“Lie on the bridge and watch the water flowing past. Or run, or wade through the swamp in your red boots. Or roll yourself up and listen to the rain falling on the roof. It's very easy to enjoy yourself.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“The quiet transition from autumn to winter is not a bad time at all. It's a time for protecting and securing things and for making sure you've got in as many supplies as you can. It's nice to gather together everything you possess as close to you as possible, to store up your warmth and your thoughts and burrow yourself into a deep hole inside, a core of safety where you can defend what is important and precious and your very own. Then the cold and the storms and the darkness can do their worst. They can grope their way up the walls looking for a way in, but they won't find one, everything is shut, and you sit inside, laughing in your warmth and your solitude, for you have had foresight.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“The hemulen woke up slowly and recognised himself and wished he had been someone he didn't know.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“The hemulen woke up slowly and recognised himself and wished he had been someone he didn't know. He felt even tireder than when he went to bed, and here it was -- another day which would go on until evening and then there would be another one and another one which would be the same as all days are when they are lived by a hemulen.
He crept under the bedcover and buried his nose in the pillow, then he shifted his stomach to the edge of the bed where the sheets were cool. He took possession of the whole bed with outstretched arms and legs he was waiting for a nice dream that wouldn't come. He curled up and made himself small but it didn't help a bit. He tried being the hemulen that everybody like, he tried being the hemulen that no one liked. But however hard he tried he remained a hemulen doing his best without anything really coming off. In the end he got up and pulled on his trousers.
The Hemulen didn't like getting dressed and undressed, it gave him a feeling that the days passed without anything of importance happening. Even so, he spent the whole day arranging, organising and directing things from morning till night! All around him there were people living slipshod and aimless lives, wherever he looked there was something to be put to rights and he worked his fingers to the bone trying to get them to see how they ought to live.
It's as though they don't want to live well, the Hemulen thought sadly as he brushed his teeth. He looked at the photograph of himself with his boat which was been taken when the boat was launched. It was a beautiful picture but it made him feel even sadder.
I ought to learn how to sail, the Hemulen thought. But I've never got enough time...
Moominvalley in November
Chapter 5, THE HEMULEN”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“There are those who stay at home and those who go away, and it has always been so. Everyone can choose for himself, but he must choose while there is still time and never change his mind.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“But he thought all the strange words were beautiful, and he had never had a book of his own before.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Можно лежать на мосту и смотреть, как течет вода. Или бегать, или побродить по болоту в красных сапожках, или же свернуться клубочком и слушать, как дождь стучит по крыше. Быть счастливой очень легко.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Я в отпуске, - упрямо ответил Онкельскрут, - и я могу забывать все, что хочу. Забывать очень приятно. Я собираюсь забыть все, кроме некоторых мелочей, которые очень важны.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Есть на свете те, кто остается, и те, кто собирается в путь. И так было всегда. Каждый волен выбирать, покуда есть время, но после, сделав выбор, нельзя от него отступаться.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Подумать только, как легко приходят сегодня мысли, и все кажется таким простым. Стоит только выйти за дверь, сдвинув шляпу на затылок, не правда ли?”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Хемулът бавно се събуди, осъзна, че това е самият той и му се прииска да бе някой, когото не познава.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Медленный переход осени к зиме вовсе не плохая пора . Это пора , когда нужно собрать, привести в порядок и сложить все свои запасы , которые ты накопил за лето .
А как прекрасно собирать все , что есть у тебя , и складывать поближе к себе, собрать свое тепло и свои мысли, зарыться в глубокую норку — уверенное и надежное укрытие; защищать его как нечто важное, дорогое, твое собственное. А после пусть мороз, бури и мрак приходят, когда им вздумается. Они будут обшаривать стены, искать лазейку, но ничего у них не получится, все кругом заперто, а внутри, в тепле и одиночестве, сидит себе и смеется тот, кто загодя обо всем позаботился. Есть на свете те, кто остается, и те, кто собирается в путь.
И так было всегда. Каждый волен выбирать, покуда есть время, но после, сделав выбор, нельзя от него отступаться.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
“Хемуль не любил раздеваться и одеваться, это наводило его на мысль, что дни проходят, а ничего значительного не происходит.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominvalley in November
Tove Jansson
Born place: in Helsinki, Finland
Born date August 9, 1914
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― Kailin Gow, quote from Bitter Frost
“In this town to know three languages is an unnecessary luxury. It's not even a luxury, but a sort of unnecessary addition, like a sixth finger. We have a great deal of superfluous knowledge.”
― Anton Chekhov, quote from The Three Sisters
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― Tahir Shah, quote from House of the Tiger King: The Quest for a Lost City
“Personally, I felt pretty safe. Librarians are like priests. You can tell them you want information on just about any subject and they never look at you weird. It's like a rule or something. I figured even in a small town like this, my question wouldn't be the strangest one the librarian had heard. I didn't know if librarians had any sort of official privacy code, but I was counting on confidence. They're not big talkers. It comes from being forced to be quiet all the time.”
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