“Not long after the book came out I found myself being driven to a meeting
by a professor of electrical engineering in the graduate school I of MIT. He said that after reading the book he realized that his graduate students were using on him, and had used for the ten years and more he had been teaching there, all the evasive strategies I described in the book — mumble, guess-and-look, take a wild guess and see what happens, get the teacher to answer his own questions, etc.
But as I later realized, these are the games that all humans play when others
are sitting in judgment on them.”
Source: How Children Fail
“Yes, but nomes aren’t hard to make,” said Dorcas. “You just need other nomes.” “You’re weird.”
Source: Diggers
“Wait," Honey said to herself, as she realized something amazing. "I’m already an excellent flyer. Maybe I can fight crime too.”
Source: Honey the Hero
“Hey, ants!" she shouted. "Please help. Anteater is very hungry, but cannot find any food.”
Source: Honey the Hero
“They had always dreamed of a large family but have now realized that they would be equally blessed to have even one child.”
Source: Another Piece of My Heart
“The imaginary child implied by the toys on exhibit in Hong Kong was impossible to reconcile with my actual child. I didn't think I'd like to meet the imaginary child they implied. That child was mad with contradictions. He was a machine-gun-toting, Chopin-playing psychopath with a sugar high and a short attention span.”
Source: Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea and of the Beachcombers, Oceanographers, Environmentalists, and Fools, Including the Author, Who Went in Search of Them
“Every happy memory created for a child is another treasure of a lifetime.”
“If you want to understand the language of the mountains, pray. When you pray, you will hear every word that was unsaid.”
Source: Coming to Grips with the Mountains and Valleys of This World
“Criança
Cabecinha boa de menino triste,
de menino triste que sofre sozinho,
que sozinho sofre, — e resiste,
Cabecinha boa de menino ausente,
que de sofrer tanto se fez pensativo,
e não sabe mais o que sente...
Cabecinha boa de menino mudo
que não teve nada, que não pediu nada,
pelo medo de perder tudo.
Cabecinha boa de menino santo
que do alto se inclina sobre a água do mundo
para mirar seu desencanto.
Para ver passar numa onda lenta e fria
a estrela perdida da felicidade
que soube que não possuiria.”
“Oh no, princess. I would never carry out anything which could harm your being. This was just something I was told to say. I'm not sure what is planned, if, you go against their wishes. But, I'm sure you're smart and won't test them.”
Source: The Adventures of Luciana