But he thought all the strange words were beautiful, and he had never had a book of his own before.

There's no need to imagine that you're a wondrous beauty, because that's what you are.

One summer morning at sunrise a long time ago I met a little girl with a book under her arm. I asked her why she was out so early and she answered that there were too many books and far too little time. And there she was absolutely right.

One can't be too dangerous, if they like to eat pancakes. Especially with jam on it.

Anyway, solitary people interest me. There are so many different ways of being solitary.' 'I know just what you mean,' said X. 'I know exactly what you're going to say. Different kinds of solitude. Enforced solitude and voluntary solitude.' 'Quite,' said Viktoria. 'There's no need to go into it further. But when people understand one another without speaking, it can often leave them with very little to talk about, don't you think?

...now and then a giggling trail of mermaids appeared in our wake. We fed them oatmeal.

Everyone must imagine his own snakes because no one else's snakes can ever be as awful.