Charles Perrault > Quotes

“For you know that I myself am a labyrinth, where one easily gets lost.”
― Charles Perrault

“A dream is a wish your heart makes.”
― Charles Perrault, Cinderella

“FIRST MORAL

Good manners are not easy
They need a little care,
But when we least expect it
Bring rewards both rich and rare.


SECOND MORAL

Brute force or bribes of diamonds
Bend others to your will,
But gentle words have greater power
And gain more conquests still.”
― Charles Perrault, Perrault's Fairy Tales

“The less there is of eloquence, the more there is of love.”
― Charles Perrault, Perrault's Fairy Tales

“To wait so long/And want a man refined and strong/Is not at all uncommon. And yet to wait one hundred years/Without a tear, without a care/Makes for a very rare woman. So here our tale appears to show/How marriage deferred/Brings joy unheard/Nothing lost after a century or so. But others love with more ardor/And wed quickly out of passion/Whatever they do/I won’t deplore/Nor shall I preach a lesson.”
― Charles Perrault, The Sleeping Beauty and Other Classic French Fairy Tales

“To get a perfect husband takes a wait That’s just the way things are; and you shall find That virtuous patience is the only bait To land one handsome, wealthy, brave, and kind. And what a sweeter pause has ever been? To sleep a century of peaceful dreams, And then, to better dreams, awake again! Such wait is joy, however long it seems. A long delay brings even greater bliss; The greatest bliss must suffer long delays. The god of marriage oaths has promised this: The love that comes most slowly, longest stays.    This moral’s hard to hear, because it’s true.    To even utter it is hard to do.”
― Charles Perrault, Sleeping Beauty

“Her godmother, who was a fairy, said, "You would like to go to the ball, is that not so?”
― Charles Perrault, Cendrillon and the Glass Slipper: The French 'Cinderella' Fairytale

“Beauty in a woman is a treasure rare

Which we are never weary of admiring;

But a sweet temper is a gift more fair

And better worth the youthful maid's desiring.

That was the boon bestowed on Cinderella

By her wise godmother - her truest glory.

The rest was "nought but leather and prunella."

Such is the moral of this little story -

Beauties that charm become you more than dress,

And win a heart with far greater facility.

In short, in all things to ensure success,

The real Fairy Gift is amiability!

Talent, courage, wit, and worth

Are rare gifts to own on Earth;

But if you want to thrive at court -

So, at least, the wise report -

You will find you need some others,

Such as godfathers or mothers.”
― Charles Perrault

“You are a curse in my life!”
― Charles Perrault

“The young man was even more astonished by the cleverness and audacity of his cat.”
― Charles Perrault, Puss in Boots (illustrated): Illustration

“interpretando como estupidez lo que era un rasgo de la bondad de su alma.”
― Charles Perrault, Pulgarcito

“ever called her child.) The poor creature told her frankly all the matter, not without dropping out infinite numbers of diamonds. “In good faith,” cried the mother, “I must send my child thither. Come hither, Fanny, look what comes out of thy sister’s mouth when she speaks!”
― Charles Perrault, The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault: with original color illustrations by Harry Clarke

“of the culprit. Architecture next engaged his attention, and in 1657 he designed a house at Viry for his brother and supervised its construction.”
― Charles Perrault, The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault: with original color illustrations by Harry Clarke

“friend”
― Charles Perrault, The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault: with original color illustrations by Harry Clarke

“La bella Antigüedad fue siempre venerable;
pero no creo en absoluto que ella sea admirable.
Veo a los antiguos, sin doblar las rodillas;
son grandes, es cierto, pero hombres como nosotros.”
― Charles Perrault

“hand,”
― Charles Perrault, Sleeping Beauty

“Il Principe diede mano alla Principessa perché si alzasse: ella era già abbigliata e con gran magnificenza: ed egli fu abbastanza prudente da farle osservare, che era vestita come la mi’ nonna, e che aveva un camicino alto fin sotto gli orecchi, come costumava un secolo addietro.”
― Charles Perrault, Sleeping Beauty: Classics Illustrated

“En la mujer rico tesoro es la belleza, el placer de admirarla no se acaba jamás; pero la bondad, la gentileza la superan y valen mucho más.”
― Charles Perrault, La Cenicienta

“His language was clumsy, but all the more charming for it—little eloquence, much love.”
― Charles Perrault, La belle au bois dormant