“would you like to hearthe nighti bravely fought the-no?alright”

“If you're nasty, I won't fight.If you're rough, well that's just you.If you're mean, that's alright too.Whatever you are is all okay.I don't like you anyway.”

“If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.The teardrop of a crying ant would be your swimming pool.A crumb of cake would be a feastAnd last you seven days at least,A flea would be a frightening beastIf you were one inch tall.If you were only one inch tall, you'd walk beneath the door,And it would take about a month to get down to the store.A bit of fluff would be your bed,You'd swing upon a spider's thread,And wear a thimble on your headIf you were one inch tall.You'd surf across the kitchen sink upon a stick of gum.You couldn't hug your mama, you'd just have to hug her thumb.You'd run from people's feet in fright,To move a pen would take all night,(This poem took fourteen years to write--'Cause I'm just one inch tall).”

“Whatever you are is all okay.I don't like you anyway.”

“I didn't do itThat's a lieI didn't do itNo, not II didn't do itHear me cryI didn't do itHope to dieI didn't do itI'm not that badBut if I did...Would you be mad?”

“Are wild strawberries really wild?Will they scratch an adult, will they snap at a child?Should you pet them, or let them run free where they roam?Could they ever relax in a steam-heated home?Can they be trained to not growl at the guests?Will a litterbox work or would they make a mess?Can we make them a Cowberry, herding the cows,or maybe a Muleberry pulling the plows,or maybe a Huntberry chasing the grouse,or maybe a Watchberry guarding the house,and though they may curl up at your feet oh so sweetlycan you ever feel that you trust them completely?Or should we make a pet out of something less scary, like the Domestic Prune or the Imported Cherry, Anyhow, you've been warned and I will not be blamed if your Wild Strawberries cannot be tamed.”

“why can't you see i'm a kid', said the kid.Why try to make me like you?Why are you hurt when I don't cuddle?Why do you sigh when I splash through a puddle?Why do you scream when I do what I did?Im a kid.”