Things which are equally bad are also equally good. Try to look at the bright side of things. - Humbug Norton Juster More Quotes by Norton Juster More Quotes From Norton Juster Just because you have a choice, it doesn't mean that any of them 'has' to be right. Norton Juster choicesmean Expectations is the place you must always go to before you get to where you're going. Norton Juster phantom-tollboothexpectations But I find the best things I do, I do when I'm trying to avoid doing something else I'm supposed to be doing. You know, you're working on something. You get bugged, or you lose your enthusiasm or something. So you turn to something else with an absolute vengeance Norton Juster doing-youenthusiasmtrying But why do only unimportant things?" asked Milo, who suddenly remembered how much time he spent each day doing them. "Think of all the trouble it saves," the man explained, and his face looked as if he'd be grinning an evil grin--if he could grin at all. "If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you'll never have to worry about the important ones which are so difficult. You just won't have the time. For there's always something to do to keep you from what you really should be doing, and if it weren't for that dreadful magic staff, you'd never know how much time you were wasting. Norton Juster jobsmenthinking ...I'll continue to see things as a child. It's not so far to fall. Norton Juster phantom-tollboothchildrenfall In this box are all the words I know… Most of them you will never need, some you will use constantly, but with them you may ask all the questions which have never been answered and answer all the questions which have never been asked. All the great books of the past and all the ones yet to come are made with these words. With them there is no obstacle you cannot overcome. All you must learn to do is use them well and in the right places. Norton Juster maybookpast But just because you can never reach it, doesn’t mean that it’s not worth looking for. Norton Juster phantom-tollboothmean AHA!" interrupted Officer Shrift, making another note in his little book. "Just as I thought: boys are the cause of everything. Norton Juster littlesboysbook If you want sense, you'll have to make it yourself. Norton Juster phantom-tollboothifswant Do you think it will rain? Milo: But I thought you were the Weather Man? No, I'm the Whether man, for it is more important to know whether there will be weather, whether than what the weather will be. Norton Juster rainmenthinking You see. . . it's really quite strenuous doing nothing all day, so once a week we take a holiday and go nowhere, which was just where we were going when you came along. Would you care to join us? Norton Juster doing-nothingholidaycare We're right here on this very spot. Besides, being lost is never a matter of not knowing where you are; it's a matter of not knowing where you aren't - and I don't care at all about where I'm not. Norton Juster careknowingmatter They all looked very much like the residents of any small valley to which you've never been. Norton Juster residentsvalleys The Mathemagician nodded knowingly and stroked his chin several times. “You’ll find,” he remarked gently, “that the only thing you can do easily is be wrong, and that’s hardly worth the effort. Norton Juster chinseffortcan-do Oh dear, all those words again," thought Milo as he climbed into the wagon with Tock and the cabinet members. "How are you going to make it move? It doesn't have a--" "Be very quiet," advised the duke, "for it goes without saying. Norton Juster cabinetsdukesmoving And remember, also," added the Princess of Sweet Rhyme, "that many places you would like to see are just off the map and many things you want to know are just out of sight or a little beyond your reach. But someday you'll reach them all, for what you learn today, for no reason at all, will help you discover all the wonderful secrets of tomorrow. Norton Juster princesssightsweet You must never feel badly about making mistakes. Norton Juster phantom-tollboothchildren-bookmistake You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and not get wet. Norton Juster swimmingignoranceknowledge It's bad enough wasting time without killing it. Norton Juster phantom-tollboothwasting-timekilling For instance," said the boy again, "if Christmas trees were people and people were Christmas trees, we'd all be chopped down, put up in the living room, and covered in tinsel, while the trees opened our presents." "What does that have to do with it?" asked Milo. "Nothing at all," he answered, "but it's an interesting possibility, don't you think? Norton Juster boyspeoplethinking
