Amos and Boris Quotes

“Amos, a mouse, lived by the ocean. He loved the ocean. He loved the smell of sea air. He loved to hear the surf sounds- the bursting breakers, the backwashes with rolling pebbles. He thought a lot about the ocean, and he wondered about the faraway places on the other side of the water.”

“The Rodent, for that was the boat’s name, proved to be very well made and very well suited to the sea. And Amos, after one miserable day of seasickness, proved to be a natural sailor, very well suited to the ship.”

“He was enjoying his trip immensely. It was beautiful weather. Day and night he moved up and down, up and down, on waves as big as mountains, and he was full of wonder, full of enterprise, and full of love for life.”

“Amos, a little speck of a living thing in the vast living universe, felt thoroughly akin to it all. Overwhelmed by the beauty and mystery of everything, he rolled over and over and right off the deck of his boat and into the sea.

“He decided to just keep afloat, treading water and hoping that something- who knows what? – would turn up to save him. But what if a shark, or some big fish, a horse mackerel, turned up? What was he supposed to do to protect himself? He didn’t know.”

“Just as Amos had once felt, all alone in the middle of the ocean, Boris felt now, lying alone on the shore. He was sure he would die. And just as he was preparing to die, Amos came racing back with two of the biggest elephants he could find.”

“...a huge head burst through the surface of the water and loomed up over him. It was a whale. ‘What sort of fish are you?’ the whale asked. ‘You must be one of a kind!’ ‘I’m not a fish,’ said Amos. ‘I’m a mouse, which is a mammal, the highest form of life. I live on land.’ ‘Holy clam and cuttlefish!’ said the whale. ‘I’m a mammal myself, though I live in the sea. Call me Boris,’ he added.”

“ ‘Are you sure you’re a mammal?’ Amos asked. ‘You smell more like a fish.’ Then Boris the whale went swimming along, with Amos the mouse on his back.”

“Swimming along, sometimes at great speed, sometimes slowly and leisurely, sometimes resting and exchanging ideas, sometimes stopping to sleep, it took them a week to reach Amos’s home shore. During that time, they developed a deep admiration for one another. Boris admired the delicacy, the quivering daintiness, the light touch, the small voice, the gemlike radiance of the mouse. Amos admired the bulk, the grandeur, the power, the purpose, the rich voice, and the abounding friendliness of the whale.”

“They became the closest possible friends. They told each other about their lives, their ambitions. They shared their deepest secrets with each other. The whale was very curious about life on land and was very sorry that he could never experience it. Amos was fascinated by the whale’s accounts of what went on deep under the sea.”

“ “I wish we could be friends forever,’ said Boris. ‘We will be friends forever, but we can’t be together. You must live on and I must live at sea. I’ll never forget you, though.’ “

“ ‘I will always be grateful to you for saving my life and I want you to remember that if you ever need my help I’d be more than glad to give it!’ How he could ever possibly help Boris, Amos didn’t know, but he knew how willing he was.”

“He looked back at Amos on the elephant’s head. Tears were rolling down the great whale’s cheeks. The tiny mouse had tears in his eyes too. ‘Goodbye, dear friend,’ squeaked Amos. ‘Goodbye, dear friend,’ rumbled Boris, and he disappeared in the waves. They knew they might never meet again. They knew they would never forget each other.”