Gonff the Mousethief
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Gonff the Mousethief is an anthropomorphic mouse from the Redwall book series by Brian Jacques. Gonff was voiced by Dave Foode in the full-cast audiobook of Mossflower. The character of Gonff is based on the author Brian Jacques as a young boy.
Known as the Prince of Mousethieves, a troublemaker and composer of songs and poems, Gonff was truly a humorous character. An orphaned woodland mouse in the time when Mossflower was dominated by Verdauga Greeneyes, Gonff was raised by and later became a member of the Corim, the resistance to the wildcat's tyranny. With skills of stealth and mimicry learned from just about every type of woodland creature, mainly the otters, whom Gonff even went so far as to mimic in speech, he regularly raided the larders of Castle Kotir.
Eventually, Gonff was caught and thrown in a cell with Martin the Warrior. With help from the Corim, the two escaped and became best friends, Gonff always following along on Martin's journeys. Upon returning to the Corim camp, Gonff fell in love with a lovely mouse from Loamhedge Abbey named Columbine. Gonff accompanied Martin on the journey to Salamandastron, and upon their return and victory over Tsarmina, Verdauga's daughter, he married Columbine.
The two took up residence at Redwall Abbey, along with their son, a chip off his father's block. Gonff accompanied Martin and several others on another journey, this time to learn the fate of Martin's father, Luke the Warrior. Along the way, they met an orphan squirrel named Chugger, whom Gonff later adopted.
Gonff's line would continue for some years, his heroic qualities expressing themselves in his descendant Dandin the Sword Carrier, and Bryony, his great-granddaughter. Gonff rarely participated in battle, his best weapon being his wit. He was friendly with all decent Mossflower residents, knowing many of their customs and speaking in their manners. He was also a player of the reed flute, though he was once offered a wooden one crafted by Abbess Germaine. He declined, and the flute later passed on to Dandin.
The following is a song Gonff wrote in Mossflower:
I'm a mouse with a very long tail,
With a heart and voice to match.
I've escaped from the pussycats gaol.
They'll find me hard to catch.
So, away, through the grass, the flow'rs and leaves,
Like smoke on the breeze, the Prince of Thieves.
Let's cheer for the day when we will see
The Mossflower country safe and free.
