...our summers were ending, and ... they lasted forever.
-- Narrator (N/A)

Importance: This quote highlights the contradictory nature of the boy's thought processes and foreshadows the fact that the boy will have contradictory thoughts about his flying carpet journeys later in the story.

I was no more tempted to rise into the sky than I was tempted to plunge downhill on my bike with my arms crossed over my chest.
-- Narrator (N/A)

Importance: This quote identifies the fact that the boy's initial disposition towards the carpet is one that has no inkling of ambition. It is important because this eventually changes, and he becomes more ambitious.

I could hear the clish-clish of hedge-clippers, which made me think of movie swordfights.
-- Narrator (N/A paragraph 2)

Importance: This quote shows some of Millhauser's use of imagery. The boy's comparison of the hedge-clippers to swords places the reader firmly in the boy's mind as youthful and imaginative protagonist.

At night I lay awake planning voyages...
-- Narrator (N/A)