Orders Enough to Start With

My Mom and I started a mother-daughter book club, reading a couple of classics neither of us has ever read. First we read The Princess and the Goblin, which I wrote a little about here. Now we are reading The Princess and Curdie. Both are by George MacDonald, a writer from northern Scotland who lived from 1824-1905. They are children's stories, but many aspects of the writing can be appreciated by an adult. There is something so wonderful about children's stories, and how truth about love is made evident through story and fantasy. It is not just for children. We are all children at heart, with much to learn.

Even if you never read this book or know about this imaginative writing, here are some if quotes that, even if you know nothing about the story, contain little life lessons in just a few sentences. I see this type of lesson-within-the-story greatly influenced the writings of C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Madeleine L'Engle. I love how the morals are weaved through the story and lessons learned through the characters' trials.

"Horrible!" said Irene.
"Horrible indeed; but we must not try to get rid of horrible things by refusing to look at them, and saying they are not there." (pg.157)

"You say you didn't mean any harm: did you mean any good, Curdie?"
"No," answered Curdie.
"Remember, then, that whoever does not mean good is always in danger of harm." (pg.25)

"You must not be like a dull servant that needs to be told again and again before he will understand. You have orders enough to start with, and you will find, as you go on, and as you need to know, what you have to do. But I warn you that perhaps it will not look the least like what you may have been fancying I should require of you." (pg.78-79)