Kenneth Grahame began to tell the tale of the river bank on the night of his son's fourth birthday, but what started out as a short bedtime story soon grew into one of the most enjoyable series of adventures ever to be told in children's literature. The entertaining exploits of the book's four intrepid heroes - Mole, Water Rat, Badger and the incorrigible Toad - have captured the imagination of generations of children.