Tarka the Otter Quotes

“The icy casings of leaves and grasses and blades and sprigs were glowing and hid in a mist of sun-fire.”

“From far away there came a deep rolling sound, and a screaming cheer. The otter instantly returned to her cubs and stood over them in a protective attitude, for she knew that hounds were hunting the water.”

“When the bees’ feet shake the bells of the heather, and the ruddy strings of the sap-stealing dodder are twined about the green spikes of the furze, it is summertime on the commons.”

“The first otter to go into deep water had felt the same fear that Tarka felt that night; for his ancestors, thousands of years ago, had been hunters in woods and along the banks of rivers, running the scent of blooded creatures on the earth...”

“And so the original water fear was born with Tarka, whose mind had to overlay a weak instinct with habit, just as his ancestors had done when he was hungry.”

“The yawn marked the end of a mood of anxiety.”

“Deadlock was the truest marking hound in the country of the Two Rivers.”

“The tree was a friend to all, and it had one human friend, who as a child had seen it first when trailing in summer after her father hunting the otters of the brook.”

“She was boisterous with joy after the day’s fright, and had been shamming death in fun.”

“The noise of the great waters filled Tarka with joy. A log rolled in front of him, and he scrambled on it, to jump off again with happy cries.”