On a Pincushion quotes

“We cannot keep her from looking in glasses or in the brook. There is only one thing, therefore, to be done. It will be difficult, but it is quite possible.

We must wait till she is leaning over the water looking at herself, and then we must steal her reflection.

”

“And if it had not been for my vanity,” she sighed to herself, “I need not have been hurt at all. It was only that which made me want the bird’s wing.

Ah, what a little thing beauty is to be so vain of!

”

“Ah, a terrible thing is vanity!” said the Shawl-pin solemnly. “I have suffered from it.

I myself make a point of pricking anyone who I think is getting too vain.

”

“It rather depends on what one has to be vain of,” said the Brooch. “

Of course some people are vain of almost nothing.

”

The Sun was shining brightly one hot summer day, and a little Sunbeam slid down his long golden ladder, and crept unperceived under the leaves of a large tree.

All the Sunbeams are in reality tiny Sun-fairies, run down to earth on golden ladders, which look to mortals like rays of the Sun.

When they see a cloud coming they climb their ladders in an instant, and draw them up after them into the Sun.

The Sun is ruled by a mighty fairy, who every morning tells his tiny servants, the beams, where they are to shine, and every evening counts them on their return, to see he has the right number.

It is not known, but the Sun and Moon are enemies, and that is why they never shine at the same time.

The fairy of the Moon is a woman, and all her beams are tiny women, who come down on the loveliest little ladders, like threads of silver. No one knows why the Sun and Moon quarrelled. Once they were very good friends.

“Yes, she will come, and you may speak to her, but you must not touch her,” said the Nightingale; and then they were silent and waited.

Underneath the oak-tree lay a large white Stone, a common white Stone, neither beautiful nor useful, for it lay there where it had fallen, and bitterly lamented that it had no object in life.

It never spoke to the birds, who scarcely knew it could speak;

“

Could it have been better not to love, as I love you?

I do not care if I die or not, now that I have seen you; and see,” said the Sunbeam sadly, “my end is sure, for the Sun is fast sinking, and I shall not return to it, I shall stay with you.”

He cried at the thought of losing one of his bright brown eyes. “

But I would give both my eyes for Handa,

” he said to himself, “only then I should not be able to see her at all.”

It was very strange. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but there it was sure enough.

The sun was coal black, and threw out long black rays, while everywhere else was light.

A little in front was a black river flowing around an island, in the centre of which was a mound where grew a tree—such a tree!

“

Whatever you do, don’t let the lip-flowers kiss you. They are sure to ask to.

But they won’t really want to kiss. They will only bite a piece out of your cheek; they are terribly greedy.”

Some were like delicate waxen ears, and these, with their dark green leaves, he did not think at all ugly. But the prettiest of all grew on long slender stalks, and bent like lilies, and their flowers were like human eyes.

Big eyes, small eyes, blue eyes, brown eyes, black eyes, hazel eyes, eyes with long black lashes, eyes with scarcely any, eyes with heavy lids⁠—all sorts of eyes, all looking curiously at him.

He thought them so pretty that he determined to gather some, and on coming to a very beautiful bright blue eye, he put his hand to the stalk to break it off, but thereupon it wept such floods of tears that the sailor felt sorry …

“Does one?” said the swan, scornfully. “That would be very foolish; where would be the use of going to sleep, and shutting one’s eyes in the dark?

The dark never hurts anyone’s eyes.

Of course one shuts one’s eyes when it’s too light, and it would hurt one to keep them open.”

More than a thousand years ago, in a country quite on the other side of the world, it fell out that the people all grew so very polite that they hardly ever spoke to each other.

And they never said more than was quite necessary, as “Just so,” “Yes indeed,” “Thank you,” and “If you please.”

And it was thought to be the rudest thing in the world for anyone to say they liked or disliked, or loved or hated, or were happy or miserable.

No one ever laughed aloud, and if anyone had been seen to cry they would at once have been avoided by their friends.

The King of this country married a Princess from a neighbouring land, who was very good and beautiful, but the people in her own home were as unlike her husband’s people as it was possible to be.

“Ah moon, pretty bright moon!” she said to herself, “

I wonder if they let you cry when you want to.

I think I’d like to go up there and live with you; I’m sure it would be nicer than being here.”

“

I don’t care who I belong to,

” said Ursula; “they won’t come and take me from you, and that’s all I care about.”

“It’s a great deal better. Ah, that is worth seeing!” said the fairy, thrusting one arm over a burning coal, and skilfully balancing himself in a little jet of flame. “

All round the palace where our King lives there’s flame⁠—flame⁠—nothing but flame for miles, and the Princess’s windows look on to burning hills.

Ah, what a pity it is people are so discontented! If there is anyone who ought to be happy, it’s the Princess Pyra.”

There was blue fire, and red fire, and green fire, and yellow fire, shining against the palace walls just like jewels.

At first Jack thought that the garden was full of beautiful flowers, but when he drew near to them he saw that they were only fireworks in the forms of flowers.

There was every sort of catherine-wheel turning round as fast as possible, throwing off sparks; and every now and then a brilliant rocket went up into the air, and fell in shining stars.

“But who spoke?” asked the Princess again. “I think it very unkind of you all not to tell me.

It’s the first time I have heard a kind voice since I left school.

”

But I will go and blow the ship in another direction, whether it likes it or no, until it is out of the sound of her song, and then it will go on all right.

Ah! men little think, when they complain of meeting gales of wind, that it is often for their own good, and that we are blowing them away from danger, not into it.

”

“And who are you?” he asked, in a deep rolling voice. “Come to ask a question, I am sure.

No one ever comes to see me unless they want to ask something.

Come nearer and let me see you.”