to listen Quotes

“Pik listened impatiently to the prophecy. ‘Do the gods have nothing better to do than torment us?’ he whispered to his companions. ‘Things would be different if I were at Ah Kin Mai. I would just tell Chac to get to work.”

“I am always bent upon having my own way, without listening to those who wish me well, and how have a thousand times more sense than I have! But from this time forth I am determined to change and to become orderly and obedient.”

“Even the silence has a story to tell you. Just listen. Listen.”

“Just imagine for a day that you do not know anything, that what you believe could be completely false. Let go of your preconceptions and even your most cherished beliefs. Experiment. Force yourself to hold the opposite opinion or see the world through your enemy’s eyes. Listen to the people around you with more attentiveness. See everything as a source for education—even the most banal encounters. Imagine that the world is still full of mystery.”

Follow the fortunes of Clown-- who starts in a garbage can and ends up in a happy family-- in this perfectly pitched picture book. Master illustrator Quentin Blake has created an irrepressible character, an action-filled plot, and an eloquent story that can be read on several levels-- all without the use of a single word.

“Johnny pumped up the front tire, pumped up the back, listened to the echo from the inner tubes, let out a bit of air, jumped in some more, and checked the tires. Having completed that little ceremony, he handed over the pump to me. Me!”

“To the stars who listen- and the dreams that are answered.”

“My Lord Godalming, I, too, have a duty to do, a duty to others, a duty to you, a duty to the dead; and, by God, I shall do it! All I ask you now is that you come with me, that you look and listen; and if when later I make the same request you do not be more eager for its fulfilment even than I am, then—then I shall do my duty, whatever it may seem to me. And then, to follow of your Lordship’s wishes I shall hold myself at your disposal to render an account to you, when and where you will.”