Leo Leonni Quotes

“Oh no, I am gathering words. For the winter days are long and many, and we’ll run out of things to say.′ ”

″ ‘Frederick, why don’t you work?’ they asked. ‘I do work,’ said Frederick. ‘I gather sun rays for the cold dark winter days.’ ”

″ ‘I gather colors,’ answered Frederick simply. ‘For winter is gray.’ ”

“One is the Springmouse who turns on the showers. Then comes the Summer who paints in the flowers. The Fallmouse is next with the walnuts and wheat. And Winter is last…with little cold feet.”

“All along the meadow where the cows grazed and the horses ran, there was an old stone wall. In that wall, not far from the barn and the granary, a chatty family of field mice had their home.”

“Aren’t we lucky the seasons are four? Think of a year with one less…or one more?”

″ ‘Close your eyes,’ said Frederick, as he climbed on a big stone. ‘Now I send you the rays of the sun. Do you feel how their golden glow…’ And as Frederick spoke of the sun the four little mice began to feel warmer.”

“Who scatters snowflakes? Who melts the ice? Who spoils the weather? Who makes it nice? Who grows the four-leaf clovers in June? Who dims the daylight? Who lights the moon? Four little field mice who live in the sky. Four little field mice…like you and I.”

“But little by little they had nibbled up most of the nuts and berries, the straw was gone, and the corn was only a memory. It was cold in the wall and no one felt like chatting.”

“And when he told them of the blue periwinkles, the red poppies in the yellow wheat, and the green leaves of the berry bush, they saw the colors as clearly as if they had been painted in their minds.”

“They ran through a tunnel. They chased little orange. They climbed a mountain. When they were tired they went home.”

“They all hugged each other with joy and the children played until suppertime.”

“Little Blue has many friends but his best friend is Little Yellow”

“there was Little Yellow! Happily they hugged each other and hugged each other until they were green”

“They hugged and kissed him. And they hugged little yellow too...but look...they became green!”

“Little blue and Little yellow were very sad. They cried big blue and yellow tears. They cried and cried until they were all tears”