kate dicamillo

“[He] had the soul of a poet, and because of this, he liked very much to consider questions that had no answers.”

“Have you, in truth, ever seen something so heartbreakingly lovely? What are we to make of a world where stars shine bright in the midst of so much darkness and gloom?”

“There is a lot of love in him, a lot of love in his heart... And he is up there with no one and nothing to love. It is a bad thing to have love and no where to put it.”

“What was it like... to have someone who knew you would always return and who welcomed you with open arms?”

“He was agitated for some reason that he could not name. (page 35)”

“Normally, Edward would have found intrusive, clingy behavior of this sort very annoying, but there was something about Sarah Ruth. He wanted to take care of her. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to do more for her. (page 135)”

“Never in his life had Edward been cradled like a baby. Abilene had not done it. Nor had Nellie. And most certainly, Bull had not. It was a singular sensation to be held so gently and yet so fiercely, to be stared down at with so much love. Edward felt the whole of his china body flood with warmth. (page 128)”

“Edward knew what it was like to say over and over again the names of those you had left behind. He knew what it was like to miss someone. And so he listened. And in his listening, his heart opened wide and then wider still. (page 103)”

“And Edward was surprised to discover that he was listening. Before, when Abilene had talked to him, everything had seemed so boring, so pointless. But now, the stories Nellie told struck him as the most important thing in the world and he listened as if his life depended on what she said." (page 69)”

“And so he was reading the story as if it were a spell and the words of it, spoken aloud, could make magic happen.”

“He was reading from the beginning so that he could get to the end, where the reader was assured that the knight and the fair maiden lived together happily ever after.”

“There," she said. She rocked him back and forth. "There, you foolish, beautiful boy who wants to change the world. There, there. And who could keep from loving you? Who could keep from loving a boy so brave and true?”

“The longer he marched, the more convinced Peter became that things were indeed hopeless and that an elephant was a ridiculous answer to any question- but a particularly ridiculous answer to a question posed by the human heart.”

“It is a bad thing to have love and nowhere to put it.”

“Bagaimana cerita bisa berakhir bahagia kalau tidak ada cinta?”

“The world is dark, and light is precious.Come closer, dear reader.You must trust me.I am telling you a story.”

“In a dark time, doors will sometimes magically open and let us step inside to the warmth and light of a community.”

“I honor you!”

“Despereaux looked at his father, at his grey-streaked fur and trembling whiskers and his front paws clasped together in front of his heart, and he felt suddenly as if his own heart would break in two. His father looked so small, so sad."Forgive me," said Lester again.Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing.And a ridiculous thing, too.Isn't it ridiculous, after all, to think that a son could forgive his father for beating the drum that sent him to his death? Isn't it ridiculous to think that a mouse ever could forgive anyone for such perfidy?But still, here are the words Despereaux Tilling spoke to his father. He said, "I forgive you, Pa."And he said those words because he sensed it was the only way to save his own heart, to stop it from breaking in two. Despereaux, reader, spoke those words to save himself.”

“And now you have a small map of the princess's heart (hatred, sorrow, kindness, empathy), the heart that she carried down inside her as she went down the golden stairs and through the kitchen and, finally, just as the sky outside the castle began to lighten, down into the dark dungeon with the rat and the serving girl.”

“Despereaux turned. He looked up and into the Head Mouse's eyes. They were dark eyes, deep and sad and frightened. And as Despereaux looked into them, his heart thudded once, twice.”

“I will be brave, thought Despereaux. I will try to be brave like a knight in shining armour. I will be brave for the Princess Pea.”

“And he discovered, finally, the source of the honey-sweet sound.The sound was music.The sound was King Phillip playing his guitar and singing for his daughter, the Princess Pea, every night before she fell asleep.Hidden in a hole in the wall of the princess's bedroom, the mouse listened with all his heart. The sound of the King's music made Despereaux's soul grow large and light inside of him.Oh," he said, "it sounds like heaven. It smells like honey.”

“The undoing is almost always more difficult than the doing.”

“There are those hearts, reader, that never mend again once they are broken. Or if they do mend, they heal themselves in a crooked and lopsided way, as if sewn together by a careless craftsman. Such was the fate of Chiaroscuro. His heart was broken. Picking up the spoon and placing it on his head, speaking of revenge, these things helped him to put his heart together again. But it was, alas, put together wrong.”

“If you have no intention of loving or being loved, the whole journey is pointless.”

“Farewell” is not the word that you would like to hear from your mother as you are being led to the dungeon by 2 oversize mice in black hoods.Words that you would like to hear are “Take me instead, I will go to the dungeon in my sons place.” There is a great deal of comfort in those words.”

“We appreciate the complicated and wonderful gifts you give us in each other. And we appreciate the task you put down before us, of loving each other the best we can, even as you love us.”

“You can't always judge people by the things they done. You got to judge them by what they are doing now.”

“Love, as we have already discussed, is a powerful, wonderful, ridiculous thing, capable of moving mountains. And spools of thread.”

“At least Lester had the decency to weep at his act of perfidy. Reader, do you know what 'perfidy' means? I have a feeling you do, based on the scene that unfolded here. But you should look up the word in your dictionary, just to be sure.”

“At the thought of being eaten by rats, Despereaux forgot about being brave. He forgot about not being a disappointment. He felt himself heading into another faint. But his mother, who had an excellent sense of dramatic timing, beat him to it; she executed a beautiful, flawless swoon, landing right at Despereaux's feet.”

“Despereaux marveled at his own bravery.He admired his own defiance.And then, reader, he fainted.”

“He was weeping. Although 'weeping' really is to small a word for the activity the kind had undertaken. Tears were cascading from his eyes. A small puddle had formed at his feet. I am not exaggerating. The king, it seemed, was intent on crying himself a river.”

“Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.”

“Reader, you must know that an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform.”

“Once there was a princess who was very beautiful. She shone bright as the stars on a moonless night. But what difference did it make that she was beautiful? None. No difference."Why did it make no difference?" asked Abilene.Because," said Pellegrina, "She was a princess who loved no one and cared nothing for love, even though there were many who loved her.”

“There is nothing sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.”

“Tapi, anak-anak, tak ada penghiburan dalam kata 'selamat tinggal', bahkan jika kau mengatakannya dalam bahasa Prancis. 'Selamat tinggal' adalah kata-kata yang, dalam bahasa apa pu, penuh penderitaan. Itu kata-kata yang tak menjanjikan apa-apa.”