I shall weave a suit of leaves. At once. With acorns for buttons.

Hill House, she thought, You're as hard to get into as heaven.

Let him be wise, or let me be blind; don't let me, she hoped concretely, don't let me know too surely what he thinks of me.

We were going to the long field which today looked like an ocean, although I had never seen an ocean; the grass was moving in the breeze and the cloud shadows passed back and forth and the trees in the distance moved.

Today my winged horse is coming and I am carrying you off to the moon and on the moon we will eat rose petals.

Don't do it, Eleanor told the little girl; insist on your cup of stars; once they have trapped you into being like everyone else you will never see your cup of stars again; don't do it; and the little girl glanced at her, and smiled a little subtle, dimpling, wholly comprehending smile, and shook her head stubbornly at the glass. Brave girl, Eleanor thought; wise, brave girl.

There had not been this many words sounded in our house for a long time, and it was going to take a while to clean them out.