The Borrowers Afloat

The Borrowers Afloat is a children's fantasy novel by Mary Norton, published in 1959 by Dent in the UK and Harcourt in the US. It was the third of five books in a series that is usually called The Borrowers, inaugurated by The Borrowers in 1952.[2][3]

The Borrowers Afloat
First edition (UK)
AuthorMary Norton
IllustratorDiana L. Stanley (UK)
Beth and Joe Krush (US)[1]
CountryUnited Kingdom and US
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Borrowers
GenreFantasy children's novel
Published1959
J. M. Dent (UK)
Harcourt, Brace (US)
Pages176pp (UK);[2] 191pp (US)[1]
LC ClassPZ7.N8248 Bl 1959[1]
Preceded byThe Borrowers Afield 
Followed byThe Borrowers Aloft 

Plot

The Clock family are Borrowers living in the house of a human boy, Tom. The Borrowers worry that they will starve because Tom and his uncle are moving away. They need to leave, but Tom's pet weasel or ferret is outside the door. Luckily, the animal still has the bell that Tom put on it, but they know they cannot outrun such a swift animal. Just when things are looking grim, another Borrower, Spiller, returns via a secret passage. He has come through the drains underneath the house. Spiller admits that he has not told the rest of the Borrowers about the drains because they never asked.

While deciding where to go, Spiller tells them that they might go to Little Fordham which is actually a replica village. The place has been a bit of a legend with all Borrowers: a whole village made for Borrower-size residents with plenty of food from the visiting big people.

Spiller lets them stay in one of his hideouts, a tea kettle, while he investigates the matter for them. During the wait, rainwater sets the kettle adrift downstream. The Clocks decide that their best chances are to hope that Spiller will realize what has happened and find them. Additional adventures occur, and they lose the kettle some time after it gets stuck in some rubbish.

While still on the river, Mild Eye, the gypsy who nearly caught them before, discovers them. The Clock family is trapped; as none of them can swim.

Adaptations

References
  1. "The Borrowers afloat". (U.S. edition). Library of Congress Catalog Record. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  2. The Borrowers series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database (ISFDB). Retrieved 2013-09-20.
  3. "Mary Norton Bibliography: A Collectors Reference Guide: UK First Edition Books". Bookseller World. Retrieved 2013-09-20.
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