"The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door, the scream of fire engines, or the realization that today is Monday which on Friday night was a comfortably long way off."

"Reality is not digital, an on-off state, but analog. Something gradual. In other words, reality is a quality that things possess in the same way that they possess, say, weight. Some people are more real than others, for example. It has been estimated that there are only about five hundred real people on any given planet, which is why they keep unexpectedly running into one another all the time."

"Perhaps that was something new, come to think of it. Not ambition for gold, or power, or land or all things that were familiar parts of the human world. Just ambition to be yourself, as big as possible. Not ambition for, but to be."

Lizzie, you will appreciate the following quote. After all, one knows where one stands with a flower and a smirnoff. That's it, any type of relationship is summed up and done there. ;)

"'He's useless,' said the mouse.
' 'He's in love,' said Gaspode. 'It's very tricky.'
'Yeah, I know how it ish,' said the cat sympathetically. 'People throwing old boots and things at you.'
'Old boots?" said the mouse.
'That'sh what's always happened to me when I've been in love,' said the Cat wistfully.
'It's different for humans,' said Gaspode uncertainly. 'You don't get so many boots and buckets of water thrown at you. It's more, er, flowers and arguing and stuff.'
The animals looked glumly at one another
'I've watched 'em,' said Squeak. 'She thinks he's an idiot.'
'That's all part of it,' added Gaspode. 'They call it romance.'
Cat shrugged. 'Give me boot every time. You know where you stand, with a boot.'"