“Our darling Roberta,No sorrow shall hurt herIf we can prevent itHer whole life long.Her birthday's our fete day,We'll make it our great day,And give her our presentsAnd sing her our song.May pleasures attend herAnd may the Fates send herThe happiest journeyAlong her life's way.With skies bright above herAnd dear ones to love her!Dear Bob! Many happyReturns of the day!”

“This is why I shall not tell you in this story about all the days when nothing happened. You will not catch me saying, 'thus the sad days passed slowly by'--or 'the years rolled on their weary course'--or 'time went on'--because it is silly; of course time goes on--whether you say so or not. So I shall just tell you the nice, interesting parts--and in between you will understand that we had our meals and got up and went to bed, and dull things like that.”

“Out, out, into the night,The belfry bells are ours by right!”

“Daddy dear, I'm only fourAnd I'd rather not be more.Four's the nicest age to be,Two and two and one and three.What I love is two and two,Mother, Peter, Phil, and you.What you love is one and three,Mother, Peter, Phil, and me.Give your little girl a kissBecause she learned and told you this.”

“Gerald's look assured her that he and the others would be as near angels as children could be without ceasing to be human.”

“May we all be faithful in doing the day-to-day, ordinary things that prove our worthiness, for they will lead us to and qualify us for great things.”

“People think six is a great many, when it's children. ...they don't mind six pairs of boots, or six pounds of apples, or six oranges, especially in equations, but they seem to think that you ought not to have five brothers and sisters.”