"Inside, James could see a mass of tiny green things that looked like little stones or crystals, each one about the size of a grain of rice. They were extraordinarily beautiful, and there was a strange brightness about them, a sort of luminous quality that made them glow and sparkle in a most wonderful way" (Page 11).

"Because if they do escape, then they will be working their magic upon somebody else instead of upon you! And that isn't what you want at all, is it, my dear? Whoever they first meet, be it bug, insect, animal, or tree, that will be the one who gets the full power of their magic!" (Page 13).

"'Something is about to happen,' he told himself. 'Something peculiar is about to happen at any moment.' He hadn't the faintest idea what it might be, but he could feel it in his bones...