I was set down from the carrier's cart at the age of three; and there with a sense of bewilderment and terror my life in the village began.
Laurie LeeFor the first time I was learning how much easier it was to leave than to stay behind and love.
Laurie LeeThe prospect Smiler was a manic farmer. Few men I think can have been as unfortunate as he; for on the one hand he was a melancholic with a loathing for mankind, on the other, some paralysis had twisted his mouth into a permanent and radiant smile. So everyone he met, being warmed by his smile, would shout him a happy greeting. And beaming upon them with his sunny face he would curse them all to hell.
Laurie Lee