Emil and the Detectives Quotes

“They say you should always assume the best about people until they’ve proven themselves to be otherwise.”

“Train compartments are odd affairs to begin with. Complete strangers find themselves together here and after a few hours know each other so well, it’s as if they’ve been best friends for years.”

“Humans are fundamentally good, they say. And that may well be true. But you can’t make it too easy on them, those good humans. Otherwise they might go bad all of a sudden.”

“And he has the best grades in gym. What else does he have? A pretty good heart and a bicycle horn.”

“She loves Emil more than anything, and she’s glad she can work and make money.”

“Some people insist that a cousin can be any distant relative, and that for the sake of precision I should introduce her as Emil’s first cousin.”

″‘Emil, Emil! You know perfectly well I can’t afford to get you another suit.’ And once again he remembers- too late- how she works all day to put food on the table and so he can go to school.”