Oh! Polly thought. Why aren't all girls locked up by law the year they turn fifteen? They do such stupid things!

Don’t interrupt,’ one of the boys said. ‘He’ll lose his life.’ Seeing it was a matter of life and death, Sophie and Michael backed toward the door. But Howl, quite unperturbed at killing his nephew, strode over to the wall and pulled the boxes up by the roots.

If you take myth and folklore, and these things that speak in symbols, they can be interpreted in so many ways that although the actual image is clear enough, the interpretation is infinitely blurred, a sort of enormous rainbow of every possible colour you could imagine.

I'm going up to my room now, where I may die.

I'll show you how," Peter said. "Stop hiding behind your ignorance.

Yes, you are nosy. You're a dreadfully nosy, horribly bossy, appallingly clean old woman. Control yourself. You're victimizing us all.

Sorry, I've had enough of running away, Sophie. Now I've got something I want to protect. It's you.