Dr. Seuss Quotes

“I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am.”

“Would you like them in a house? Would you like them with a mouse?”

“Would you eat them in a box? Would you eat them with a fox?”

“Say! I like green eggs and ham! I do! I like them, Sam-I-am!”

“If you will let me be, I will try them. You will see.”

“You may like them. You will see. You may like them in a tree!”

“You do not like them. So you say. Try them! Try them! And you may. Try them and you may, I say.”

“Say! In the dark? Here in the dark! Would you, could you, in the dark?” “I would not, could not, in the dark.”

“Would you? Could you? In a car? Eat them! Eat them! Here they are.”

“I would not, could not, in the rain. Not in the dark. Not on a train. Not in a car. Not in a tree. I do not like them, Sam, you see.”

“Would you, could you, on a boat?”

“The old Once-ler still lives here. Ask him. He knows.”

“Then he grunts, ‘I will call you by Whisper-Ma-Phone, for the secrets I tell are for your ears alone.‘”

“Describe him? That’s hard, I don’t know if I can.”

“Get over here fast! Take the road to North Nitch. Turn left at Weehawken. Sharp right at South Stitch.”

“And I first saw the trees! The Truffula trees! The bright-colored tufts of the Truffula trees! Mile after mile in the fresh morning breeze.”

“I meant no harm. I most truly did not. But I had to grow bigger. So bigger I got.”

“He’ll tell you, perhaps . . . if you’re willing to pay.”

“On the end of a rope he lets down a tin pail and you have to toss in fifteen cents and a nail and the shell of a great-great-great- grandfather snail.”

“Sir! You are crazy with greed. There is no one on earth that would buy that fool Thneed!”

“Then he pulls up the pail, makes a most careful count to see if you’ve paid him the proper amount.”

″[B]usiness is business! And business must grow regardless of crummies in tummies, you know.”

“And my poor Bar-ba-loots are all getting the crummies because they have gas, and no food, in their tummies.”

“A Thneed’s a Fine-Something-That-All-People-Need.”

“And on special dank midnights in August, he peeks out of the shutters and sometimes he speaks.”

“It’s a shirt. It’s a sock. It’s a glove. It’s a hat.”

“I called all my brothers and uncles and aunts and I said, ‘Listen here! Here’s a wonderful chance for the whole Once-ler Family to get mighty rich.‘”

“I went right on biggering . . . selling more Thneeds. And I biggered my money, which everyone needs.”

“I felt a great leaping of joy in my heart.”

“And he spoke with a voice that was sharpish and bossy.”

“No one can sing who has smog in his throat.”

“That was long, long ago. But each day since that day I’ve sat here and worried and worried away.”

“Then, of course, those with stars all got frightfully mad. To be wearing a star now was frightfully bad.”

″‘Good grief!’ yelled the ones that had stars at the first. ‘We’re still the best Sneetches and they are the worst. But, now, how in the world will we know,’ they all frowned, if which kind is what, or the other way round?‘”

“Things are not quite as bad as you think.”

“And that handy machine working very precisely removed all the stars from their tummies quite nicely.”

“Then, when every last cent of their money was spent, the Fix-it-Up Chappie packed up and he went.”

“Off again! On again! In again! Out again!”

“The day they decided that Sneetches were Sneetches. And no kind of Sneetch is the best on the beaches.”

“I’ve come here to help you. I have what you need. And my prices are low. And I work at great speed. And my work is one hundred per cent guaranteed.”

“Whether this one was that one...or that one was this one or which one was what one...or what one was who.”

“Then they yelled at the ones that had stars at the start. We’re exactly like you! You can’t tell us apart. We’re all just the same, now, you snooty old smarties! And now we can go to your frankfurter parties.”

“That day, all the Sneetches forgot about stars, and whether they had one, or not, upon thars.”

“And it klonked. And it bonked. And it jerked. And it berked And it bopped them about. But the thing really worked!”

“Packed it up with their presents, their ribbons, their wrappings, Their snoof and their fuzzles, their tringlers and trappings! Ten thousand feet up, up the side of Mount Crumpet, He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it!”

“Christmas Day will always be Just as long as we have we.”

“She stared at the Grinch and said, ‘Santy Claus, why, why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?‘”

“But this sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded glad!”

“With a smile to his soul, he descended Mount Crumpet Cheerily blowing “Who! Who!” on his trumpet.”

“And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say That the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day!”

“He brought back their snoof and their tringlers and fuzzles, Brought back their pantookas, their dafflers and wuzzles.”

“Christmas Day is in our grasp So long as we have hands to grasp.”

“Welcome Christmas. Bring your cheer, Cheer to all Whos, far and near.”

“Welcome Christmas while we stand Heart to heart and hand in hand.”

“He brought everything back, all the food for the feast! And he, he himself, the Grinch carved the roast beast!”

“He rode into Whoville. He brought back their toys. He brought back their floof to the Who girls and boys.”

“Why are they sad and glad and bad? I do not know. Go ask your dad.”

“I do not like this one so well. All he does is yell, yell, yell.”

″‘I’ll find it!’ cried Horton. ‘I’ll find it or bust! I SHALL find my friends on my small speck of dust!‘”

“Not one of them is like another. Don’t ask us why. Go ask your mother.”

″‘Believe me,’ said Horton, ‘I tell you sincerely, my ears are quite keen and I heard him quite clearly. I *know* there’s a person down there. And, what’s more, quite likely there’s two. Even three. Even four.‘”

“So call a big meeting. Get everyone out. Make every *Who* holler! Make every *Who* shout! Make every *Who* scream! If you don’t, every *Who* is going to end up in a Beezle-Nut stew!”

″*Everyone* seemed to be yapping or yipping! *Everyone* seemed to be beeping or bipping! But it *wasn’t enough,* all this ruckus and roar! He HAD to find someone to help him make more. He raced through each building! He searched floor-to-floor!”

“From sun in the summer. From rain when it’s fallish, I’m going to protect them. No matter how small-ish!”

″‘Of course,’ Horton answered. ‘Of course I will stick. I will stick by you small folks through thin and through thick!‘”

“Oh me! Oh my! Oh me! Oh my! What a lot of funny things go by.”

″‘My friend,’ came the voice, ‘you’re a *very* find friend. You’ve helped all us folks on this dust speck no end. You’ve saved all our houses, our ceilings and floors. You’ve saved all our churches and grocery stores.‘”

″‘My friends!’ cried the elephant. ‘Tell me! Do tell! Are you safe? Are you sound? Are you whole? Are you well?‘”

“And you very small persons will not have to die if you make yourselves heard! *So come one, now, and TRY!*”

“They’ve proved they ARE persons, no matter how small. And their whole world was saved by the Smallest of All!”

“Today is gone. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.”

“My town is called *Who*-ville, for I am a *Who* And we *Whos* are all thankful and grateful to you.”

“He will live at our house. He will grow and grow. Will our mother like this? We don’t know.”

“And Horton called back to the Mayor of the town, ‘You’re safe now. Don’t worry. I won’t let you down.‘”

“From east of the East-est to west of the West-est we’ve searched the whole world just to bring you the best-est.”

“And I wish I could do All these great things for you!”

“But you...You ARE YOU! And, now isn’t that pleasant!”

“All of it, all of it, All is for you!”

“It’s your Day of all Days! It’s the Best of the Best! So don’t waste a minute! Hop to it! Get dressed!”

“Because, after your party, as well you may guess, it will take twenty days just to sweep up the mess.”

“They smell like licorice! And cheese!”

“Shout loud at the top of your voice, ‘I AM I! ME! I am I! And I may not know why but I know that I like it!‘”

“If you’d never been born, then you might be an ISN’T! An Isn’t has no fun at all. No he disn’t.”

“Wake up! For Today is your Day of all Days!”

“A Present! A-ha! Now what kind shall I give...? Why, the kind you’ll remember as long as you live!”

“Now! Now! Have no fear. Have no fear!” said the cat. “My tricks are not bad,” said the Cat in the Hat.

“But that is not all. Oh no. That is not all!”

“The Great Birthday Bird! [...] This bird has a brain. He’s most beautifully brained with the brainiest bird-brain that’s ever been trained.”

“They’ll take us down fast to the Birthday Flower Jungle. The best-sniffing flowers that anyone grows we have grown to be sniffed by your own private nose.”

“That costs quite a lot. But I couldn’t care less. Today is your birthday! Today You are You! So what if it costs me a thousand or two.”

“Oh dear!” said the cat. “You do not like our game . . . Oh dear. What a shame! What a shame! What a shame!”

“Today [...] eat whatever you want [...] If you wish, you may eat with both hands and both feet. So get in there and munch. Have a big munch-er-oo!”

“Three cheers! I AM I!”

“If we didn’t have birthdays, you wouldn’t be you. If you’d never been born, well then what would you do? [...] Why, you might be a WASN’T!”

“I am what I am! That’s a great thing to be! If I say so myself, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!”

“But you have to be smart and keep watching their feet. Because sometimes they stand on their tiptoes and cheat.”

“Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, Was singing without any presents at all!”

“For, tomorrow, I know all the Who girls and boys Will wake bright and early. They’ll rush for their toys!”

“They’ll stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing. They’ll stand hand-in-hand, and those Whos will start singing!”

“Then he slid down the chimney, a rather tight pinch. But if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch.”

“And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise! There’s one thing I hate! All the NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!”

“From there to here, and here to there, funny things are everywhere.”

“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant…An elephant’s faithful, one hundred per cent!”

“Look at me! Look at me! Look at me NOW! It is fun to have fun But you have to know how.”

“‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more!’”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

″ The more that you READ, the more things you will KNOW. The more that you LEARN, the more places you’ll GO.”

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is You-er than You!”

“And I will eat the in the rain. And in the dark. And on a train. And in car. And in tree. They are so good, so good, you see!”

“Would you like them here or there?”

“And I would eat them in a boat, And I would eat them with a goat…”

“Could you, would you, with a goat? I would not, could not, with a goat!”

“You do not like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam-I-am.”

“A train! A train! A train! A train! Could you, would you, on a train?”

“I do not like them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse.”

“That Sam-I-am! That Sam-I-am! I do not like that Sam-I-am!”

“I could not, would not, on a boat. I will not, will not, with a goat. I will not eat them in the rain. I will not eat them on a train. Not in the dark! Not in a tree! Not in a car! You let me be! I do not like them in a box. I do not like them with a fox. I will not eat them in a house. I do not like them with a mouse. I do not like them here or there. I do not like them ANYWHERE!”

“Would you, could you, in the rain?”

“I will NOT go away. I do NOT wish to go!”

“I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny.”

“It is fun to have fun But you have to know how.”

“And this mess is so big And so deep and so tall, We cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!”

“The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house. All that cold, cold, wet day.”

“He should not be here, ” said the fish in the pot. “he should not be here when your mother is not.”

“A lot of good tricks. I will show them to you. Your mother Will not mind at all if I do.”

“So all we could do was to Sit! Sit! Sit! Sit! And we did not like it. Not one little bit.”

“You will like these two things,” Said the cat with a bow.

He said, “Do I like this? Oh, no! I do not.”

“Then Sally and I Did not know what to say. Our mother was out of the house for the day.”

“Now look what you did!” Said the fish to the cat. “Now look at this house!”

“But I like to be here. Oh, I like it a lot!”

“And then something went BUMP! How that bump made us jump!”

“Kid, you’ll move mountains! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way!”

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is youer than you.”

“You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And you are the one who’ll decide where to go.”

“And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)”

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

“Don’t give up! I believe in you all. A person’s a person, no matter how small!”

“From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

“You’ll miss the best things if you keep your eyes shut.”

“It’s not about what it is, it’s about what it can become.”

“A book is just like life and anything can change.”

“So, open your mouth, lad! For every voice counts!”

“ASAP. Whatever that means. It must mean, ‘Act swiftly awesome pachyderm!”

“Now, the Star-Belly Sneetches had bellies with stars. The Plain-Belly Sneetches had none upon thars.”

“Day Play We play all day. Night Fight We fight all night.”

“A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.”

“I am the Lorax who speaks for the trees, which you seem to be chopping as fast as you please!”

“All those Nupboards in the Cupboards they’re good fun to have about. But that Nooth gush on my tooth brush...Him I could do without.”

“I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam-I-Am.”

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more!”

“Congratulations! Today is your day. You’re off to Great Places! You’re off and away!”

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.”

“With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet, you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.”

“OH! THE PLACES YOU’LL GO! You’ll be on your way up! You’ll be seeing great sights! You’ll join the high fliers who soar to high heights.”

“Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best. Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.”

“I’m sorry to say so but, sadly, it’s true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.”

“And when you’re in a Slump you’re not in for much fun. Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.”

“The Waiting Place...for people just waiting. Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, or a plane to go or the mail to come, or the rain to go or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow or the waiting around for a Yes or No or waiting for their hair to grow. Everyone is just waiting. “Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for the wind to fly a kite or waiting around for Friday night or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake or a pot to boil, or a Better Break or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants or a wig with curls, or Another Chance. Everyone is just waiting.”

“Somehow you’ll escape all that waiting and staying. You’ll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.”

“KID, YOU’LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!”

“On and on you will hike, And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.”

“Oh, the places you’ll go! There is fun to be done! There are points to be scored. There are games to be won.”

“And when you’re alone, there’s a very good chance you’ll meet things that scare you right out of your pants. There are some, down the road between hither and yon, that can scare you so much you won’t want to go on.”

“But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak.”

“You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.”

″[T]he magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all. Fame! You’ll be as famous as famous can be, with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.”

“Except when you don’t. Because, sometimes, you won’t.”

“I’m afraid that some times you’ll play lonely games too. Games you can’t win ‘cause you’ll play against you.”

“All Alone! Whether you like it or not, Alone will be something you’ll be quite a lot.”

“Do you like green eggs and ham?”

“But, because they had stars, all the Star-Belly Sneetches Would brag, “We’re the best kind of Sneetch on the beaches.”

″‘Just pay me your money, then hop right aboard!’ So they clambered inside. Then the big machine roared.”

“We know who is who! Now there isn’t a doubt. The very best Sneetches are Sneetches without.”

“I never take a step to one side.”

“I’ll make you, again, the best Sneetches on beaches and all it will cost you is ten dollars eaches.”

“Never budge! That’s my rule. Never budge in the least! Not an inch to the west! Not an inch to the east! I’ll stay here, not budging! I can and I will if it makes you and me and the whole world stand still!”

“Every Who down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot. But the Grinch who lived just North of Whoville did not!”

“Then he got an idea! An awful idea! The Grinch got a wonderful, awful idea!”

“Then he growled, with his Grinch fingers nervously drumming, ‘I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming!‘”

“They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do! Their mouths will hang open a minute or two Then the Whos down in Whoville will all cry boo-hoo!”

“Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant, Around the whole room, and he took every present!”

“I know just what to do!” The Grinch laughed in his throat. “I’ll make a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat.”

“But I think that the most likely reason of all May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.”

“It is fun to sing if you sing with a Ying. My Ying can sing like anything.”

″‘What terrible splashing!’ the elephant frowned. ‘I can’t let my very small persons get drowned! I’ve *got* to protect them. I’m bigger than they.’ So he plucked up the clover and hustled away.”

“In yellow socks I box my Gox. I box in yellow Gox box socks.”

“If you never did, you should. These things are fun and fun is good.”

″‘Find THAT!’ sneered the bird. ‘But I think you will fail.’ And he left with a flip of his black-bottomed tail.”

“Here are some who like to run. They run for fun in the hot, hot sun.”

“They walked all night from near to far. I would never walk. I would take a car.”

“I sing high and my Ying sings low, and we are not too bad, you know.”

“I like to hop all day and night from right to left and left to right.”

″‘Should I put this speck down? . . .’ Horton thought with alarm. ‘If I do, these small persons may come to great harm. I *can’t* put it down. And I *won’t!* After all A person’s a person. No matter how small.‘”

“While Horton chased after, with groans, over stones that tattered his toenails and battered his bones, and begged, ‘Please don’t harm all my little folks, who have as much right to live as us bigger folks do!‘”

“I know some good games we could play,” said the cat. “I know some good tricks,” said the Cat in the Hat.

“So I will eat them in a box. And I will eat them with a fox. And I will eat them in a house. And I will eat them with a mouse. And I will eat them here and there. Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!”

″ Way back in the days when the grass was still green and the pond was still wet and the clouds were still clean,”

″ We like to hop. We like to hop on top of Pop. ”

″ I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. ”

″ PAT CAT Pat sat on a cat. PAT BAT Pat sat on a bat. ”

“SAD DAD BAD HAD Dad is sad. Very, very sad. He had a bad day. What a day Dad had! ”

″ Then we heard the tree fall, the very last Truffula Tree of them all! ”

“UP PUP Pup is up. CUP PUP Pup in cup. PUP CUP Cup on pup.”

″ In no time at all, I had built a small shop. Then I chopped down a Truffula Tree with one chop. ”

“STOP You must not hop on Pop. ”

“ALL TALL We all are tall. ALL SMALL We all are small. ”

″ NO PAT NO Don’t sit on that. ”

“You’re glumping the pond where the Humming-fish hummed! No more can they hum, for their gills are all glummed! ”

“ALL FALL Fall off the wall. ”

″ HE ME He is after me. HIM JIM Jim is after him. ”

“Knox in box. Fox in socks.”

“Chicks with bricks come. Chicks with blocks come. Chicks with bricks and blocks and clocks come. ”

″ Look, sir. Look, sir. Mr. Knox, sir. Let’s do tricks with bricks and blocks, sir. Let’s do tricks with chicks and clocks, sir.”

“Feet, Feet, Feet. How many, many feet you meet.”

“Here come clown feet. Small feet, Big feet.”

“Left foot. Right foot. Feet. Feet. Feet. Oh, how many feet you meet!”

“I don’t like this trick, sir. My tongue isn’t quick quick or slick, sir. I get all those ticks and clocks, sir, mixed up with chicks and tocks, sir. I can’t do it, Mr. Fox, sir. ”

“Mr. Fox, sir. I won’t do it. I can’t say it. I won’t chew it.”

″ Left foot, Left foot Right foot, Right. Feet in the morning. Feet at night. Left foot, Left foot, Left foot, Right. Wet foot, Dry foot. High foot, Low foot. ”

“Front feet, Back feet. Red feet, Black feet. Left foot, Right foot.”

“Slow feet, Quick feet. Trick feet, Sick feet. Up feet, Down feet.”

“His feet, Her feet. Fuzzy fur feet.”

“In the house, and on the street how many, many feet you meet.”

“More and more feet Twenty-four feet Here come more and more………….. ……….and more feet!”

“Very well, since you insist... You want a vacation. Go fly off and take it. I’ll sit on your egg and try not to break it. I’ll stay and be faithful. I mean what I say.”

“The first thing to do is prop up this tree and make it much stronger. That has to be done before I get on it. I must weigh a ton.”

“Then carefully, tenderly, gently he crept up the trunk to the nest where the little egg slept.

“And he sat all day and he kept the egg warm... And he sat all that night through a terrible storm. ”

“And having such fun, such a wonderful rest, decided she’d NEVER go back to her nest!”

“I’ll stay on this egg and I won’t let it freeze. I meant what I said and I said what I meant... An elephant’s faithful one hundred per cent!”

“You stole it from me! Get off of my nest and get out of my tree!”

“It had ears, and a tail, and a trunk just like his!”

“It’s an elephant-bird!! And it should be, it should be, it SHOULD be like that! Because Horton was faithful! He sat and he sat! He meant what he said and he said what he meant... and they sent him home happy, one hundred per cent!

“Old Horton the Elephant thinks he’s a bird!”

“Horton was lonely. He wanted to play. But he sat on the egg and continued to say: ‘I meant what I said, I said what I meant, an elephant is faithful one hundred per cent!”

“Did he run? He did not! HORTON STAYED ON THAT NEST! He held his head high and threw out his chest and looked at the hunters as much as to say: ‘shoot if you must but I won’t run away!’ ”

“Don’t shoot him. We’ll catch him. That’s just what we’ll do! Let’s take him alive. Why, he’s terribly funny! We’ll sell him back home to a circus, for money!”

″ If you keep your eyes open enough, oh, the stuff you will learn!”

″ You can learn to read music and play a Huz-Zut if you keep your eyes open. But not with them shut.”

″ I can read in red. I can read in blue. I can read in pickle color too.”

“When I keep them open I can read with much more speed. You have to be a speedy reader ‘cause there’s so much to read!

″ You can learn about SAD, and GLAD, and MAD!”

″ You might learn a way to earn a few dollars. ”

“If you read with your eyes shut you’re likely to find that the place where you’re going is far, far behind.”

“That’s why I tell you to keep your eyes wide. Keep them wide open.”

“Oh, the wonderful things Mr. Brown can do! ”

″ He can go like a cow. He can go MOO MOO. ”

“I would not like them here or there. I would not like them anywhere.”