HALE, Shannon: Forest Born

Forest Born

by

Shannon Hale

QUOTES FOR DISCUSSION

But that night she had a dream that would stick to her in years to come – a huge worm curled inside her middle, and when Rin opened her mouth, dozens of tiny worms crawled free, dripping from her lips, covering Razo and Ma and her entire family in wriggling slime.

The next morning, the dream clutching at her head, Rin crawled out of her shared cot and tripped away from the house to the nearest grouping of aspens. Her cheek against the papery bark, her small hands gripping the slender trunks, she closed her eyes and listened again for that calming green. It was not really listening , not with her ears, but she did not know how to explain it to herself.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 9

What good was she to her family broken? She could not keep pretending to be the same Rin, the never-fail Rin, the helpful Rin, not when she was about to break apart like burned-through wood. The trees had changed for some reason and she as no longer welcome in the Forest.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 33

She took Rin’s hands, rubbing them between her own. “You’ve not been yourself of late. And I know if you’d wanted me to know why you would have talked to be about it long ago so I don’t ask. But I tell you this – go out there and find whatever’s floated out of you and come back to us right quick.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 34

Keep moving, she thought. Back home, fleeing into the deep Forest had been a temporary reprieve. Escaping to the city had not cured her either. It seemed she was the problem not the trees. She wished she could run away from herself.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 72

“May I stay with you?” Rin whispered.

“It might be dangerous what we’re doing.”
“I’d still like to stay with you, Isi. Please. I’m better around you.”

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 99

Rin had heard the song before. The way some sang it the story was funny, and she recalled laughing at the girls’ silliness and the father’s inept compassion. But in the dark, with Enna’s voice reaching up and around, there was no humor. Only loneliness.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 109

Dasha rolled over and placed an arm around Rin, a gentle touch, a gesture of friendship. Rin flinched, but the touch made home seem real again, Ma beside her, her tunic wafting wood smoke and juniper, and everything safe for the night.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 109

After a time, her sleep became light, wakefulness and dreams tugging back and forth until wakefulness won. She opened her eyes. The dark was pulsing with remembered images – Dasha daring to speak up while Rin sat in a corner; Isi and Dasha rushing to help Enna, while Rin stepped back, her hands over her mouth.
She squeezed out of bed and padded to the window and the dim view of town. Man had said, “The longer you’re away from your family and your trees, the more you just might wither away.” Rin did feel like a half a think, like a dried-up root. But then again, she had often felt that way.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 110

“Have a seat, sir.” Isi pointed to the room’s only chair, and he took it roughly, sitting down so hard the wood complained.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 119

“You believe he was telling the truth?”
“He thought he was. I’m pretty sure.” Rin shrugged. “My brothers play a bluffing game, but a few years ago they stopped letting me join in, ‘cause I never lost.”

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 122

“Diplomacy might have been more efficient,” said Dasha. “And spared us some of the spitting. People appreciate it when you take the trouble to flatter and understand - ”

“People like clumpy-head back there appreciate exactly two things – their own smell and the fear of an immediate and uncomfortable death.”
“Perhaps next time we could try my way. Is that all right, Isi? We might take turns with our various approaches and so perhaps avoid having to wash our boots after each encounter.”

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 123

“I hate them,” Emma said. “Whoever is responsible for making me sleep outside without pillows, I hate them.”

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 130

Rin had noticed that the Tiran girl often had trouble remembering how to speak in the morning.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 130

Ever since the inn burned, Rin had been dreaming again of the gray worm curled in her middle stretching.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 136

And these fire sisters knew her no more than her family back home. They were only fooled by her, charmed by her seeming sense, when all she did was try to redirect them back to themselves.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 139

“Cathal hugs the border, and trade with Bayern is common, so folk there should speak our language as well as Kelish.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 141

Dasha nodded, “inns are rare in Kel, even in the cities. They consider it good luck to house travelers..”

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 142

The boar, the stag, and the eagle met on the last craggy peak of the world, looked down, and sighed at what they saw. The boar was a king, and he said, “There are not enough people.” The stag was a poet, and he said, “There is not enough beauty.” The eagle was a cleric, and said, “There is not enough mystery.” Then the wolf, arriving late, looked up instead of down and said, “There is not enough hunger,” and promptly ate them all.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 163

All Kelish tales are questions, and this one asks, if the boar was king, the stag was poet, and the eagle was cleric, then what was the wolf?

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 163

Well I was teasing, going to accuse you of hiding all the food. Bus since you’re acting guiltier than Incher with his pockets full of bread dough, why don’t you just tell me what you thought I meant?

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 213

He’s smart, he’s been out in the world stopping wars and doing big things. He’ll be all right. There’s nothing to worry about.

And she worried.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 226

War was everywhere and nothing could get worse. Nothing seemed to matter except stopping the war, because any moment we would all die or the whole world would just crumple up and fall away. I don’t like thinking back on it. But I do.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 231

And it felt very good to do the opposite of what Selia would do.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 245

She kept breathing, kept that silent hum rumbling through her, kept her body relaxed, walking along the inside of the wall, passing a stable, until the five joined towers of the castle were before her.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 254

She slipped between two lines of laundry, stripped out of her Bayern travel clothes, and pulled on a white shift in the Kelish style with sleeves dangling from her forearms.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 255

Selia spoke like a queen, ruled and commanded and moved like a queen. But Isi was a queen – even captured, even prone on the floor. It stung a little, to see in Isi what Rin wanted but could not be. But it was liberating too, just to recognize real power. Knowing Isi, Rin did not believe she could ever be tricked into buying Selia’s crooked kind of queenship.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 306

I don’t have time to write a formal letter. Just be as straightforward as you know how. Tell King Scandlan what you’ve seen here, and tell him I respectfully request his presence.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 331

So she cried for a minute, ‘cause sometimes that helps us get through the worst bits.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 361

Our bellies shrunk a bit and we chewed on pine bark till our teeth hurt, but nobody died that winter.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 361

The memory struck ache into her heart.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 361

Your mother said there would be a prize for whoever scavenged the most before winter. Who won? What was the prize?

… I don’t think anyone remembered to ask about a prize.

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 368

Did you fall, Tusk? What a brave boy to fall and laugh!

Shannon Hale, Forest Born, pg. 369