Setting

Robert C. O'Brrien writes a novel called Mrs.Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. This novel is about a family of field mice who "... lived in an underground house in the vegetable garden of a farmer named Farmer Fitzgibbon."(pg.3).

Characters from Mrs.Frisby and the Rats of Nimh from chapters 1-5

Mrs.Frisby

     Mrs.Frisby, the protagonist is "... the head of a family of field mice"(pg.3).  She has four children, Teresa, Martin, Timothy, and Cynthia.  She is a widow, "... her husband had died only the preceding summer..."(pg.4).  "Mrs.Frisby was able, through luck and hard work to keep her family happy and well fed."(pg4).  She loved her children, and when her younger child got sick "... she stayed close by his side..."(pg.28).  Mrs.Frisby is a hard worker and would do anything to help out a friend.  She even risked her life to save a crow from getting eaten by a cat.

Timothy

     "...Mrs.Frisby's younger son, Timothy..."(pg.4) was a happy, cheerful, and positive mouse.  His "... eyes shone with merriment when he made up small jokes, which he did frequently..."(pg.21).  "He was the thinnest of her children and had a dark complexion like his father and brother."(pg.10).

Teresa

     "Teresa, the oldest..."(pg.7) of the children was a mature, responsible girl-mouse.  When her younger brother, Timothy was sick, they "... left Teresa home to look after Timothy..."(pg.11).

Martin

     Martin was the second oldest of the children.  He was "... the biggest, a strong, quick mouse, dark haired and handsome..."(pg.7).  Not only did he have dark hair, but he also "... had a dark complexion like his father and brother."(pg.10).

Cynthia

     Cynthia was the youngest of the children.  She was "... a slim, pretty girl-mouse, light haired, and, in fact, a little light headed as well, and over-fond of dancing."(pg.7,8).  She "... made mistakes... she was forever losing things..."(pg.21).

Dragon the Cat 

     Dragon is a cat whose owner is Farmer Fitzgibbon.  "Farmer Fitzgibbon's wife had given him the name as a joke when he was a small kitten pretending to be feirce.  But when he grew up, the name turned out to be an apt one."(pg.21).  Dragon was huge.  He had a big head and had a large mout that was full of sharp, curving fangs.  Dragon had orange and whit fur and yellow eyes.  He also had a thick furry tail.

Mr.Ages

     Mr.Ages was a white mouse.  He lived "...across the farm and beyond, in the house that was part of a brick wall."(pg.12)  Mr.Ages was a doctor.  He "... made the draughts and powders that could sometimes save the sick from dying."(pg.14).

Jeremy the Crow

     Jeremy was a stubborn crow.  He "...was very young indeed-in fact, only a year old..."(pg.23). He had "... feathers on his back... powerful black wings."(pg.25).

Farmer Fitzgibbon 

     Farmer Fitzgibbon had a wife.  He and "... his wife had..."(pg.21) two children.  Their names were Paul and Billy.  The family owned a vegetable garden.

Paul Fitzgibbon

     Paul was the oldest out of the Fitzgibbon children.  "... at age fifteen, was a quiet, hardworking boy, rather clumsy in his movements but strong and careful about his chores."(pg.34).

Billy Fitzgibbon

     Billy was the youngest out of the Fitzgibbon children.  "... at age twelve was noisier and had an annoying habit of skimming rocks across the grass at anything that moved."(pg.34).

The Old Shrew Woman 

     Mrs.Frisby met the old shrew woman often and had grown to like her.  The shrew  was "... a tiny little thing scarecely bigger that a peanut, but with a wit as sharp as her teeth.  She lived in a simple hole in the ground a few yards away."(pg.30,31).