42
" Before he could finish, the poor donkey—whether from fatigue or because he could no longer bear the indignity of such a jiggly rider—went down. Oskar’s eyes bulged as he soared through the air toward the clearing where Janner stood. He flew with a surprising grace, hair trailing behind, spectacles dangling, his mouth forming a perfect O as the reins, still firmly in his grip, snapped taut and flipped the round man over to land on his back at Janner’s feet. The donkey brayed. Oskar lay on the ground, blinking, surprised he wasn’t dead. "
― Andrew Peterson , North! or Be Eaten (The Wingfeather Saga, #2)
46
" After a long, winding climb over gravel and boulder, the Igibys, Podo, and Oskar reached level ground. Soft green grass stretched before them for a short distance before the trees of the forest gathered into a green wall. They stood in a clearing roughly the size of the Glipwood Township, an oasis of open space surrounded by glipwood trees. The area was littered with large stones, but they weren’t the rounded boulders of the falls. They were squared, stacked in places, and overgrown with weeds. Beneath the grass, the trail they followed up from the river became a cobbled roadway, the stones the ruins of a cluster of "
― Andrew Peterson , North! or Be Eaten (The Wingfeather Saga, #2)
47
" The commotion jarred Nugget out of his trance. The great dog barked and tensed his body, taking in the situation as if he had just woken from a dream. When Nugget saw the cow, he pounced at the opening in the floor, which nearly sent Leeli flying from his back. When he landed, the patchwork of branches where they stood shifted and revealed more of the toothy cow’s head. The brothers and their grandfather looked at one another long enough to share the realization that they were about to fall—and then they did. Nugget crashed to the ground. Leeli landed in the soft fur of her dog’s flank, and Janner, Tink, and Podo followed, head over heels, slamming "
― Andrew Peterson , North! or Be Eaten (The Wingfeather Saga, #2)
59
" Leeli sat astride Nugget, her hands on the tufts of black fur that gathered at the sides of her dog’s great head, her newest crutch slung with twine over her shoulder. Tink sat just behind his sister with his bow ready. Nia held the tired donkey’s reins and ran a soothing hand along its jaw. When Oskar tried to mount the donkey, it fixed him with a surly eye and brayed. “All right, lads and lasses,” Podo shouted, “we’re off at a quick pace, hear?” “But Grandpa, what about Uncle Peet?” Leeli asked. "
― Andrew Peterson , North! or Be Eaten (The Wingfeather Saga, #2)