“Oh, cursed fate! A fraction of a moment later, young Drosselmeier was as ugly as Princess Pirlipat had been. His shrunken body could hardly support the monstrously swollen head with the big protuberant eyes and the wide, hideously yawning mouth. ”
“What should I possibly have to tell you, oh venerable one? Perhaps that you’re searching far too much? That in all that searching, you don’t find the time for finding?”
“The story is told almost entirely through dialogue, giving lively energy to the petty bickering and narrow-mindedness that stand in the way of a woodland friendship.”
“You’re not an unnatural woman, Katsa. You can fight as other women can’t, but you’re not so different from other women. You’ll want babies. I’m certain of it.”
“There is Schmule, Kandinsky’s helper, whose aim is to beat Python Macklin in wrestling so that he can buy his girl a proper ring; Joe’s mother who wants to join his father in Africa.”