Elizabeth George Speare Quotes & Sayings

Who would guess," he teased, "that I'd ever see you on a rooftop with straw in your hair?"
Kit giggled. "Are you saying I've turned into a crow?"
"Not exactly." His eyes were intensely blue with merriment. "I can still see the green feathers if I look hard enough. But they've done their best to make you into a sparrow, haven't they? — Elizabeth George Speare

All the way up the river she's been holding back somehow, waiting. Now you'll both have to wait. I'm not going to disappoint her, Kit. When I take you on board the Witch, it's going to be for keeps. — Elizabeth George Speare

She snatched at the dream that had comforted her for so long. It was faded and thin, like a letter too often read. — Elizabeth George Speare

She rolled over and stretched, blinking up at the blue sky. The tips of the long grasses swished gently in the breeze. The hot sun pressed down on her so that she felt hot and empty. Slowly, the meadow began to fulfill its promise. — Elizabeth George Speare

The dress that hung close to her head, waiting for the first rays of the sun to light it into beauty, symbolized the wonder of the past few days. — Elizabeth George Speare

restrictive life. What Kit — Elizabeth George Speare

That lame man you saw
is he grateful now? Is it worth it to get on his feet and spend the rest of his life dragging burdens like a mule? ... It's not much of a world, is it? Is it worth trying to bring Leah back into it?"
Thacia stood still in the road. "Oh, Daniel
yes! If only I could make you see, somehow, that it is!"
"All this
" she exclaimed, the sweep of her arm including the deepening blue of the sky, the shining lake in the distance, the snow-covered mountain far to the north. "So much! You must look at it all, Daniel, not just at the unhappy things. — Elizabeth George Speare

There is no escape if love is not there, Hannah had said. Had Hannah known when she herself had not even suspected? It was not escape that she had dreamed about, it was love. — Elizabeth George Speare

Daniel, he said. I would have you follow me.
Master! ... I will fight for you to the end!.
My loyal friend, he said, I would ask something much harder than that. Would you love for me to the end?
... I don't understand, he said again, You tell people about the kingdom. Are we not to fight for it?
The kingdom is only bought at a great price, Jesus said. There was one who came just yesterday and wanted to follow me. He was very rich, and when I asked him to give up his wealth, he went away.
I will give you everything I have!
... Riches are not keeping you from the kingdom, he said. You must give up your hate. — Elizabeth George Speare

The demons that make a person afraid are the hardest to cast out. — Elizabeth George Speare

After the keen still days of September, the October sun filled the world with mellow warmth ... The maple tree in front of the doorstep burned like a gigantic red torch. The oaks along the roadway glowed yellow and bronze. The fields stretched like a carpet of jewels, emerald and topaz and garnet. Everywhere she walked the color shouted and sang around her ... In October any wonderful unexpected thing might be possible. — Elizabeth George Speare

If you ask me, it's all that schooling. It takes the fun out of life, being cooped up like that day after day ... Books, now that's different. There's nothing like a book to keep you company of a long voyage. — Elizabeth George Speare

The two boys stood and looked at each other. There was no amusement and no scorn in Attean's eyes. How very strange, Matt thought. After all the brave deeds he had dreamed of doing to win this boy's respect, he had gained it at last by doing nothing, just by staying here and refusing to leave. — Elizabeth George Speare

Have you noticed her name?"
Kit leaned sideways to see the letters painted jauntily on the transom. "The WITCH! How did you dare? Does Hannah know?"
"Oh, she's not named after Hannah. I hadn't gone ten miles down the river that day before I knew I'd left the real witch behind. — Elizabeth George Speare

We can never know," Simon answered slowly. "God hides the future from man's eyes. We are forced to choose, not knowing. I have chosen Jesus. — Elizabeth George Speare

Hannah's magic cure for every ill," he teased. "Blueberry cake and a kitten. — Elizabeth George Speare

A man's first loyalty is to the soil he stands on. — Elizabeth George Speare

Tis a strange thing, that the only friends I have I found in the same way, lying flat in the meadows, crying as if their hearts would break. — Elizabeth George Speare

The impression of strength came from an extraordinary vitality that seemed to pulse in the very air around him — Elizabeth George Speare

Miriam felt astonished at herself. It was a new thing for her to step out so independently. Somehow, in the past month a tough little root of determination had been growing in her. Whether it was strong enough to support the desperate plan she had undertaken she would soon find out. — Elizabeth George Speare

I have no word of yours to assure me that our brief friendship held for you the same significance it held for me, but I must go on believing so. Every hope of the future is meaningless unless I have faith that you and I will share it together. — Elizabeth George Speare

How right- how incredibly, utterly right- and how impossible! — Elizabeth George Speare

As they came out from the shelter of the trees and the Great Meadows stretched out before them, Kit caught her breath. She had not expected anything like this. From that first moment, in a way she could never explain, the Meadows claimed her and made her their own. As far as she could see they stretched on either side, a great level sea of green, broken here and there by a solitary graceful elm. Was it the fields of sugar cane they brought to mind, or the endless reach of the ocean to meet the sky? Or was it simply the sense of freedom and space and light that spoke to her of home? — Elizabeth George Speare

What a pity every child couldn't learn to read under a willow tree ... — Elizabeth George Speare

No, I have not asked Jesus to join us. All I hope and long for now is that he will ask me to join him. — Elizabeth George Speare

There was something irresistible about popcorn. — Elizabeth George Speare

From that first moment, in a way she could never explain, the Meadows claimed her and made her their own. — Elizabeth George Speare