Ronia, the Robber's Daughter Quotes

“Summer would not last forever; he knew it and Ronia knew it. But now they began to live as if it would, and as far as possible they pushed away all painful thoughts of winter.”

“Yes, she was lonely, but she missed no one in particular. Whom could she miss? Her days were full of life and pleasure, but they passed so quickly.”

“The fact was that Lovis liked to sing while she was having her baby. It made things easier, she insisted, and the baby would probably be all the jollier if it arrived on earth to the sound of a song.”

″‘A robber’s daughter, joy and gladness!’ shouted Matt. ‘A robber’s daughter- here she comes!‘”

“That Birk- after all, she had been pleased when she first saw him! And now, when she had met someone of her own age at last, why did it have to be a nasty little Borka robber.”

“I’m going to bed now, Lovis! Not to sleep. But to think and to curse, and woe better anyone who disturbs me!”

″‘That robber baby had better come soon,’ he said, ‘I’m old and rickety, and my robbing days will soon be over. It would be fine to see a new robber chief here before I’m finished.‘”

“But Matt did not want to hand over his daughter. He stood there gazing in admiration at her clear eyes, her little mouth, her black tufts of hair, her helpless hands, and he trembled with love. ‘You, baby, you’re already holding my robber heart in those little hands,’ he said. ‘I don’t understand it, but that’s how it is.‘”

“Wasn’t it lucky that Matt’s robbers were so much better, Ronia thought. She looked at them as they sat at the long table slurping up their soup. They were bearded and unwashed and noisy and wild, but no one was going to call them dirty devils in her hearing.”

″...Ronia had seen little more than this during her short life. She knew nothing of what lay outside Matt’s Fort. And one fine day Matt realized- however little he liked it- that the time had come. ‘Lovis,’ he said to his wife, ‘our child must learn what it’s like living in Matt’s Forest. Let her go!‘”