[From the Introduction] "Hello! I'm Brian Jacques and welcome to Redwall! In our first episode, we meet the inhabitants of Redwall Abbey. Then, we will celebrate with young Matthias at the Abbot's Jubilee Feast and learn of great Martin the Warrior. But, danger looms to destroy the peace and happiness of Redwall as a searat, named Cluny the Scourge, has his own wicked plans!"

[When asked, "What makes a Hero?"] "Y'know, when you talk about "heroes", y'look at heroes in movies and to most children, the "hero" is a gigantic man! It's somebody as big as the Hollywood stars we see. And, I think, to a child, a "hero" could be smaller. Because size doesn't matter when it comes to courage and bravery and being a hero. And, therefore, I decided that my hero would be a mouse. A little mouse. He's not 6'10" and he doesn't have all sorts of blackbelts in karate and all kinds of weapons of destruction. He's just a little mouse on his own.

"Matthias is every child who ever read the book, or will read the book. Matthias is the mouse, the mouse is the child, and the mouse is the hero. And, it sounds a bit odd, that a mouse can be a hero, but a mouse is a harmless creature. You never heard of a child being lost in the woods and eaten by a "grizzley mouse". Matthias is the little kid who wants to become a Warrior."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "What inspired you to write the book Redwall?"

"Uhm, I actually created the story for the school for blind children in Liverpool. I just wanted to write a story for them.... a timeless adventure. And, so being a writer, with a writer's imagination, I decided to set it in Redwall, which is just a place in my imagination and a composite of other things. Forests you've been, places, country places, old stone houses, monestaries, abbeys, castles. It's a little conglomerate of it all, I suppose."

[From the Introduction] "Hello! I'm Brian Jacques and welcome to Redwall Abbey! When we last saw our woodland friends, the evil Cluny was approaching the Abbey! Now, we see what happens when a villainous rat tries to take over Redwall. Will Mathias and Constance be able to stop them? And why is Cluny so frightened by the old tapestry? Find out next on Redwall!"

[When asked about Castles] "Wouldn't you just love to live in a castle? Eh? Wonderful, wouldn't it? Well, castles were usually built on a hill. See, so you could look out and you could see where your enemies were coming from. Now, Redwall is not only a place of home and all that, it's got to be a place of safety.... so, it's got to be built like a castle, like a fortress. And the first thing you do is you build a big wall around everything! Not to stop anybody getting out, just to stop enemies getting inside. Y'see?"

[Character Spotlight on Cornflower] "Now, Cornflower is not a...eh... a tomboy. A girl who wants to become a warrior and wear armor. Cornflower is a little girl. She enjoys being a little girl. But, she's very brave. She's very courageous. And, when it comes down to it, she backs Matthias up and she does some pretty brave things herself!"

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Where do those crazy accents like molespeech come from?"

They are not crazy accents. They are native to the British Isles. Heh heh heh. I mean, I love the way they speak in Texas and other places. ::southern drawl:: "I love Texas." And down south. But, all my accents come from the British Isles. The moles are the old-fashioned villages in Sommerset. "They'm all talk'n loike that mole all roight! Moi dear, moi beauty, moi heart! Ho-ho!" So, they're all different British accents, yes.

[From the Introduction] "Hello! I'm Brian Jacques and welcome to Redwall. When we left our Abbey friends last, Cluny had stolen the legendary tapestry of Martin the Warrior from Redwall. Will Matthias alone be able to retrieve it and find the hidden meaning? Who knows? Maybe Matthias will meet a helpful new friend. Watch this next episode of Redwall!"

[When asked about Coat of Arms] Do you know what a 'Coat of Arms' is? Well, you know the way we have a signature? Well, a coat of arms was a man's signature, or his family's signature. But, your coat of arms would apply to where you came from, y'see? Not a million miles from where we're sitting now there's a city called Chester and they have three little beehives, because that meant industry and work. So, if the people were hard workers they'd have beehives. If they were warriors they'd have a sword. Y'see, and that would stand for truth and justice and defending. So, you made up your family crest... that's what they used to call them, a family crest... of the things that meant a lot to you. It's nice to have something to identify yourself by, isn't it?

"Look at that! A crest! A crest! Let's see he's got, eh, is that a deer? A knight's head. A shield. And these are called lozenges. Lozenges, and... and sort of stripes, there. Who knows, it may have been a portcullus y'know, on the gates. Security, yeah. This is the resting place of Morecroft Kirke of Liverpool who was buried here in 1750-- is that a five?-- 1755. Morecroft's been dead a long time. But, he left his mark. He left his crest."

[Character Spotlight on Cluny] " 'The high, warm sun shone down on Cluny the Scourge. Cluny was coming! He was big, and tough; an evil rat with ragged fur and curved, jagged teeth. Truly enormous whiplike tail which had earned him a title: Cluny the Scourge!' "

"Y'see? Who is Cluny? Cluny is a bully. Cluny is a warlord, a conqueror. Cluny the Great, Cluny the Savage, Cluny the Scourge! And behind it all he's a coward! He's got to be backed up by this huge army. They've got to follow him everywhere. He gives the orders, he looks the part, but, behind it all, Cluny knows that, in the end, good will defeat evil!"

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Why don't we ever see human beings in Redwall?"

"Well, ask yourself this question: Do you want to see human beings in Redwall? I certainly don't."

[From the Introduction] "Hello! I'm Brian Jacques and welcome to Redwall! When we last left our Abbey friends, Constance was battling Cluny on a perilous plank high above the Abbey walls and we met the jovial Basil Stag Hare! Today's episode brings us riddles and mysteries. Will Matthias be able to solve them? Watch closely and find out on today's episode of Redwall!"

[When asked about Redwall animals] "Let me tell you something about animals, pals. Animals that stand up and speak, they're right through all the folk tales and all the legends of the world. From Africa to America, from Iceland right the way through to Egypt. There are animals that stand and speak. And they're so identifiable in my books. 'You dirty rat.' You may know somebody who is as sly as a fox or somebody who is as slippery as a snake. We're identifying animals all the while, y'see? And the mouse... the mouse is the little hero."

[Character Spotlight on Father Abbot] "Mordalfus! What a wonderful name! He's the Abbot of Redwall Abbey. And Mordalfus, the Abbot, he is everybody's father. They address him as 'Father' and he addresses them as 'my son' or 'my child' or 'young one'. Because he's there for all the help he can give everybody. He's a lovely character. And he's also... he's a mouse of peace. He only goes to war when his back is right against the wall and he thinks that the Abbey must be saved."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "In your story, what made you decide to make mice the good guys and rats the bad guys?"

"Quite simply, really. Um, foxes, stoats, vermin... Y'know, fox, stoats, weasels, ferrets... they're all classed as vermin to farmers. Landowners. Now, the mice... we know that mice are sometimes classed as vermin, but they're really harmless little creatures and the creatures that are protected in my country are the little red squirrels, the badgers, so they're the nice ones. I thought I'd make them the goodies and the rats the baddies. It's simple, really, isn't it?"

[From the Introduction] "Hello! I'm Brian Jacques and welcome to Redwall!" [Matthias/Cornflower footage is shown] "Sit back and enjoy the excitement on today's episode of Redwall!"

[When asked about Redwall Food] "Grayling ala Redwall... Otters' shrimp 'n Hotroot Soup... Moles' Deeper 'n Ever Turnip 'n Tater 'n Beetroot Pie... Jellies, cakes, plums, puddings, trifles, sauces, creames! There are all kinds of foods to eat at Redwall Abbey! Just think: Do we live to eat or do we eat to live? We can do both and enjoy it!

So, when I decided to write my stories, I thought "I'll write plenty of food in", because food's nice! And food has become as much part of the Redwall adventure as the quests and the battles and the adventures. The food is there, it's there for us all to enjoy!"

[Character Spotlight on Constance] "Now, Constance the badger... she's like the big mother of all the Abbey! Big booming voice! She takes all the little ones to her. She's gentle, she's protective! But, you see her when Cluny comes to their Abbey and starts making demands of her. She's a big badger. She picks up a huge table and roars at him "Get out of this Abbey!" Cluny turns and runs."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "How did you come up with the great riddles in Redwall and did anyone help you?"

"I like word puzzles. I like riddles. I write lots of them, I invent lots of them, and I do them in magazines. So, making riddles, as well as solving riddles, is something that I enjoy, too... It wasn't any real problem. I'm a riddler! [chuckles]"

[When asked about Swords] "The real warrior's weapon, the weapon of honor... is the sword. The sword. Martin's sword, the rusty one, was the one he got from his father. And it was broken by Tsarmina, an evil wildcat. But, that sword.... all he had was the handle, when he was a prisoner, tied on his neck, and when he found the mountain of Salamandastron, a great Badger Warrior called Boar the Fighter, who was also a maker of weapons. He had a huge forge and an anvil. And he found a piece of a star, a comet that fell from the sky, a metallic lump, and he beat it in his forge. He heated it and he beat it and the sparks flew off it until he made the blade that would go back onto the handle. Martin's sword, with a blade as keen as midwinter and a tip like an icicle!"

[Character Spotlight on Methuselah] "Methuselah, the Bible tells us, lived 900 years. And at Redwall Abbey, I have a Methuselah. He's everybody's granddad! I suppose he'd be a great-great-great-great-great-great-granddad Methuselah! He is wisdom itself. He is always fair and [speaks in a shaky voice] he has a shaky voice like this. But he's the one who tells Matthias, "There is no magic in the sword, Matthias. The sword is only as good as the warrior who holds it." And what wise words from the oldest mouse at Redwall Abbey, Methuselah!"

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Why do Redwallers eat fish but not any other animals?"

"It was a hard decision to make. They mostly eat vegetables stuff and... but, they do have an Abbey, and in their Abbey there is a pond, and in that pond there are fish. So, I decided that once a year a fish would have to go. Call it culling, if you will. They have to cull a fish a year. And you remember in the grace it says 'silver fish whose life we take, only for a meal to make.'"

[When asked about a Tapestry] "Y'know, pals... in Redwall Abbey there is a huge tapestry. And a tapestry was something that was around as a historical record. But, Redwall's tapestry recorded the life of Redwall. And it's sort of... before you could write letters, it could show you in pictures, the same as these cave drawings, but, they're on rock. But, the tapestry was woven. And they've put the picture of Martin in the middle... They've put the picture of the Abbey... they've put pictures of various villains and heroes... And it's like a record of the Abbey life, telling what's happened. The tapestry is a record. So, you get these good people and they can weave... they can weave a picture. Oh, it's a skilled art!"

[Character Spotlight on Basil Stag Hare] "Basil Stag Hare! One of the lovable characters in my book. I once knew a man and I created all my hares, including Basil, from this man. And he was a sort of a... a Captain from the... the old world war, retired, and he wore a big tweed suits, and... big puffy red face, he says, and... little bristly mustache. He used to talk like this 'wot wot wot'."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Why are there no raccoons or chipmunks in Redwall?"

[laughs] "When I'm down in Texas they ask me why there aren't any armadillos or rattlesnakes! I can tell you quite easily. I use the native animals of the British Isles. Yeah. Badgers, stoats, squirrels, hedgehogs, mice, moles, and, now and again, when it really calls for it, I can bring in a strange animal from overseas. But, not all that often. So, basically... I mean, I can't use every creature in the zoo. I just use the creatures from my native land, the creatures I know about. Yeah."

[When asked about Redwall Animals] "And now, let's talk about villains! Villains come in various forms. And in the animal world, villainous animals look bad. Cluny the rat! The patch over one eye and tatty fur... a great tail, like a whip, which earned him his name "the Scourge"! And you usually find villains are bullies. They've got to go about in gangs. A bully has to have a lot of people to aid him, a lot of other creatures, and that makes him feel brave. Makes him feel strong. But he's not really. You'd strip them all away, and, in the end, a villain, somebody bad, somebody wicked, is just a bully. Nothing else."

[Character Spotlight on Bull Sparra] "Now, Cluny was bad. But, King Bull Sparra is crazy! He's crazy! He's the mad king of the Sparra. Sparra! Y'see? One time I was sitting, writing in my garden and I found out about the Sparra, because there were sparrows in all the trees! And suddenly I noticed these sparrows were speaking a language of their own! They were fighting, they were chatting, they were chasing each other..." [he begins imitating Sparra talk to say what SOUNDS like] "I-don't-like-this! Mouseworm!" [goes back to normal voice] "And King Bull Sparra is the mad king!"

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "How do you come up with the character's strange names?"

"Well, names you can make up. Names you can find. Eh, if I am traveling on a train I'll take a pencil and a scrap pad and I can invent names. Names are easy for the baddies, y'know? Fattybelly, Snottynose. But, some of the other names you will find. Like the name 'Asmodeus'. I was looking in the Bible... it had the names of Satan... all the names of Satan. It had... eh... Lucifer, Beelzebub, Lord of the Flies, Prince of Darkness. And then it had 'Asmodeus'. And I thought, 'Isn't that a wonderful name for a snake, with all those S' in it?' Asssssmodeusssss. So, that was a name I found. But, you invent a lot of them yourself."

[When asked about Redwall Food] "The food at Redwall is, basically, vegetarian. They do eat a fish, just now and again, like in Redwall when Matthias catches the greyling, him and Brother Alf. And Friar Hugo creates 'Greyling ala Redwall' which is beautiful for 'em. I, meself, I like the good basic stuff. Y'know, you could sit down with a... with a big spoon, a ladle, and a wooden bowl, like the moles... Deeper 'n' ever turnip 'n' tater 'n' beetroot pie!"

[Character Spotlight on Warbeak] "At one point in the story, Matthias actually finds what he thinks is a... an enemy. A little injured Sparra. But, gradually, on their journey through the Abbey right up to the Sparra Kingdom at the top of the Abbey, in the rafters, Matthias and this little sparrow, whose name is Warbeak, become great friends. Because, they're like two little kids together. They're pals. And they're made friends... they help each other, y'see? Because it's nice to have pals, isn't it? To make friends and to help each other. And that's the way Matthias and Warbeak are."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "How did you come up with the funny Sparra characters?"

"Oh, the Sparra. Ah, yeah... Well, I was writing in my garden one afternoon. And it was a particularly nice, warm, sunny afternoon. It was in the British Summer, which lasts one weekend. And, ehm, I was dozing off, actually, in a chair. And these sparrows came along and I started to watch them. And I thought, 'What interesting little birds,' because all they were doing was fighting and arguing and shouting at each other. I began to watch them and I could realize these little creatures were actually talking to each other. 'Get off that. Rrrr...' In a very sharp, short, little... very sharp and cisive little speaker. [makes indistinguishable Sparra sounds] And fly around. And I thought, 'That's wonderful that...' Now, Sparrow. Yeah, Sparra. Sparra sounded better. Sounded more rapid. They're like little machine guns, the way they talk. And so, I decided to have some Sparra's as character and give them this little language. I thought it turned out rather well. Did you?"

[When asked about Catapults] "A very good weapon, in the old days, would be a ballista. A ballista. Do you know what a ballista is? It's only a fancy name for a very, very early catapult. Yeah. This was an arm and a lever, and it was held down and they put a huge rock on it and then they'd cut the rope and away it would go. The arm would fling the rock. You can imagine what a valuable weapon that would be to an enemy who wanted to smash through a stone wall or a huge wooden door. You could shoot rocks at it, couldn't you? Shoot rocks and shoot rocks at it, until, in the end, it gave way and broke. It was a fearsome weapon in those days."

[Character Spotlight on Foremole] "Now, you've seen a mole, haven't you? Little dark, velvety, furry creatures, with their little black noses, little button eyes and the huge digging claws on their little hands. They look like little hands! Now, each tribe of moles has a boss. Like a foreman. But, instead of a foreman, he's a Foremole! And, they've got very good sense of humor, the moles, and they've got very good logic and very good sense and 'They'm all talk'n loike that, bo urr aye, zurr!'"

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Where you're from is there any place that reminds you of Redwall?"

"Not exactly. I was brought up in the inner city. But, I could go out to the country and there were many places like Redwall. And, where I am now, the city I'm in, Liverpool, it's only 30 minutes drive, really, from North Wales. And North Wales is a place rich in castles and abbeys, old buildings, and I've been around there and looked at them. And also, this place, where we are now, this place is called Speak Hall and it's a very ancient home. And this is actually in Liverpool. But, where I lived, I mean, just around the corner weren't castles and forests and everything like that, no. There were cobblestones and rows of houses, and docks and railways, factories and canals. But, in my imagination, I liked the idea of being able to live somewhere where it was peaceful, with castles, monasteries, forests, and streams. Beautiful land."

[When asked about Redwall Music] "I have a love of music and I suppose people always have... they couldn't live without music! You'd imagine the sort of music there was before there were instruments? Yeah. We... we used to have a thing here, in Great Britain, especially in Ireland. It was mouth music. Mouth... people used to sit around and make music with their mouths. [sings] And you have all of these different shades and types of music. Now, the medieval music, a lot of that was Church music, because the monks were the ones who knew about music. They were the scholars. And so, we've had some wonderful medieval music composed for Redwall!"

[Character Spotlight on the GUOSIM] "The GUOSIM are little shrews, they're a river tribe, and they travel by boats, and they speak very nautical, and their leader is always called the 'Log-A-Log'. Y'know, like the boss of the moles Foremole? Well, the leader of the GUOSIM is always called 'Log-A-Log'. Because the original Log-A-Log used to paddle a great big log and that was his call. He used to go, 'Logalogalogalogalogalogalogalog!'"

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Have you ever tried any of the foods that's in Redwall?"

"I have, as a matter of fact. Especially traveling in America, I've had several 'Redwall Feasts' done for me. But, I remember one time, in New York State, at my editor's house, and they had a party for the young people from the office. And I actually tried, and made, the mole dish 'deeper'n'ever turnip'n'tater'n'beetroot pie. Bo, urr, aye! And it were grand, I can tell 'ee! Arrarr!'"

[Character Spotlight on Asmodeus] "When I say Cluny is bad, you notice I didn't say Cluny is evil. He can be evil, mainly he's bad. But, if you look in Redwall, as a story, the pure evil... then look no further than Asssmodeussss.... Asssmodeusssss... Asmodeus is the adder. The giant snake! The cold embodiment of evil. And Asmodeus doesn't worry where he gets his prey from. It could be from the goodies or from the baddies, he doesn't care. If he sees something that he wants [points to a small dog next to him] like a little tiny dog with a red jacket... Asmodeus would eat him! Instantly! That is pure evil."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Who or what inspired you to write this book?"

"Nothing inspired me. I've always been a writer. I always loved to write, I could always express myself in writing, and I can always tell a good story. I was the best little liar in our streets when I was a kid. Yeah. [laughs] And, eh, I loved to read and I found that I could write. Now, lots of people can be a writer. It's the same as like I would have always loved to be able to be a great musician. Now, I would never be a great musician. I could become a musician and I could become a pretty good musician, but I'd never be a great one. Y'see? Writing is my talent, and certain people have certain talents. You have a talent. You have it, yeah, you. You have a talent and if you use it properly, you can go anywhere and you can do anything. You can become the greatest at whatever you do! If that talent is for music, for writing, for art, for dancing, for math... OW!... even for math! Yeah. If you have a talent, you can become the greatest at it if you don't squander that talent, if you use it!"

[When asked about Courage] "Courage is the moment when ordinary beings become extraordinary. Courage could be a situation where you have to sum up your bravery to do something. Picture, in Redwall, Matthias! I mean, at first he wanted to be a warrior. Then, when he sees Cluny's hordes, I should imagine it gives him a bit of a start. A little mouse against... up against all them big vermin, ferrets, rats, weasels, stoats! But, he gets the gift of courage! And that is what makes him extraordinary. That's what makes him stand out from the crowd. Courage is like greatness. Sometimes it is thrust upon us."

[Character Spotlight on Mattimeo] "Some are warriors born, others are warriors made. Martin the Warrior is the warrior born. Matthias was the little mouse who had to learn to be a warrior. Now, his son, Mattimeo, was the Abbey brat. Yeah. At the beginning of Mattimeo, Mattimeo is the naughty little mouse in the Abbey, whose dad is the great warrior, and he plays a lot on that. And he gets away with a lot... So, how is Mattimeo going to learn to be a warrior? It's funny. But, when you're in a hard place sometimes, that's when you start to learn. So, when Mattimeo is taken captive... he's taken slave by Slagar and all his little friends and they've been sad and they're worried and they're frightened and everything... he realizes that he's the warrior's son. He has to help. And that's the way his character, as a warrior, starts to form. And, like his dad, he becomes the warrior. But, he has to learn harder lessons."

[ASK THE AUTHOR Segment] "Which character do you think is most like yourself?"

"There is actually one. Eh, but it's not in Redwall. It's in the book Mossflower. It's a little mouse called 'Gonff, the Prince of Mousethieves'! And that was me, when I was a kid around the Liverpool docks, I suppose. He's nice. I like 'im."

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