Frogkisser! Quotes

“Cats never liked to admit to names. Being named might lead to being held responsible for something.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“...I don't expect to need rescuing. I'm not that kind of princess.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Come, said Tanitha. Come to the Great Hall, and we will lie down with the puppies, and I will tell you a story.

One about the Dog with the Wonderful Nose? asked Anya. She tried to smile, but found herself crying instead. But those are for puppies and children.

You can never be too old for stories about the Dog with the Wonderful Nose, said Tanitha.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“The 'rob from the rich, give to the poor' is more of a general overview than a specific thing we have to do every time. It really means making sure those who have too much do some sharing with those who have too little, and it isn't always just about valuables or money or even basic things like food. It is also about sharing power and opportunities.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“I didn't know why he became a tree. I don't really know anything about why druids become trees-

Peace and quiet, said Elisandria matter-of-factly. Abdication of responsibility. A good long sleep. All of that.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Everything is always better for a walk.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Do you think I could still be a wizard? One day?'
'Perhaps,' said the Good Wizard. 'I was a princess myself once.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“When do we c-c-come and rescue you?'
'If I'm not back by nightfall, come and take a very careful look,' said Anya. 'But I don't expect to need rescuing. I'm not that kind of princess.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“What's wrong with this city!

Like I said, no one's really in charge. Mayor and council are afraid to do anything in case the sorcerers don't like it. So they don't do anything.

Someone should do something, Anya growled.

She rowed on in silence for a while after that, thinking. It was easy to say "someone should do something" but rather more difficult to put it into practice.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“If I'm not back by nightfall, come and take a very careful look, said Anya. But I don't expect to need rescuing. I'm not that kind of princess.

What kind of princess are you?

Not the kind that needs rescuing, said Anya firmly.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“I will not give up. It is the right thing to do, no matter the consequences.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“I don't want to be that kind of sorcerer, said Anya swiftly. Besides, you wouldn't...you wouldn't love me then, would you?

We will always love you, said Tanitha. But you would not know that if you become like the Duke. He has grown too cold form his magic, and has forgotten what it means to love.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely spoke. What can we do?

Watch. Wait. Protect the princesses. Keep them cheerful and unafraid. They will need whole hearts and the memory of happiness, at least, to have any chance of doing what must be done.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“But if you treat it courteously, brush it from time to time, and don’t mess it up with mud or spill coffee on it, it should be fine.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Will you turn me back to myself, please, Frogkisser?”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“And your otter friend is eating by ... or in ... the pool. But it is as well that you should check. That is the mark of a leader.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“All things a wizard makes are flawed in some way. A Good Wizard, like myself, will do this intentionally. A Bad Wizard's works will have some accidental flaw, derived from their nature. All our work has some weakness.

But why?

To limit the object's power, said the Good Wizard softly. Power is always best limited.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Knowledge is always useful, even if...if it is not immediately apparent how it will be useful.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Will Morven be a good queen?

Um, said Anya, flustered. She's the oldest...

Bert's eyes opened wider, questioningly. And that makes her fit to rule? Tell me, in your reading, do you study history?”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“She very rarely cried, but being brave all the time took an enormous amount of effort. Sometimes she just got tired of keeping everything together.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Mmmmmm, said Ardent [the Royal Dog]. He liked cooked food. Also raw food and semicooked food, and things that might be food and so were worth chewing on for a while to make sure they weren't food.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Pause friend, be smelled and enter!"...”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Ever thought of becoming a wizard?' - The Good Wizard
'Not before now,' said Anya. 'I've always wanted to be a sorcerer...'
Her voice trailed off as the Good Wizard raised her eyebrows.
'But not so much anymore,' continued Anya.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“How could anyone even start to put it all back together?'
'You start small,' said Dehlia. The raven had a very particular stare. Her single eye, bright with moonshine, was focused on Anya in a very alarming way. 'With a Quest to save one of those small kingdoms, and set it to rights, and have its ruler swear to uphold the bill. Then you go on from there.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“BECAUSE THEY LOOK SO SURPRISED TO BE EATEN UP! guffawed the giant. PRINCESSES ALWAYS EXPECTS TO GET RESCUED.

Do they? asked Anya mildly. Better they should rescue themselves.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Bert and Dehlia had planted the seed of thought in her mind, and it was growing away busily putting out new shoots of thought, all of which were quite bothersome, because they were about things like responsibility and fairness, and thinking about others, and why being a princess perhaps should be about more than just having a nice library and three meals a day, particularly when other people didn't have these things...”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“I don't have a lot of valuables on me at the moment though... and I need the ones I have for my Quest. Could you perhaps agree to rob me later? - Anya”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“What's your name? she asked.

Street rat, scum girl, you good-for-nought, said the child bitterly.

What is it really? asked Anya.

...

Why you giving us this? she asked.

Because ... because I want to make even a little difference, said Anya quietly. Maybe later I can make a big difference.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“You know we do not make such judgments, said Shushu. Business is business. We do not question whether our customers are 'good' or 'evil.'

Once we did, said the older witch. When the Bill of Rights-”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!

“Music is a great balm. Another thing evil sorcerers give up. They cannot abide music, for it can conjure all human emotions, most particularly joy and happiness.”
― Garth Nix, Frogkisser!