Jenner, who wishes for the rats to remain in the rose bush, sabotages the assembly with his reluctant accomplice Sullivan, causing it to fall apart and crush Nicodemus to death. Brisby then escapes from the cage and runs off to warn them.Īs a rainstorm approaches, the rats begin moving the Brisby home, with the children and Auntie Shrew inside, using a rope and pulley system. While trapped in a birdcage, she overhears a telephone conversation between Farmer Fitzgibbons and the staff of NIMH and learns that the institute intends to exterminate the rats in the morning. That night, she puts the drug into Dragon's dish, but the Fitzgibbons' son, Billy, catches her. Only Brisby can do this, as the rats cannot fit through the hole leading into the house Jonathan was killed by Dragon in a previous attempt, while Ages broke his leg in another. First, they need to drug Dragon so that it can be done safely. Because of the rats' relationship with Jonathan, they agree to help her move her home. Nicodemus gives Brisby a magical amulet that will activate when the wearer is courageous. Nicodemus has authorized a plan for the rats to leave the farm and live independently in an area they refer to as Thorn Valley. However, they are unable to live as typical rats would, and need human technology to survive, which they have accomplished only by stealing. The experiments boosted their intelligence, enabling them to escape, as well as extending their lifespans and slowing their aging processes.
From Nicodemus, she learns that many years ago the rats, along with her husband and Ages, were part of a series of experiments at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH for short). She meets Justin, the friendly captain of the guard Jenner, a ruthless and power-hungry rat opposed to Nicodemus and finally Nicodemus himself.
She is led back in by Ages, and is amazed to see the rats' use of electricity and other technology. Jeremy takes her to meet the Great Owl, who tells her to visit a colony of rats that live beneath a rose bush on the farm and ask for the services of Nicodemus, their wise and mystical leader.īrisby enters the rose bush and encounters an aggressive guard rat named Brutus, who chases her away. Although her neighbor Auntie Shrew helps her disable his tractor, Brisby knows she must devise another plan. The next morning, Brisby discovers that Farmer Fitzgibbons has started plowing early. They both narrowly escape from the Fitzgibbons' cat, Dragon. On her way home, Brisby befriends Jeremy, a clumsy but friendly crow. Ages diagnoses the illness as pneumonia, provides Brisby with medicine, and warns her that Timothy must stay inside for at least three weeks or he will die. Ages, a friend of her late husband, Jonathan. She needs to move her family out of the field as plowing time approaches, but her son Timothy has fallen ill. Brisby, a widowed field mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children in a field on the Fitzgibbons' farm.