerned because their youngest child is missing, and they are worried because he is not yet a strong swimmer, and might have drowned. The two decide to go looking for young Portly rather than going to bed, and start searching along the river banks. Rat, hearing an enticing musical sound, directs Mole's rowing efforts towards its source, where they discover Portly, entranced by the music of the god Pan, just as dawn breaks. He is delighted to see his father's friends, but devastated at the loss of Pan's music. The treat of a boat ride home cheers him up, and all settle to sleep after their adventure.

5. Between December of 1983 and January of 1984, the BBC aired a twelve-part reading of 'The Wind in the Willows' by which English voice actor who may be more familiar as the narrator of 'The Wombles'?

Answer: Bernard Cribbins

The only English actor listed, Bernard Cribbins not only narrated all 40 episodes of 'The Wombles' between 1973 and 1975, but he also appeared as the pompous guest Mr. Hurchinson, a spoon salesman that Basil mistakes for a hotel inspector in the 1975 episode of 'Fawlty Towers' titled 'The Hotel Inspectors'. Fans of 'Dr. Who' may recall him as the Doctor's companion Tom Campbell in the movie 'Daleks - Invasion Earth: 2150 AD' (1966) and again as Wilfrid Mott, grandfather of Donna Noble, companion to the Tenth Doctor, in television episodes aired between 2007 and 2010.

6. A 1983 film version of 'The Wind in the Willows' produced by Cosgrove Hall Films used what type of animation?

Answer: Stop-motion puppets

The sets and puppets from the film were later used to produce 52 episodes of a series called 'The Wind in the Willows' for television between 1984 and 1990. The voice of Mole was provided by Richard Pearson, with David Jason as Toad, Ian Carmichael as Rat and Michael Hordern as Badger. For the series, Peter Sallis replaced Ian Carmichael.

The movie largely followed the events of the book, although some chapters were omitted. The missing chapters were used as the basis for some episodes in the first television series; later episodes used original material inspired by the characters.

7. The 1987 animated musical film-for-television of 'The Wind in the Willows' featured the title song performed by Judy Collins, and which of these four actors as the voice of Mole?

Answer: Eddie Bracken

Charles Nelson Reilly was Toad, Jose Ferrer voiced Badger, and Roddy McDowell brought Ratty to life. Eddie Bracken (1915-2002) became a familiar face following his appearances in two 1944 comedies, 'The Miracle of Morgan's Creek' and 'Hail the Conquering Hero'. In the 1950s he moved from film to live theatre, and later television. You may recall him as Rose's childhood sweetheart from St Olaf in a 1990 episode of 'The Golden Girls'.

This version of 'The Wind in the Willows' followed Graham's book faithfully (with the addition of singing that was not part of the original text), albeit with some reordering of events. We also get to see Mr Toad engaged in the boating activities which are only referred to in the book - his paddleboat is nearly as dangerous as his later caravan and automobile!

8. In 1995, the British company Television Cartoons produced an adaptation of 'The Wind in the Willows' which featured opening and closing live segments with which famous actress as a woman reading the book to her grandchildren?

Answer: Vanessa Redgrave

As soon as she opens the book, the film changes to animation, but her voice continues to provide narration at relevant points. Written by Ted Walker and directed by Dave Unwin, this version is very much like the original. It featured Alan Bennett (formerly part of 'Beyond the Fringe' with Peter Cooke, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller) as Mole, Michael Palin (ex- Monty Python) as Ratty, Rik Mayall ('The Young Ones' and 'Blackadder') as Toad, and Michael Gambon (Dumbledore in the final six 'Harry Potter' films) as Badger.

9. Which former member of the Monty Python comedy team wrote and directed a 1996 live-action version of 'The Wind in the Willows', in which the part of Mole is played by Steve Coogan?

Answer: Terry Jones

Jones also stars as Mr. Toad, while Eric Idle is Rat and Nicol Williamson acts the part of Badger. John Cleese appears as Toad's lawyer when his case is tried before a judge played by Stephen Fry. This film (released on video in the United States under the title 'Mr. Toad's Wild Ride') is a very loose adaptation - the personalities of the four central characters is familiar, along with some of the incidents, but the overarching storyline is about the Weasels trying to buy Toad Hall in order to build a dog food factory.

At the end, Toad vows to give up motor cars, but then we see him flying around in an airplane!

10. William Harwood has written a series of sequels to 'The Wind in the Willows', usually referred to as 'Tales of the Willows'. Which title, released in 1993, was the first one he wrote?

Answer: The Willows in Winter

Harwood's stories continue to describe the exploits of the characters made famous in 'The Wind in the Willows' nearly a century earlier, and are written in a style that is meant to evoke that of Kenneth Graham. Harwood had previously established his anthropomorphic credentials with his first novel, 'Duncton Wood', about a community of moles. 'Toad Triumphant' (1995) and 'The Willows and Beyond' (1996) continue to move the main characters forward in time. 'The Willows and Christmas' (1999) comes temporally between 'The Wind and the Willows' and ' The Willows in Winter', which focuses on how Toad's friends get along while he is absent on another adventure - they discover that the stimulation provided by his antics provides a savor to life that they miss when it is gone.

Source: Author looney_tunes

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor salami_swami before going online.
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The Mole Trivia Quiz

Let's explore some of the many incarnations of this favorite character we first met in Kenneth Graham's 1908 children's classic book, 'The Wind in the Willows'.

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