If nothing happened, then there's nothing to remember, she told herself, trying to sound philosophical. Of course there's nowhere to start. - Diana Wynne Jones

It is of course a magic carpet. Abdullah had heard that one before. He bowed over his tucked-up hands. Many and various are the virtues said to reside in carpets, he agreed. Which one does the poet of the sands claim for this? Does it welcome a man home to his tent? Does it bring peace to the hearth? Or maybe, he said, poking the frayed edge suggestively with one toe, it is said to never wear out?

If you stood up and told the truth in the wrong way, it was not true any longer, though it might be as powerful as ever.

But she's too big! the anguished man said, still glaring at Vivian. This girl is not the right size! … She was six when she went away, Father, Jonathan said. He did not seem in the least alarmed. That was nearly six years ago. Think how much I've changed since then. So you have, said this alarming man, turning his glare on Jonathan as if he did not think the change was for the better. I see, he said. She grew.