A brown spotted lady-bug climbed the dizzy height of a grass blade, and Tom bent down close to it and said, "Lady-bug, lady-bug, fly away home, your house is on fire, your children's alone," and she took wing and went off to see about it -- which did not surprise the boy, for he knew of old that this insect was credulous about conflagrations, and he had practised upon its simplicity more than once.

Why is it that, among men, physical courage is a trait so plenteous yet moral courage is a trait so rare?

To stand still is to fall behind.

Man is without doubt the most interesting fool there is. He concedes that God made the angels immune from pain and death, and that he could have been similarly kind to man, but denies that he was under any moral obligation to do so.

When one has tasted watermelon he knows what the angels eat.

Only he who has seen better days and lives to see better days again knows their full value.

We called him Barney for short. We couldn't use his real name, there wasn't time.