The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events, #1)

by Lemony Snicket

the three Baudelaire children—the Baudelaire orphans, now—were led away from the beach and from their previous lives.

If you have ever lost someone very important to you, then you already know how it feels, and if you haven’t, you cannot possibly imagine it.

From time to time, the Baudelaire children looked at one another, but with their future such a mystery they could think of nothing to say.

They wondered how many other eyes were in Count Olaf’s house, and whether, for the rest of their lives, they would always feel as though Count Olaf were watching them even when he wasn’t nearby.

Sometimes, just saying that you hate something, and having someone agree with you, can make you feel better about a terrible situation.

You and I, of course, would never do this to any of our grieving acquaintances, but it is a sad truth in life that when someone has lost a loved one, friends sometimes avoid the person, just when the presence of friends is most needed.

The two of them looked at the pot of bubbling sauce, which had seemed so cozy while they were making it and now looked like a vat of blood.

So unless you have been very, very lucky, you know that a good, long session of weeping can often make you feel better, even if your circumstances have not changed one bit.

It is very useful, when one is young, to learn the difference between “literally” and “figuratively.”

If you like, you may shut the book this instant and not read the unhappy ending that is to follow. You may spend the rest of your life believing that the Baudelaires triumphed over Count Olaf and lived the rest of their lives in the house and library of Justice Strauss, but that is not how the story goes.

They didn’t understand it, but like so many unfortunate events in life, just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t so.