Toad comes down with a minor cold, but begins to think it something much more serious after he realizes that all his ancestors died young. He searches what he thinks are his father's medical books and realizes that he has come down with a fatal combination of diseases (specifically, armillaria mellea, botrytis, and ranunculus repens). While Rat and Mole diligently wait on the seemingly-dying Toad, Badger searches the books and discovers that Toad's diseases are actually plant ailments. When informed of this, Toad leaps out of bed in happiness, only to fall down the stairs and break his leg.

It is autumn, and Rat, Mole and Badger are making preparations for winter, exchanging their home-made jams and preserves. Toad's garden supplies most of the fruits and vegetables for his friends, but Toad himself prefers to buy his own winter provisions in a hamper from London, much to Badger's distaste. Determined to impress them all, Toad buys a canning machine imported from the USA. However, having refused to blanch the vegetables before putting them into the tins, the impression he makes when they are opened is not the sort he planned. After Badger interrupts the Chief Weasel's attempts to rob Billy Rabbit in the Wild Wood, the angry Chief plots his revenge. When his henchman stumbles upon an old hunter's trap, he sees what seems to be the perfect opportunity. However, despite the Chief setting everything up, things go horribly wrong. Badger unexpectedly takes another route to help judge ownership of a fence between the hedgehogs and the rabbits, and when the Chief Weasel's henchman relocates the trap, the Chief accidentally walks right into it. Upon being caught, the Chief yells so loudly that Rat and Mole hear him from Rat's house, and minutes later the henchman arrives pleading for their help. When they are unable to remove the trap, Rat and Mole enlist Badger for help, much to the chagrin of the Chief. A field mouse reports that he saw the henchman plant the trap, and the game is up for the weasels; but Badger nevertheless frees the Chief, who is begrudgingly thankful. Badger then takes the trap home so as to prevent its further use. Toad does not appear in this episode. Toad decides to enter the "Home-Made Boat Competition" in the River Bank Regatta. However, he can't be bothered to build a boat, and therefore decides to buy one and attempt to pass it off as his own. This plan fails, and he decides to build a boat just to spite the cynical Badger. His first attempt at building a boat fails, but the Weasels offer to help him build another one, and disaster strikes when it sinks with Toad aboard.Mole's cousin, a famous literary figure called Auberon Mole, comes to stay after being invited by Toad to a 'literary soiree.' Mole's friends deem his dwelling and appearance too humble for the famous guest, and 'try to give him a little bit of style'. Toad and Rat redecorate Mole's house, and Badger sets out to teach Mole a smattering of Latin and Shakespearean drama. Eventually Mole decides to resist the attempts to have him present himself as someone he is not. Auberon and Mole have a lovely time, and the others are somewhat ashamed of their earlier actions. It is snowing, and Mr. Toad has dug out his skis. Rallying for a winter sports competition among the Riverbankers, he only finds enthusiasm for a snowman building competition, but the weasels are up for a race, and as usual, there is a bet to be had. However, when the weasels sabotage Toad's efforts, mayhem ensues.

The New Year brings little cheer for the riverbankers, as the approaching railway threatens to destroy everyone's homes, and even Badger seems to have given up hope. Despite this, Toad insists on holding a New Year's celebration at the Hall, and on providing the entertainment himself (by playing the bagpipes very badly and reading with an exaggerated accent from the poetry of Rabbie Burns). Mole's cousin Auberon is in attendance. During the evening two messengers bring news to the group: the first concerning the weasels and a stolen traction engine; the second concerning new developments on the railway. The Wind in the Willows is a British stop motion animated television series that was originally broadcast between 1984 and 1988, based on characters from Kenneth Grahame's 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows and following the 1983 feature-length pilot film. [2] In 2003, Time Life DVD released a set of six DVDs with four digitally re-mastered episodes on each disc containing various episodes from Series 1 – 3; these were as follows:Patient Toad and other stories (VHS – 1 May 1989) – Patient Toad, The Kidnapping of Toad, Badger's Remedy.