Tess Quotes

“Life was rich with a different kind of urgency.”

“She could feel his eyes on her almost constantly, but every time she had glanced across he had looked away. If she quickened her pace, he quickened his. If she stopped and pretended to examine something in the hedge, he stopped as well, always watching. It was almost as if he was teasing her and it unnerved her.”

“What she did not want was the embarrassment of someone trying to make friends with her. It was easier to stay out of it from the beginning, rather than face the disappointment which inevitably followed.”

“Soon she would be forgotten and ignored, dismissed as a swot or as too stuck up to bother with. That was painful sometimes, but it was easier than having to pretend to be like everyone else.”

“Everything and anything in life was bearable as long as she had this. What did it matter if she had to wear that absurd uniform and go to that snooty school. At the weekends she could be a squirrel, or a cat, or rabbit, or lolloping wolfhound or busy, rat-hunting terrier.”

“Squirrels do as squirrels must. It didn’t matter that she would not be there to hibernate during the winter. Autumn was collecting time, so collect is what she did.”

“She tugged again, and all at once was aware of another of those sudden woodland silences which always spell a warning.”

“She lifted her hand, and there was no hand, just the great, brown paw lifting to her face to feel the long snout and the round, furry ears. Tess had turned into a bear.”

“Tess gave herself over completely to the game and the joy of companionship. It happened occasionally that she met a friend of a sort in the animal world, but as with human friends, it always seemed to be hard work. This was different. The chipmunk was as eager for company as she was.”