The Neverending Story

by Michael Ende

You must let what happens happen. Everything must be equal in your eyes, good and evil, beautiful and ugly, foolish and wise, just as it is in the eyes of the Childlike Empress. You may only search and inquire, never judge.

‘Only the right name gives beings and things their reality,’ she said. ‘A wrong name makes everything unreal. That’s what lies do.’

‘You write down everything that happens,’ she said. ‘Everything that I write down happens,’ was the answer, spoken in the deep, dark voice that had come to her like an echo of her own voice.

‘You must go from wish to wish. What you don’t wish for will always be beyond your reach. That is what the words ‘far’ and ‘near’ mean in Fantastica. And wishing to leave a place is not enough. You must wish to go somewhere else and let your wishes guide you.’

Bastian had shown the lion the inscription on the reverse side of the Gem. ‘What do you suppose it means?’ he asked. ‘“DO WHAT YOU WISH.” That must mean I can do anything I feel like. Don’t you think so?’ All at once Grograman’s face looked alarmingly grave, and his eyes glowed. ‘No,’ he said in his deep, rumbling voice. ‘It means that you must do what you really and truly want. And nothing is more difficult.’ ‘What I really and truly want? What do you mean by that?’ ‘It’s your own deepest secret and you yourself don’t know it.’ ‘How can I find out?’ ‘By going the way of your wishes, from one to another, from first to last. It will take you to what you really and truly want.’ ‘That doesn’t sound so hard,’ said Bastian. ‘It is the most dangerous of all journeys.’ ‘Why?’ Bastian asked. ‘I’m not afraid.’ ‘That isn’t it,’ Grograman rumbled. ‘It requires the greatest honesty and vigilance, because there’s no other journey on which it’s so easy to lose yourself forever.’

Bastian took a third fruit, and that was a sheer delight. He sighed with well-being.