305 Quotes by Tove Jansson

"The sea had changed. It was dark green now with white-horses, and the rocks shone yellow like phosphorus. Rumbling solemnly the thunder-storm came up from the south. It spread its black sail over the sea; it spread over half the sky and the lightning flashed with an ominous glint."It's coming right over the island," thought Snufkin with a thrill of joy and excitement. He imagined he was sailing high up over the clouds, and perhaps shooting out to sea on a hissing flash of lightning."

"Sniff lay under his blanket and screamed."Now it's right over us!" said Moominpappa. And at that moment a giant flash of lighting lit up the island, followed by a rending crash."That struck something!" said the Snork.It was really a bit too much. The Hemulen sat holding his head. "Trouble! Always trouble!" he muttered."

"Alexander was in the grip of a passion for perfection. He was not aware of how closely, how perilously, perfectionism and fanaticism are related."

"The Muskrat was still lying in his hammock and thinking. "Good afternoon, Uncle Muskrat!" said Moomintroll. "Do you know that things have begun to happen?""Nothing new in any case," said the Muskrat."Oh, yes," said Moomintroll. "Completely new. There are people in the forest making secret signs everywhere -- threats or warnings or something. When the silk-monkey and I came home a little while ago, somebody had arranged mamma's jam pears in a pattern that looked like a star with a tail."

"The Hemulen, moaning piteously, thrust his nose into the sand. "This has gone too far!" he said. "Why can't a poor innocent botanist live his life in peace and quiet?""Life is not peaceful," said Snufkin, contentedly."

"Moomintroll's mother and father always welcomed all their friends in the same quiet way, just adding another bed and putting another leaf in the dining-room table. And so Moominhouse was rather full -- a place where everyone did what they liked and seldom worried about tomorrow. Very often unexpected and disturbing things used to happen, but nobody ever had time to be bored, and that is always a good thing."

"Are you too frightened to go any farther?" asked the silk-monkey, who found all this very easy, having four legs herself."I'm never afraid," answered Sniff. "But I think the view is better from here."

"The spring evenings had grown long, and it was hard to darken the room. They sat in their separate chairs and waited for Fassbinder, their silence a respectful preparation. They had waited this way for their meetings with Truffaut, Bergman, Visconti, Renoir, Wilder, and all the other honored guests that Jonna had chosen and enthroned–the finest present she could give her friend."

"Only farmers and summer guests walk on the moss. What they don't know - and it cannot be repeated too often - is that moss is terribly frail. Step on it once and it rises the next time it rains. The second time, it doesn't rise back up. And the third time you step on moss, it dies."

"No well-bred person goes ashore on someone else's island when there's no one home. But if they put up a sign, then you do it anyway, because it's a slap in the face"