Home > Work > Princess Academy (Princess Academy, #1)
1 " I keep thinking about a tale my nurse used to read to me about a bird whose wings are pinned to the ground. In the end, when he finally frees himself, he flies so high he becomes a star. My nurse said the story was about how we all have something that keeps us down. "
― Shannon Hale , Princess Academy (Princess Academy, #1)
2 " Look no farther than your hand,Make a choice and take a stand. "
3 " There you go...let it all slide out. Unhappiness can't stick in a person's soul when it's slick with tears. "
4 " Throwing herself into learning helped Miri ignore the painful chill of solitude around her. "
5 " No wolf falters before the bite, so strike.No hawk wavers before the dive, so swing.No sun pauses before the set, just strike.No rain delays before the fall, just swing. "
6 " It doesn't seem to matter what we think...The prince will come up here and look at us as if we're barrels in a trader's wagon. And if I'm salt pork and he doesn't care for salt pork, then there's nothing I can do. "
7 " Far above the snow clouds, the moon must have been bright and full. Its light bled through the storm, marking each flake with a silvery luster and pouring a pale, peachy glow onto the mountain. "
8 " She spoke quickly, her tongue feeling like a hummingbird's wing; she was so afraid of boring him if she took too long. "
9 " I cut all day and I squared all night And I thought I'd mined the mountain's might Then I saw all my work by the bright dawn light The mountain was the world and my labor a mite "
10 " The east says it's dawn My mouth speaks a yawn My bed clings to me and begs me to stay I hear a work songSay winter is long I peel myself up and then make away "
11 " Miri laughed in return and felt her face go hot again, and it occurred to her that after so much burning her cheeks should be ashes by now. "
12 " Truth is when your mind and your gut agree. "
13 " What should I say? That I like him so much it hurts? "
14 " He did a very good impression of a stone column. "
15 " It must be a marvelous thing to feel so sure, to be able to meet someone's eyes and not look away. "
16 " Miri woke to the sleepy bleating of a goat. The world was as dark as eyes closed, but perhaps the goats could smell dawn seeping through the cracks in the house's stone walls. Though still half-asleep, she was aware of the late autumn chill hovering just outside her blanket, and she wanted to curl up tighter and sleep like a bear through frost and night and day. "
17 " Look no farther than your hand, make a choice and take a stand "
18 " If the world looks too big, I'll hold you that much tighterIf the breeze feels too chill, I'll make the fire hotterIf the storm booms too loud, I'll sing to you still louderI'll always keep you safe, my tiny, precious daughter "
19 " Tomorrow's a red flush in the western skyTomorrow's a black hush in the middle night Tomorrow swears the truth of now, now, and now In the trembling blue gasp of the morning light "
20 " The next afternoon break, Miri joined the others outside. The sun's glare off the snow made her eyes water, but it seemed the most beautiful day Miri could remember. The sky was achingly blue. The snow that crunched under her boot spread over stone and hillock like spilled cream. The cold made the world feel clean and new, a day for beginnings. "
