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Norton Juster

Norton Juster Quotes

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Famous Norton Juster Quotes

“But why do only unimportant things?" asked Milo, who suddenly remembered how much time he spent each day doing them. "Think of all the trouble it saves," the man explained, and his face looked as if he'd be grinning an evil grin--if he could grin at all. "If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you'll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just won't have the time. For there's always something to do to keep you from what you really should be doing, and if it weren't for that dreadful magic staff, you'd never know how much time you were wasting.”

IfsThinkingKnowsMenShouldImportantJobsFacesEvilEasyDifficultWorryKnow HowTroubleMagicUselessRememberedEach DayWasting TimeStaffUnimportantGrinningUnimportant Things
Author:Norton Juster
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“And remember, also," added the Princess of Sweet Rhyme, "that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow.”

KnowsWantLittlesReasonHelpingTodayRememberSecretWonderfulSweetTomorrowSightSomedayNo ReasonMapsPrincessRhymePhantom Tollbooth
Book:The phantom tollbooth
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“Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you haven't the answer to a question you've been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause in a roomful of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and you're all alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful, if you listen carefully.”

PeopleIfsKnowsDifferentEndsCountryWholeMomentsBeautifulNightHouseSpeakAnswersRoomsSilenceWonderfulDoorsHeardHavensQuietCalmStormDawnPausesSilence IsVery BeautifulHushPhantom TollboothCountry Roads
Author:Norton Juster
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“I know one thing for certain; it is much harder to tell whether you are lost than whether you were lost, for, on many occasions, where you are going is exactly where you are. On the other hand, if you often find that where you've been is not at all where you should have gone, and, since it's much more difficult to find your way back from someplace you've never left, I suggest you go there immediately and then decide.”

IfsKnowsWayShouldHandsCertainLostLeftDifficultGoneOne ThingShould HaveHarderOccasionsWhere You AreWhere You Are Going
Book:The phantom tollbooth
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“In this box are all the words I know… Most of them you will never need, some you will use constantly, but with them you may ask all the questions which have never been answered and answer all the questions which have never been asked. All the great books of the past and all the ones yet to come are made with these words. With them there is no obstacle you cannot overcome. All you must learn to do is use them well and in the right places.”

KnowsNeedsWellsMayMadeBookUsePastAsksAnswersOvercomingBoxesObstaclesRight PlaceGreat Book
Author:Norton Juster
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“Why, did you know that if a beaver two feet long with a tail a foot and a half long can build a dam twelve feet high and six feet wide in two days, all you would need to build Boulder Dam is a beaver sixty-eight feet long with a fifty-one-foot tail?" "Where would you find a beaver that big?" grumbled the Humbug as his pencil point snapped. "I'm sure I don't know," he replied, "but if you did, you'd certainly know what to do with him.”

IfsKnowsNeedsLongTwoBigsHalfFeetSixEightWideFiftyTwelveSixtyTailsPencilsTwo DaysDid You KnowDamsBouldersHumbugBeavers
Book:The Phantom Tollbooth 50th Anniversary Edition
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