Virginia Lee Burton Quotes

‘When people used to stop and watch them, Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne used to dig a little faster and a little better.”

“Then suddenly it was quiet. Slowly the dirt settled down. The smoke and steam cleared away, and there was the cellar, all finished. The sun was just going down behind the hill. ”

“Everybody started talking at once, and everybody had a different idea, and everybody thought that his idea was the best.”

“Never had Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne had so many people to watch them; never had they dug so fast and so well; and never had the sun seemed to go down so fast.”

“All the other steam shovels were being sold for junk, but Mike loved Mary Anne. He couldn’t do that to her.”

″ ‘Sure,’ said Mike, ‘but Mary Anne can dig as much in a day as a hundred men can dig in a week.’ Though he wasn’t quite sure that this was true.”

“Suddenly the little boy said, ‘How are they going to get out?’ ”

“Mike Mulligan had a steam shovel, a beautiful red steam shovel. Her name was Mary Anne.”

“There they’ll be, Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne...Mike in his rocking chair and Mary Anne beside him, warming up the meetings in the new town hall.”

“They left the canals and the highways and the big cities where no one wanted them anymore and went away out in the country.”

“The Litte House was very happy as she sat on the hill and watched the countryside around her. She watched the sun rise in the morning and she watched the sun set in the evening.”

“This Little House shall never be sold for gold or silver and she will live to see our great-great-grandchildren’s great-great-grandchildren living in her.”

“Way off in the distance she could see the lights of the city. The Little House was curious about the city and wondered what it would be like to live there.”

“One day the Little House was surprised to see a horseless carriage coming down the winding country road...Pretty soon there were more of them on the road and fewer carriages pulled by horses.”

“Everyone and everything moved much faster now than before. ”

“The Little House was very sad and lonely. Her paint was cracked and dirty... Her windows were broken and her shutters hung crookedly. She looked shabby...”

“When the Little House saw the green grass and the birds singing, she didn’t feel sad anymore.”

“As the Little House settled down on her new foundation, she smiled happily. Once again she could watch the sun and moon and stars. Once again she could watch Spring and Summer and Fall and Winter come and go.”

“Never again would she be curious about the city...Never again would she want to live there...The stars twinkled above her...The new moon was coming up...It was Spring...And all was quiet and peaceful in the country.”

“No one wanted to live in her or take care of her anymore. She couldn’t be sold for gold or silver, so she just stayed there and watched.”