"The world is dark and light is precious. Come closer, dear reader. You must trust me. I am telling you a story."

“There is no predicting what kind of sentences you might say, thought Flora. For instance, who would ever think you would shout, "You're going to vacuum up that squirrel!"?”

“Anything could happen. Together, she and Ulysses could change the world. Or something.”

“Despereaux marveled at his own bravery. He admired his own defiance. And then, reader, he fainted. :(”

“Despereaux looked down at the book, and something remarkable happened. The marks on the pages, the "squiggles" as Merlot referred to them, arranged themselves into shapes. The shapes arranged themselves into words, and the words spelled out a delicious and wonderful phrase: Once upon a time”

“There is those hearts, reader, that never mend again once they are broken. Or if they do mend, they heal themselves is a crooked and lopsided way, as if sewn together by a careless craftsman.”

“Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark. Begin at the beginning. Tell Gregory a story. Make some light.”