It is still summer, but the summer is no longer alive. It has come to a standstill; nothing withers, and fall is not ready to begin. There are no stars yet, just darkness.

One must use the night.

Quite, quite,' she thought with a little sigh. 'It's always like this in their adventures. To save and be saved. I wish somebody would write a story sometime about the people who warm up the heroes afterward.

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

It’s strange,” Moominmamma thought. “Strange that people can be sad, and even angry because life is too easy. But that’s the way it is, I suppose. The only thing to do is to start life afresh.

Most of the people are homesick anyway, and a little lonely, and they hide themselves in their hair and are turned into flowers.

The thing about God, she thought, is that He usually does help, but not until you've made an effort on your own.