The Poison Jungle Quotes

“SNUDOO!” cried the little dragonet tied snugly to Cricket’s chest. Bumblebee reached her tiny talons toward Sundew. “MRBLE SNUDOO!” “Is that tiny lizard trying to say my name?” Sundew asked, alarmed. “How did THAT happen?”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“EKNO!” Bumblebee objected, throwing her arms around Cricket’s neck. “NOBYNOBYNOBE!” “That does look like fun,” Tsunami said wryly. “Bumblebee, be reasonable!” Cricket yelled over her wails. “There might be a war where I’m going! Dragons all stabbing each other! Very bad things! I don’t want you near that. I want you here and safe!” “STABEEBAD,” Bumblebee argued. “YUUUUsafe.” “I will be careful and I’ll come back soon. I promise.” She disentangled Bumblebee and the sling and handed them over to an extremely skeptical-looking Tsunami. “GROWLFACE!” the dragonet shouted. “ARGNORAW RGRUMPHLE!”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Bumblebee when I named her! I’d like to see you come up with a better name at that age!” “Wordibird,” Bumblebee said sleepily from her sling, and Cricket laughed again.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“I have a cockatoo,” Willow was saying to Cricket. “Her name is Talkatoo and she’s the smartest bird in the world SUNDEW STOP LAUGHING AT ME.” She shoved Sundew’s shoulder affectionately. “I was only a little older than”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Sundew tugged the scarf a little higher up Bumblebee’s neck. “Our turn, little bug. Stay very still and do NOT distract me, understand?” “Ooobeegoo,” Bumblebee said sternly. She patted Sundew’s face. “Do NOBBY splamflamp.” “I wasn’t planning on being splamflamp,” Sundew retorted, “whatever that is.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Snudoo!” Bumblebee cheered. She lifted her little talons up and did a very good impression of something cute. Something more like a tamarin and definitely not like a HiveWing.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Nowadays we only lose a few dragons a year to the carnivorous plants.” “The what now?” Swordtail said, his voice rising an octave. “CARNIVOROUS WHATS?”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“This frog was going DOWN.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“That sounds super dangerous! Touch me not — or you will DIE!”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Oooom-yum?” Bumblebee inquired, reaching for it. “Eeee?” “No,” Cricket said. “GROSS, Bumblebee!” “GWOSE!” Bumblebee cried, waking up an anaconda as thick as Sundew’s tail in the next tree over.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Eep,” Bumblebee said in an even smaller voice. “Beebuf?” “Get off my face,” Sundew snapped. “CAREFULLY. I am REALLY MAD AT YOU.” “Beebeebeebeebeebuf,” Bumblebee protested, wiggling down until she was hanging from Sundew’s snout with her tail around Sundew’s neck. She managed to scoot herself back into the sling and leaned into Sundew’s chest, patting her heart under the jade frog. “Meesnugoo.” “Goo is right,” Sundew said, studying their abductor. She was stuck on one of the towering leaves of a plant that sprawled across a small island in the lake below her. The leaf was bright lime green, with hundreds of thin red stalks poking out of it that made the entire plant look fuzzily scarlet from afar. At the tip of each stalk was a glistening drop, like a translucent murder pearl.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“EW,” Bumblebee declared, in perhaps her most accurate observation so far.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Well, THAT was not going to stand. NO, SIR. THIS time, there would MOST DEFINITELY BE CONSEQUENCES, FROG.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Ta-daaaaa!” Bumblebee declared, working two of her wings free and flinging them out to either side.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Sundew did not dignify that with an answer, since she was pretty sure it would involve more yelling at him, and apparently she didn’t really enjoy yelling at Blue. (Yelling at Swordtail, on the other hand, was always satisfying.)”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“BLEH!” Bumblebee announced suddenly. She threw the tuber at Swordtail’s head, bonking him on the snout. “NOMOBLEH! GIMMEEGO! EEEEEMEGO!” “Hey, ouch, you violent little larva,” Swordtail yelped.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“I’m Mandrake,” he said, smiling his nonthreatening crooked smile at all of them. “Sundew’s fiancé.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“And also because there’s a dragon there who I’m definitely not thinking about and certainly do not think about all the time.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Turn your eyes, your wings, your fire To the land across the sea Where dragons are poisoned and dragons are dying And no one can ever be free. A secret lurks inside their eggs. A secret hides within their book. A secret buried far below May save those brave enough to look. Open your hearts, your minds, your wings To the dragons who flee from the Hive. Face a great evil with talons united Or none of the tribes will survive.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“From down here, it was obvious what had happened to Nettle. A huge cluster of pitcher plants was gathered right below the hill, gaping maws ready to swallow any animal that tumbled down it. Each one looked like a long green sack, tipped with stripes of dark pink around the open mouth at the top. Sundew had a collection of much smaller pitcher plants growing outside her nest to catch flies before they buzzed in and bothered her. She really didn’t like this big kind, though; it was super creepy to look at a giant pitcher plant and wonder whether there might be a dragon corpse decomposing inside it. Or, in this case, a dragon that was still very much alive and spitting mad. “GET ME OUT! GET ME OUT OF THIS THING!” Nettle shrieked. One of the plants wobbled as she slammed herself into the side. “Whoa,” Cricket said, landing beside Sundew. “She’s … in there? Why doesn’t she just fly out?” “Meeebomorp,” Bumblebee added, wide-eyed.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Sundew smothered a laugh and glanced over her shoulder for the joy of catching Nettle’s furious scowl. “ExCUSE me,” Nettle demanded. “WHY are we taking a HATCHLING with us? A nasty HIVEWING hatchling, no less? Oh, is it because we’re hoping something will eat her? A snack for the dragon-traps, what a good idea.” “Maybe you should shut your trap,” Sundew suggested.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Find something more productive and less nosy to do!” she shouted at the closest peeping LeafWing. He jumped and scurried away up the tree like a startled squirrel. “Oh my goodness,” Willow said. “Must you be so terrifying?” “It’s my special skill,” Sundew said. “And he deserved it.” “Did he, though?” Willow said thoughtfully. “Could you please keep being the one dragon I’m not furious at right now?” Sundew said. “Come on, everyone, let’s go. Willow, you lead the way for now, since you’re the most familiar with the jungle around your village.” Willow hesitated for a moment, as though she was thinking about pressing her point a bit more, but instead she nodded and headed into the trees, to Sundew’s relief. Sundew followed, with Cricket a half step behind her. The HiveWing was like a shadow, staying as close to Sundew as she could, although she kept twisting her head to stare at weird plants as they went by. “I’m familiar with this area, too,” Nettle complained from the rear. “I’ve been scouting in SapWing territory since before Mandrake was born. I know every kind of tree around here.” “Meh meh meh meh meh,” Bumblebee said in a hilariously similar tone of voice.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Not as furious as I am, she thought. With THIS FROG, who caused all this TROUBLE in the FIRST place and must FEEL MY WRATH.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Besides, she knew the jungle better than any of the other dragonets. She was a Venus dragon-trap slayer! She had battled cobra lilies and sundews and pitcher plants and beaten them all! She had mighty superpowers! No one could stop Sundew, chosen one, daughter of the leaders of the LeafWings! Especially not on a QUEST FOR VENGEANCE. This frog was going DOWN.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“Cricket asked, wide-eyed. “Then it releases its digestive juices and eats you,” Sundew said. “Obviously.” She swatted at Blue as he tried reaching for Swordtail again. “SWORDTAIL!” Cricket and Blue yelled in unison. “It’s pretty definitely figured out he’s alive by now,” Sundew said. She pointed to the long hairs along the edges of the plant’s mouth, which were starting to lock firmly together. “It won’t drop him even if he does shut up long enough to hear us. But it’s a slow process — it’ll take at least half a day before it kills him.” “Can’t we slice it open and cut him out?” Cricket asked, raising one of her talons to flex her claws. Sundew shook her head. “They’ve adapted for that. It takes forever to saw through the shell of a dragon-trap. Plus they grow in clusters like this on purpose, so if you try, another one will get you.” She pointed to the gaping pink jaws hanging from the trees all around them, particularly the one leaning over Swordtail’s plant, ready to swallow any dragon who tried to help him. Blue paced up and down the branch. “Swordtail!” he called again. “We’ll get you out, I promise!” “So what do you normally do?” Cricket asked Sundew. “Your tribe must have found a way to rescue dragons from being eaten.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“How does she speak our language?” Cricket breathed. “Is it magic that we understand her? Is she a magic superpowered dragon like Clearsight? Oh my gosh, can you see the future?” “I can see a future,” Tsunami answered. “One where it takes me the next three years to answer all your questions.” “REALLY?” Cricket gasped.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“But Hawthorn and Sequoia did terrible things, too. The HiveWings would be right to want them to be punished … but they would be wrong to want the same for the whole LeafWing tribe. So maybe … Maybe I need to think about that, too. Hawthorn, Sequoia, and Wasp. I should be angry at them — I can be furious at them. I can fight Wasp without hating the entire HiveWing tribe. I can free the HiveWings and spare their lives without betraying my quest. Because Wasp is the real enemy: Wasp and her mind control.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“I also wouldn’t have eaten that thing this morning that looked like a slug and turned out to be a slug.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“It was sort of difficult to rage-fly on the power of hating HiveWings when there were two HiveWings flying right alongside her, being extremely noisy and distracting”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle

“They call themselves SeaWings,” Willow whispered. “And they come from the Distant Kingdoms.”
― Tui T. Sutherland, The Poison Jungle