Quotes by Norton Juster

Now, remember: theyre not for eating, but for listening, because youll often be hungry for sounds as well as food. Here are street noises at night, train whistles from a long way off, dry leaves burning, busy department stores, crunching toast, creaking bed springs, and of course, all kinds of laughter. Theres a little of each, and in far off, lonely places, I think you will be glad to have them.

Of course, if youve ever gotten a surprise package, you can imagine how puzzled and excited Milo was; and if youve never gotten one, pay close attention, because someday you might.

We never choose which words to use, for as long as they mean what they mean to mean, we don’t care if they make sense or nonsense.

Dictionopolis is the place where all the words in the world come from. Theyre grown right here in our orchards.I didnt know that words grew on trees, said Milo timidly.Where did you think they grew? shouted the earl irritably. A small crowd began to gather to see the little boy who didnt know that letters grew on trees.I didnt know they grew at all, admitted Milo even more timidly. Several people shook their heads sadly.Well, money doesnt grow on trees, does it? demanded the count.Ive heard not, said Milo.Then something must. Why not words? exclaimed the undersecretary triumphantly. The crowd cheered his display of logic and continued about its business.

And thats why people no longer care which words they use as long as they use lots of them.

I never knew words could be so confusing, Milo said to Tock as he bent down to scratch the dogs ear.Only when you use a lot to say a little, answered Tock.Milo thought this was quite the wisest thing hed heard all day.

It has been a long trip, said Milo, climbing onto the couch where the princesses sat; but we would have been here much sooner if I hadnt made so many mistakes. Im afraid its all my fault.You must never feel badly about making mistakes, explained Reason quietly, as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.

...its very much like your trying to reach infinity. You know that its there, you just dont know where-but just because you can never reach it doesnt mean that its not worth looking for.

I am the Terrible Trivium, demon of petty tasks and worthless jobs, ogre of wasted effort, and monster of habit. The Humbug dropped his needle and stared in disbelief while Milo and Tock began to back away slowly. Dont try to leave, he ordered, with a menacing sweep of his arm, for theres so very much to do, and you still have over eight hundred years to go on the first job. But why do only unimportant things? asked Milo, who suddenly remembered how much time he spent each day doing them. Think of all the trouble it saves, the man explained, and his face looked as if hed be grinning an evil grin - if he could grin at all. If you only do the easy and useless jobs, youll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just wont have the time. For theres always something to do to keep you from what you really should be doing, and if it werent for that dreadful magic staff, youd never know how much time you were wasting.

You werent thinking and you werent paying attention either. People who dont pay attention often get stuck in the Doldrums.

He paused again as a tear of longing rolled from cheek to lip with the sweet-salty taste of an old memory.

Is everyone who lives in Ignorance like you? asked Milo.Much worse, he said longingly. But I dont live here. Im from a place very far away called Context.

Have you ever heard the wonderful silence just before the dawn? Or the quiet and calm just as a storm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence when you havent the answer to a question youve been asked, or the hush of a country road at night, or the expectant pause of a room full of people when someone is just about to speak, or, most beautiful of all, the moment after the door closes and youre alone in the whole house? Each one is different, you know, and all very beautiful if you listen carefully.

Would it be possible for me to see something from up there? asked Milo politely.You could, said Alec, but only if you try very hard to look at things as an adult does.Milo tried as hard as he could, and, as he did, his feet floated slowly off the ground until he was standing in the air next to Alex Bings. He looked around very quickly and, an instant later, crashed back down to the earth again.Interesting, wasnt it? asked Alex.Yes, it was, agreed Milo, rubbing his head and dusting himself off, but I think Ill continue to see things as a child. Its not so far to fall.

...mirages are things that arent really there that you can see very clearly.How do you see something that isnt there?...sometimes its much simpler than seeing things that are...

A slavish concern for the composition of words is the sign of a bankrupt intellect. Be gone, odious wasp! You smell of decayed syllables.

You must never feel badly about making mistakes ... as long as you take the trouble to learn from them. For you often learn more by being wrong for the right reasons than you do by being right for the wrong reasons.

I wouldnt eat too many of those [half-baked ideas] if I were you. They may look good, but you can get terribly sick of them.-Tock

I know one thing for certain; its much harder to tell whether you ARE lost than whether you WERE lost, for, on many occasions where youre going is exactly where you are. On the other hand, you often find that where youve been is not at all where you should have gone, and, since its much more difficult to find your way back from someplace youve never left, I suggest you go there immediately and then decide.

Rhyme and reason answer all problems