Quotes from The Shepherd's Crown

“FOR I CAN SEE THE BALANCE AND YOU HAVE LEFT THE WORLD MUCH BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT, AND IF YOU ASK ME, said Death, NOBODY COULD DO ANY BETTER THAN THAT. . . .”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Esme Weatherwax hadn't done nice. She'd done what was needed.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“I HAVE WATCHED YOUR PROGRESS WITH INTEREST, ESMERELDA WEATHERWAX, said the voice in the dark. He was firm, but oh so polite. But now there was a question in his voice. PRAY TELL ME, WHY WERE YOU CONTENT TO LIVE IN THIS TINY LITTLE COUNTRY WHEN, AS YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ANYTHING AND ANYBODY IN THE WORLD? “I don’t know about the world, not much; but in my part of the world I could make little miracles for ordinary people,” Granny replied sharply. “And I never wanted the world—just a part of it, a small part that I could keep safe, that I could keep away from storms. Not the ones of the sky, you”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“It's like chess, you know. The Queen saves the King.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“For a witch stands on the very edge of everything, between the light and the dark, between life and death, making choices, making decisions so that others may pretend no decisions have even been needed. Sometimes they need to help some poor soul through the final hours, help them to find the door, not to get lost in the dark.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Tiffany thought of the little spot in the woods where Granny Weatherwax lay. Remembered.

And knew that You had been right. Granny Weatherwax was indeed here. And there. She was, in fact, and always would be, everywhere.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“And Tiffany knew that if a witch started thinking of anyone as "just" anything, that would be the first step on a well-worn path that could lead to, oh, to poisoned apples, spinning wheels, and a too-small stove... and to pain, and terror, and horror and the darkness.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“There was a bond, you see, when we were both young, but she wanted to be the best of all witches and I hoped one day to be Archchancellor. Alas for us, our dreams came true.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Well, you know Esme. She wasn't one for that kind of thing - never one to push herself forward*

* She hadn't ever needed to. Granny Weatherwax was like the prow of a ship. Seas parted when she turned up.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Our rulers rule by consent, which means that we like having them as rulers, if they do what we want them to do.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Suddenly there was a humming in the air, and the bees were there too. They flowed out of Granny Weatherwax’s hive, circling Tiffany like a halo, crowning her, and swarm and girl stood on the threshold of the cottage and Tiffany reached out her arms and the bees settled along them, and welcomed her home.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Being a witch is a man’s job: that’s why it needs women to do it.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Then it came to her. She did not deserve to die. And she was not alone. She never would be. Not while her land was beneath her boots. Her land. The land of the Achings.

She was Tiffany Aching. Not Granny Weatherwax, but a witch in her own right. A witch who knew exactly who she was and how she wanted to do things. Her way. And she had not failed, because she had barely begun...”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“It was never easy being a witch. Oh, the broomstick was great, but to be a witch you needed to be sensible, so sensible that sometimes it hurt. You dealt with the reality—not what people wanted.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Don’t get your knickers in a knot just yet, Tiff,’ she said briskly. ‘It won’t solve anything an’ will just make you walk odd.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“A shepherd’s crown, not a royal one. A crown for someone who knew where she had come from. A crown for the lone light zigzagging through the night sky, hunting for a single lost lamb. A crown for the shepherd who was there to herd away the predators.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Why? Why not do things differently? Why should we do things how they have always been done before? And something inside her suddenly thrilled to the challenge.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“She taught me so much, she said to herself. She built me as we were walking around after the sheep, and she told me all those things that I needed to know, and the first thing was to look after people. Of course, the other thing had been to look after the sheep.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“PRAY TELL ME, WHY WERE YOU CONTENT TO LIVE IN THIS TINY LITTLE COUNTRY WHEN, AS YOU KNOW, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN ANYTHING AND ANYBODY IN THE WORLD? “I don’t know about the world, not much; but in my part of the world I could make little miracles for ordinary people,” Granny replied sharply. “And I never wanted the world—just a part of it, a small part that I could keep safe, that I could keep away from storms. Not the ones of the sky, you understand: there are other kinds.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Then she wondered, not for the first time, about the differences between wizards and witches. The main difference, she thought, was that wizards used books and staffs to create spells, big spells about big stuff, and they were men. While witches - always women - dealt with everyday stuff. Big stuff too, she reminded herself firmly. What could be bigger than births and deaths? but why shouldn't this boy want to be a witch? She had chosen to be a witch, so why couldn't he make the same choice? With a start, she realized it was her choice that counted here too. If she was going to be a sort of head witch, she should be able to decide this. She didn't have to ask any other witches. It could be her decision. Her responsibility. Perhaps a first step toward doing things differently?”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Our skills, you will find, could be our jailers.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Sometimes, Tiffany thought, I am so fed up with being young.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Tiffany found her mind filling up with an invisible gray mist, and in that thought there was nothing but grief. She could feel herself trying to push back time, but even the best witchcraft could not do that.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Thus proving that dreams that come true are not always the right dreams. Does wearing a glass slipper lead to a comfortable life? If everything you touch turns into marshmallows, won’t that make things a bit . . . sticky?”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“But the banging of the door as punctuation caused Tiffany to think and she thought suddenly, I want to do it my way. Not how the other witches think it should be done. I can't be Granny Weatherwax for them. I can only be me, Tiffany Aching.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Witches know that people die; and if they manages to die after a long time, leavin’ the world better than they went an’ found it, well then, that’s surely a reason to be happy. All the rest of it is just tidyin’ up.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“understand: there are other kinds.” AND WOULD YOU SAY YOUR LIFE BENEFITED THE PEOPLE OF LANCRE AND ENVIRONS? After a minute the soul of Granny Weatherwax said, “Well, not boasting, your willingness, I think I have done right, for Lancre at least. I’ve never been to Environs.” MISTRESS WEATHERWAX, THE WORD “ENVIRONS” MEANS, WELL, THEREABOUTS. “All right,” said Granny. “I did get about, to be sure.” A VERY GOOD LIFE LIVED INDEED, ESMERELDA. “Thank you,” said Granny. “I did my best.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

“Only Granny Weatherwax really knew Granny Weatherwax.”
― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown

About the author

Popular quotes

“I see specks
of the Universe in your eyes.

A body of stardust
that gives me a high.

And when we make love
the stars shine brighter than usual.

When we lie there
holding each other,

I see love making us.”
― Saiber, quote from Stardust and Sheets

“If it's not difficult, it's not worth it.”
― Carey Heywood, quote from Him

“Maybe you’re the brat, always busy trying to make things what they aren’t.”
― Lucian Bane, quote from Ruin Box Set 1-3

“I have a high tolerance for pain, but a low tolerance for discomfort.”
― Maria Semple, quote from This One is Mine

“A succulent wild woman is one of any age who feels free to fully express herself in every dimension of her life.”
― S.A.R.K., quote from Succulent Wild Woman

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.