when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from … - Kenneth Grahame

Independence is all very well, but we animals never allow our friends to make fools of themselves beyond a certain limit.

My dear little man," said the dragon solemnly, "just understand, once for all, that I can't fight and I won't fight. I've never fought in my life, and I'm not going to begin now, just to give you a Roman holiday. In old days I always let the other fellows — the earnest fellows — do all the fighting, and no doubt that's why I have the pleasure of being here now.

As a rule, indeed, grown-up people are fairly correct on matters of fact; it is in the higher gift of imagination that they are so sadly to seek.