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Peter S. Beagle

Peter S. Beagle Quotes

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Famous Peter S. Beagle Quotes

“Unicorns are immortal. It is their nature to live alone in one place: usually a forest where there is a pool clear enough for them to see themselves-for they are a little vain, knowing themselves to be the most beautiful creatures in all the world, and magic besides. They mate very rarely, and no place is more enchanted than one where a unicorn has been born. The last time she had seen another unicorn the young virgins who still came seeking her now and then had called to her in a different tongue; but then, she had no idea of months and years and centuries, or even of seasons. It was always spring in her forest, because she lived there, and she wandered all day among the great beech trees, keeping watch over the animals that lived in the ground and under bushes, in nests and caves, earths and treetops. Generation after generation, wolves and rabbits alike, they hunted and loved and had children and died, and as the unicorn did none of these things, she never grew tired of watching them.”

BeautifulTimeNatureBornMagicSpringAloneVainPoolAnimalsVirginsForestEnchantedUnicornWatchingMateUnicorns
Book:The Last Unicorn
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“From that first moment of doubt, there was no peace for her; from the time she first imagined leaving her forest, she could not stand in one place without wanting to be somewhere else. She trotted up and down beside her pool, restless and unhappy. Unicorns are not meant to make choices. She said no, and yes, and no again, day and night, and for the first time she began to feel the minutes crawling over her like worms.”

TimePeaceDoubtLeavingUnhappyWormsRestlessForestRestlessnessUnicornWantingUnicorns
Book:The Last Unicorn
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“The true secret in being a hero lies in knowing the order of things. The swineherd cannot already be wed to the princess when he embarks on his adventures, nor can the boy knock on the witch's door when she is already away on vacation. The wicked uncle cannot be found out and foiled before he does something wicked. Things must happen when it is time for them to happen. Quests may not simply be abandoned; prophecies may not be left to rot like unpicked fruit; unicorns may go unrescued for a very long time, but not forever. The happy ending cannot come in the middle of the story.”

MayLongDoeStoriesHappensLyingOrderFoundLeftSecretBoysForeverKnowingDoorsMiddleAdventureHeroLong TimeFruitWickedWitchAbandonedVacationPrincessQuestsProphecyUnclesHappy EndingsUnicornBeing A HeroWicked Things
Author:Peter S. Beagle
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“The unicorn halted in her slow, desperate round of the cage, realizing for the first time that the magician understood her speech. He smiled, and she saw that his face was frighteningly young for a grown man-untraveled by time, unvisited by grief or wisdom. "I know you," he said.”

KnowsMenFirstsSaidFacesYoungRealizingGriefSawsSpeechUnderstoodFirst TimeRoundsDesperateCagesMagicianUnicornGrown Man
Book:A fine and private place: The last unicorn
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“Unicorns are not to be forgiven." The magician felt himself growing giddy with jealousy, not only of the touch but of something like a secret that was moving between Molly and the unicorn. "Unicorns are for beginnings," he said, "for innocence and purity, for newness. Unicorns are for young girls." Molly was stroking the unicorn's throat as timidly as though she were blind. She dried her grimy tears on the white mane. "You don't know much about unicorns," she said.”

KnowsSaidMovingYoungGirlFeltWhiteSecretGrowingTearsBlindInnocencePurityThroatForgivenMagicianUnicornNewnessGiddy
Author:Peter S. Beagle
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“The unicorn lived in a lilac wood, and she lived all alone. She was very old, though she did not know it, and she was no longer the careless color of sea foam but rather the color of snow falling on a moonlit night. But her eyes were still clear and unwearied, and she still moved like a shadow on the sea.”

KnowsStillsEyeNightFallClearSeaColorShadowMovedWoodsSnowHer EyesCarelessAll AloneUnicornFoamLilacSnow Falling
Book:The Last Unicorn
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