Diana Wynne Jones (1934 – 2011)
English author notable for her fantasy novels for children and adults, as well as a small amount of non-fiction.
"Unprintable things!" I said - only I didn't say that. I really said them.
"I never said my wishes were supposed to do anyone any good," said the genie. "In fact, I swore that they would always do as much harm as possible."
Mitt did not quite forget his perfect land. He remembered it, though a little fuzzily, next time the wind dropped, but he did not set off to look for it again. It was plain to him that soldiers only brought you back again if you went. It made him sad. When an inkling of it came to him in silence, or in scents, or, later, if the wind hummed a certain note, or a storm came shouting in from the sea and he caught the same note in the midst of its noise, he thought of his lost perfect place and felt for a moment as if his heart would break.
"One person ought to treat another person properly, even if the person's himself."
"What a strange idea!" Mordion said.
Adara was impressed. "How do you know that?"
"I learnt it," said Hathil. "It pays to learn things."
"I don't believe this!" Peter said. "Why is it respectable not to know how to do things? Is it respectable to light a fire with a bar of soap?"
"That," Charmain said haughtily, "was an accident."