Ariel Polhemus

“Puff, puff, chug, chug, went the Little Blue Engine. “I think I can - I think I can - I think I can - I think I can - I think I can - I think I can - I think I can - I think I can - I think I can.”

[…]

“I thought I could. I thought I could. I thought I could.

I thought I could.

I thought I could.

I thought I could.”
― Watty Piper, The Little Engine That Could

“Pericles let a moment pass, then another. The Spartans needed time to set in balance the risks of accepting the offer and the joys of being rich. Not as much time as he’d expected, though.”
― Yvonne Korshak, Pericles and Aspasia: A Story of Ancient Greece

“Like the blind man said as he wandered into a cannibal village . . .

“Alright! The country fair must be right up ahead. I smell barbecue!”
― John Rachel

“Keeping secrets from young ears only plants seeds in between them,”
― Barbara Kingsolver, Demon Copperhead