“I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year. Scout”

“I suggested that one could be a ray ofsunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like asunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year.”

“Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches, when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to do things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father's life. I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year.”

“They had grown so fast that it was as if they had never been born.”

“I believe that we are all born for greatness yet most of us mire in the mediocrity of life. We become complacent or worse, discouraged and stagnate. We damn ourselves by not progressing.”

“You look like the cat that ate the canary.""As a vegetarian, I object to that metaphor."Scout grinned teethily at me. "As a carnivore, I object to your pickines. Now spill the goods."-Scout and Lily”