Ah, life's little surprises! They can make any day unforgettable... or make it your last.

And I came to understand, in a way I never had before, that books are truly the stuff of miracles. I even dared to dream that someday, somehow, I might surround myself with books from many times and many tongues.

The leaf, still green, must someday fall such grief and joy to live at all.

And now, my friends, a dragon's toast! Here's to life's little blessings: war, plagues, and all forms of evil. Their presence keeps us alert--- and their absence keeps us grateful.

You're saying that our souls and the stars and the wings of a butterfly are all somehow connected?

Answers come and go, I've found. But the questions? Those remain forever.

A life-whether seamstress or poet, farmer or king-is measured not by length, but by the worth of its deeds, and the power of its dreams.