“She’s only seventeen years old,” Llarimar said. “I can’t imagine beingmarried to the God King at her age.”“I can’t imagine you being married to the God King at any age, Scoot,”Lightsong said. Then he pointedly cringed. “Actually, yes I can imagine it,and the dress looks painfully inelegant on you. Make a note to have myimagination flogged for its insolence in showing me that par tic u lar sight.”“I’ll put it in line right behind your sense of decorum, Your Grace,”Llarimar said dryly.“Don’t be silly,” Lightsong said, taking a sip of wine. “I haven’t had oneof those in years.”

“You know — we've had to imagine the war here, and we have imagined that it was being fought by aging men like ourselves. We had forgotten that wars were fought by babies. When I saw those freshly shaved faces, it was a shock. "'My God, my God — ' I said to myself, 'It's the Children's Crusade.”

“Honoria sighed. “We can’t do what we did last year.”“I don’t see why not,” Sarah said. “I can’t imagine anyonewould recognize it from our interpretation”

“Let’s consider your age to begin with — how old are you?’‘I’m seven and a half exactly.’‘You needn’t say “exactually,”’ the Queen remarked: ‘I can believe it without that. Now I’ll give you something to believe. I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.’‘I can’t believe that!’ said Alice.‘Can’t you?’ the Queen said in a pitying tone. ‘Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.’Alice laughed. ‘There’s no use trying,’ she said: ‘one can’t believe impossible things.’‘I daresay you haven’t had much practice,’ said the Queen. ‘When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

“I can’t believe THAT!” said Alice.Can’t you?” said the Queen in a pitying tone. “Try again: draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”Alice laughed. “There’s no use trying,” she said, “one can’t believe impossible things.”I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half-an-hour a day. Why sometimes I believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!”

“Look what the cat dragged in," Ms. Skoglund said. "Were you waylaid by all your female admirers?""It's nothing like that," the boy said. "Besides, you know I only have eyes for you.""Sure you do," Ms. Skoglund said. "I mean, why bother with one of those skinny little things your age when you can go for someone who's trying to lose another thirty pounds before her twenty-year class reunion next summer? That makes sense.”