↬   THE  LANGUAGE  OF  THORNS,  midnight  tales  and  dangerous  magic.   (  2017  )  by  leigh  bardugo.

sentences  taken  from  or  inspired  by  the  collection’s  dialogue  &  narration.

+   feel  free  to  change  pronouns  !

i.    AYAMA  AND  THE  THORN  WOOD.

‘  love  speaks  in  flowers.  truth  requires  thorns.  ’

‘  we  all  know  the  story  of  how  the  queen  becomes  a  queen.  ’

‘  we  should  leave  this  place.  ’

‘  no  doubt  it  will  come  and  devour  us  all.  ’

‘  the  beast  will  laugh  you  right  out  of  the  wild  lands.  ’

‘  you  know  how  the  stories  go.  interesting  things  happen  only  to  pretty  girls.  ’

‘  is  the  wood  much  worse  than  a  garden  overgrown  with  pricklers  ?  ’

‘  stupid  girl  !  do  you  wish  to  become  a  monster  ?  ’

‘  strike  me.  cleave  me  in  two.  ’

‘  you’re  as  thorny  as  the  wood.  ’  

‘  there  is  but  one  rule  in  my  wood.  speak  truth.  ’

‘  perhaps  you  might  show  mercy  freely.  ’

‘  just  eat  a  bit  of  the  sun  to  fill  the  sky,  and  you  will  feel  empty  no  longer.  ’

‘  what  nonsense  !  of  course  that’s  not  how  the  story  ends.  ’

‘  some  people  are  born  with  a  piece  of  night  inside,  and  that  hollow  place  can  never  be  filled.  ’

‘  what  do  i  care  for  winter  ?  no  season  touches  this  wood.  ’

‘  you  know  the  only  bargain  i  will  make.  ’

‘  sometimes  the  unseen  is  not  to  be  feared  and  those  that  are  meant  to  love  us  most  are  not  always  the  ones  that  do.  ’

‘  bad  fates  do  not  always  follow  those  that  deserve  them.  ’

‘  no  prince  is  worth  your  life.  ’

‘  are  you  so  eager  to  be  eaten  ?  ’

‘  they  have  told  me  to  return  with  your  heart.  ’

‘  you  think  to  love  a  monster  ?  ’

‘  a  man  like  you  is  owed  no  words.  ’

ii.    THE  TOO  CLEVER  FOX.

‘  you  are  doomed  to  a  miserable  life.  ’

‘  better  to  be  hungry  now  than  to  be  sorry  later.  ’

‘  what  will  everyone  say  when  they  see  such  a  face  ?  ’

‘  we  have  not  gone  so  soft  as  that.  ’

‘  you  think  that  we  will  let  you  live  on  foolish  promises  ?  ’

‘  you  have  bested  me.  that  much  is  clear.  ’

‘  will  you  not  free  me  ?  ’

‘  you  will  have  a  fine  time  of  it,  i  can  tell  you.  ’

‘  i  can  bear  ugliness.  i  find  the  one  thing  i  cannot  live  with  is  death.  ’

‘  if  you  will  only  cease  your  talking,  i  will  gladly  go.  ’

‘  where  he  went,  he  bled  the  woods  dry.  ’

‘  what’s  a  bit  more  blood  ?  ’

‘  you  should  leave  this  place.  you  are  not  safe  here.  ’

‘  with  such  big  eyes,  i  think  you  see  too  much.  ’

‘  will  you  not  tell  me  what  troubles  you  ?  ’

‘  why  do  you  stay  with  him  ?  you’re  pretty  enough  to  catch  a  husband.  ’

‘  just  because  you  escape  one  trap,  doesn’t  mean  you  will  escape  the  next.  ’

‘  first  i  must  find  my  courage.  ’

‘  few  can  resist  the  sight  of  a  pretty  girl  crying.  ’

‘  the  trap  is  loneliness,  and  no  one  escapes  it.  not  even  me.  ’

‘  in  the  wood,  even  songbirds  must  be  survivors.  ’

iii.    THE  WITCH  OF  DUVA.

‘  there  was  a  time  when  the  wood  ate  girls.  ’

‘  be  back  before  dark.  the  trees  are  hungry  tonight.  ’

‘  who  can  say  what  shapes  an  appetite  ?  ’

‘  this  is  my  home,  you  can’t  just  send  me  away.  ’ 

‘  don’t  be  foolish.  there’s  plenty  of  light.  ’

‘  well  then,  come  help  me  stir  the  pot.  ’

‘  i  will  warn  you  just  this  once.  go.  ’ 

‘  you  cannot  come  and  go  from  this  place  like  you’re  fetching  water  from  a  well.  ’  

‘  hope  made  me  stubborn.  ’

‘  stay  there  and  keep  quiet.  i  don’t  need  rumors  that  i’ve  been  taking  girls.  ’

‘  i  will  not  have  you  bring  a  monster  to  my  door.  ’

‘  you  know  that  you  are  welcome  to  remain  here  with  me.  ’

‘  i  will  follow  her.  i  will  peck  out  her  eyes.  ’

‘  believe  me.  say  you  believe  me.  ’

‘  dark  things  have  a  way  of  slipping  through  narrow  spaces.  ’

iv.    LITTLE  KNIFE.

‘  it  is  dangerous  to  travel  the  northern  road  with  a  troubled  heart.  ’

‘  if  you  are  lost  in  your  own  thoughts,  you  may  find  yourself  stepping  off  the  path  and  into  the  dark  woods.  ’

‘  she  was  beautiful  from  the  moment  of  her  birth.  ’

‘  why  must  i  be  the  one  to  hide  ?  ’

‘  do  you  think  i  am  so  foolish  or  so  cruel  ?  ’

‘  water  only  wants  direction.  it  wants  to  be  told  what  to  do.  ’

‘  always  you  have  done  my  bidding,  but  what  good  are  you  to  me  now  ?  ’

‘  soon  i  will  be  very  rich,  but  will  i  have  a  good  man  ?  ’

‘  that  is  a  question  for  the  river.  ’

‘  your  tongue  is  not  fit  for  my  true  name.  ’

‘  will  you  come  with  me,  and  be  bride  to  nothing  but  the  shore  ?  ’

‘  she  was  terrifying  in  her  beauty,  bright  like  a  devouring  star.  ’

‘  remember  that  to  use  a  thing  is  not  to  own  it.  ’

‘  should  you  ever  take  a  bride,  listen  closely  to  her  questions.  ’

v.    THE  SOLDIER  PRINCE.

‘  this  is  the  problem  with  even  lesser  demons.  they  come  to  your  door  in  velvet  coats  and  polished  shoes.  ’

‘  you  will  find  great  love  and  more  gold  than  you  could  wish  for.  ’

‘  he’s  a  charming  fellow,  but  most  unusual,  and  peculiarities  seem  to  follow  him.  ’  

’  it  seemed  harmless  at  the  time.  ’

‘  he  needed  a  girl,  still  malleable,  one  that  he  could  make  admire  him.  ’

‘  this  is  pleasant.  this  is  enough.  ’

‘  are  you  my  soldier  ?  are  you  my  prince  ?  ’

‘  i  have  not  come  to  fight,  only  to  talk.  ’

‘  wanting  is  why  people  get  up  in  the  morning.  it  gives  them  something  to  dream  of  at  night.  ’

‘  i  am  perfectly  real.  ’

‘  she  loves  you,  though,  and  that  will  make  it  harder.  ’

‘  best  not  to  ask.  i  think  the  answer  would  please  no  one.  ’

‘  we  can  stay  forever  in  the  land  of  dreams.  ’

‘  kiss  me.  take  me  from  this  place.  ’

‘  i  sent  you  to  die  a  hundred  times.  ’

‘  i  eat  the  wonder  in  their  eyes.  ’

‘  you  were  an  idea  in  my  head.  you  were  nothing,  and  to  nothing  you  will  return  when  i  think  of  you  no  more.  ’

‘  you  wanted  only  that  i  might  live.  you  would  sacrifice  your  own  life  to  make  it  so.  ’

‘  are  you  my  darling  ?  are  you  mine  ?  ’

vi.    WHEN  WATER  SANG  FIRE.

‘  you  wish  to  strike  a  bargain.  ’

‘  make  me  someone  new.  ’

‘  this  is  the  problem  with  making  a  thing  forbidden.  it  does  nothing  but  build  an  ache  in  the  heart.  ’

‘  easy  magic  is  pretty.  great  magic  requires  that  you  trouble  the  waters.  ’

‘  no  one  expects  me  to  accomplish  anything.  ’

‘  i  can  smell  your  ambition  like  blood  in  the  water.’  

‘  i  know  that  you  should  keep  it  like  a  secret,  not  shout  it  like  a  curse.  ’

‘  yes.  i  can  imagine  it  all.  ’

‘  you  are  worth  more  than  that.  you  should  not  have  to  earn  him.  ’

‘  hope  rises  like  water  trapped  beneath  a  dam,  higher  and  higher,  in  increments  that  mean  nothing  until  you  face  the  flood.  ’

‘  there  is  no  pain  like  the  pain  of  transformation.  ’

‘  take  your  pleasures  as  you  will.  ’

‘  come,  and  i’ll  tell  you  all  you  wish  to  know.  ’

‘  he  made  me  dream  of  things  i  cannot  have.  ’

‘  i  do  not  care  for  dancing.  ’

‘  look  into  the  mirror,  and  try  to  deny  it.  ’

‘  you  have  never  been  like  the  others,  and  you  never  will  be.  ’

‘  we  were  not  made  to  please  princes.  ’

‘  i  am  not  quite  mortal  either,  and  i  have  many  lives  to  live.  ’

‘  i  wouldn’t  care  if  you  were  part  human  or  part  frog.  ’

‘  my  voice  is  not  enough.  ’

"something cannot emerge from nothing."

"any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere."

"the mind commands the body and it obeys."

"desperate people are the most dangerous."

"the concept of progress acts as a protective mechanism to shield us from the terrors of the future."

"hard tasks need hard ways."

"you must teach me someday how you do that, the way you thrust your worries aside and turn to practical matters."

"i cause pain out of necessity."

"you must learn to rule. it's something none of your ancestors learned."

"people need hard times to develop psychic muscles."

"what is important for a leader is that which makes him a leader."

"the people who can destroy a thing, they control it."

"be prepared to appreciate what you meet."

"take your time and be sure."

"it is impossible to live in the past, difficult to live in the present and a waste to live in the future."

"survival is the ability to swim in strange water."

"you fight when the necessity arises—no matter the mood!"

"even occasional greatness will destroy a man."

"humans are almost always lonely."

"my father once told me that respect for truth comes close to being the basis for all morality."

"greatness is a transitory experience. it is never consistent."

"from the top of the mountain, you cannot see the mountain."

"climb the mountain just a little bit to test that it's a mountain."

"knowing where the trap is—that's the first step in evading it."

"may this place give you as much pleasure as it has given me."

"paradise on my right, hell on my left and the angel of death behind."

"try looking into that place where you dare not look! you'll find me there, staring out at you!"

"it's shocking to find how many people do not believe they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult."

"i often wonder in these later days if anything about him was as it seemed."

"the storm passed through us and around us, it's gone, but we remain."

"the mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience."

"mood's a thing for cattle or making love, it's not for fighting."

"fear is the mind-killer, fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration."

"when you imagine mistakes, there can be no self-defense."

"hope clouds observation."

"one should never presume one is the sole object of a hunt."

"if you rely only on your eyes, your other senses weaken."

"science is made up of so many things that appear obvious after they are explained."

"what senses do we lack that we cannot see or hear another world all around us?"

"the power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it."

"highly organized research is guaranteed to produce nothing new."

"i should like friendship with you ... and trust."

"a killer with the manners of a rabbit—this is the most dangerous kind."

"once you've given orders on a subject, you must always give orders on that subject."

"prophets have a way of dying by violence."

"do as she says, you wormfaced, crawling, sand-brained piece of lizard turd!"

"this world has emptied me of all but the oldest purpose: tomorrow's life."

"a ruler must learn to persuade and not to compel."

"the mind can go either direction under stress—toward positive or toward negative: on or off.

"the human question is not how many can possibly survive within the system, but what kind of existence is possible for those who so survive."

"a stone is heavy and the sand is weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both."

"greatness is a transitory experience, it is never consistent."

"do not count a human dead until you’ve seen his body, and even then you can make a mistake."

"but it’s a human trait that when we encounter personal problems."

"but it's well known that repression makes a religion flourish."

"the person who experiences greatness must have a feeling for the myth he is in."

"i am not the kind of person i want to be."

"there was no mercy where there could be no stopping."

"your life is stolen."

"the hunter does not seek dead game."

"are you already training my replacement?"

"we tend to flounder around, blaming everything but the actual, deep-seated thing that’s really chewing on us."

"where the fear has gone there will be nothing. only i will remain."

"what do you despise? by this are you truly known."

"i should've suspected trouble when the coffee failed to arrive."

"sad? nonsense! parting with friends is a sadness. a place is only a place."

"who asks for justice? we make our own justice."

"behold, as a wild ass in the desert, go i forth to my work."

"in such perfection, all things move towards death."

"there is probably no more terrible instant of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man—with human flesh."

"i never could bring myself to trust a traitor."

"i must not fear."

"a plan depends as much upon execution as it does upon concept."

"what is the son but an extension of the father?"

"you have eyes, yet cannot see without light."

"proper teaching is recognized with ease, you can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you have always known."

"it's easier to be terrified by an enemy you admire."

"fear is the mind-killer."

"the way the mind will lean under stress is strongly influenced by training."

"to accept a little death is worse than death itself."

"life produces a different taste each time you take it."

"it's what we were meant to do."

"i see us giving love to each other in a time of quiet between storms."

"a popular man arouses the jealousy of the powerful."

"don't sit with your back to any doors."

"there's steel in this man that no one has taken the temper out of..."

"any man who retreats into a cave which has only one opening deserves to die."

"we went soft, we lost our edge."

"you can’t buy security."

"we faced it and did not resist."

"thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a human mind."

"there is no escape—we pay for the violence of our ancestors."

"it is so shocking to find out how many people do not believe that they can learn, and how many more believe learning to be difficult."

"what has mood to do with it?"

dialogue prompts taken from or inspired by the movie  PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005).   please feel free to change the sentences for pronouns and context as you see fit!

‘ do you not want to know who has taken it? ’ 

‘ I doubt I have any choice in the matter. ’

‘ have you no compassion for my poor nerves? ’

‘ so will you come to the ball tomorrow? ’

‘ if every person in this room does not end the evening completely in love with you then I am no judge of beauty. ’

‘ they are not all bad. ’ 

‘ one of these days, someone will catch your eye and then you’ll have to watch your tongue. ’

‘ do you dance? ’

‘ so what do you recommend, to encourage affection? ’

‘ only the deepest love will persuade me into matrimony. ’

‘ you’re a great deal too apt to like people in general, you know. ’

‘ I still cannot believe what he said about you. ’

‘ I doubt we shall ever speak again. ’

‘ oh,  please! it’s ten in the morning. ’

‘ do not be alarmed. excepting a sore throat, a fever, and a headache there is nothing much wrong with me. ’

‘ good lord, did you walk here? ’

‘ it’s all going according to plan. ’

‘ I never saw such a woman, she would certainly be a fearsome thing to behold. ’

‘ would you consider pride a fault or a virtue? ’

‘ my good opinion, once lost, is lost forever. ’

‘ I don’t know how to thank you. ’

‘ he can turn us out of the house as soon as he pleases. ’

‘ how happy for you, to possess the talent for flattering with such delicacy. ’

‘ shall we all look for some ribbon together? ’

‘ how do you like my ribbons for your ball? ’

‘ you may well be surprised, especially given our cold greeting this afternoon. ’

‘ oh no, it is not for me to be driven away. ’

‘ if you wish to avoid seeing me, you must go, not I. ’

‘ I hope never to encounter him. ’

‘ may I have the next dance? ’

‘ it would be most inconvenient since I have sworn to loathe you for all eternity. ’

‘ please advise me of what you would like most to hear. ’

‘ do you talk as a rule while dancing? ’

‘ I prefer to be unsociable and taciturn. ’ 

‘ why do you ask such a question? ’

‘ and what have you discovered? ’

‘ I hear such different accounts of you as puzzle me exceedingly. ’

‘ I hope to afford you more clarity in the future. ’

‘ what interesting relatives you have. ’

‘ almost as soon as I entered the house I singled you out as the companion of my future life. ’

‘ and now nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affections. ’

‘ you are too hasty!  you forget that I have made no answer. ’

‘ you could not make happy and I’m convinced I’m the last person in the world who could make you happy. ’

‘ go back now and say you’ve changed your mind! ’

‘ there’s no earthly reason why I shouldn’t be as happy with him as any other. ’

‘ not all of us can afford to be romantic. ’

‘ I’ve been offered a comfortable home and protection, there’s a lot to be thankful for. ’

‘ I’m plain and I have no money and no prospects. ’

‘ do not make yourself uneasy, about your apparel. ’

‘ your mother must have been quite a slave to your education. ’

‘ upon my word, you give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person. ’

‘ no excellence can be acquired without constant practice. ’

‘ you would be in nobody’s way, you know, in that part of the house. ’

‘ I am well enough acquainted with you, to know I cannot alarm you even should I wish it. ’

‘ I do not have the talent of conversing easily with people I have never met before. ’

‘ I came to  ___  with the single object of seeing you. l had to see you. ’

‘ I love you. Most ardently. ’

‘ I appreciate the struggle you have been through, and I am very sorry to have caused you pain. ’

‘ I’m sure that the feelings which, as you’ve told me, have hindered your regard, will help you in overcoming it. ’

‘ might I ask why, with so little endeavour at civility, I am thus repulsed? ’

‘ I suppose you suspect that his fortune had same bearing on the matter? ’

‘ what excuse can you give for your behaviour to him? ’

‘ you take an eager interest in that gentleman’s concerns! ’

‘ oh yes, your misfortunes have been very great indeed! ’

‘ you have ruined his chances, and yet treat him with sarcasm? ’

‘ so this is your opinion of me! thank you for explaining so fully. ’

‘ and those are the words of a gentleman? ’

‘ from the first moment I met you, your arrogance and conceit, your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, made me realize that you were the last person in the world I could ever be prevailed upon to marry. ’

‘ I shall not renew the sentiments which were so disgusting to you. ’

‘ what are men, compared to rocks and mountains? ’

‘ believe me, men are either eaten up with arrogance or stupidity, and if they are amiable they’re so easily led that they have no minds of their own whatsoever. ’

‘ take care, my love, that savors strongly of bitterness. ’

‘ I’m so sorry to intrude. they said the house was open for visitors. I had no idea… ’

‘ there is something pleasing about his mouth, when he speaks. ’

‘ you don’t mind delaying our journey for another day? ’

‘ but I know very well that nothing can be done. we have not the smallest hope. ’

‘ would I could help you. ’

‘ sir, I think it is too late. ’

‘ this is grave indeed. I will leave you. ’ 

‘ I forgot! I shouldn’t have said a word! ’

‘ I’m just glad that you come alone, because then I shall see less of you. ’

‘ not that I’m afraid of myself, but I dread other people’s remarks. ’

‘ oh my goodness! everybody behave naturally. ’

‘ whatever you do, do not appear overbearing. ’

‘ stop that racket and sit down! find yourself some work! ’

‘ oh lord. I shall have a seizure, I’m sure I shall. ’

‘ I return to town tomorrow. ’

‘ so soon? ’

‘ for when you were in town last winter you promised to take a family dinner with us. I have not forgot you see. at least three courses. ’

‘ well, I’m glad that’s over. ’

‘ we can now meet as indifferent acquaintances. ’

‘ you cannot think me so weak as to be in danger now. ’

‘ I think you are in great danger of making him as much in love with you as ever. ’

‘ I know this is all very untoward, but I would like to request the privilege of speaking with you. ’

‘ first, I have to tell you that I have been an unmitigated and comprehensive ass. ’

‘ thank the lord for that! I thought it would never happen. ’

‘ I knew she could not be so beautiful for nothing. ’

‘ can you die of happiness? ’

‘ bravo! that is the most unforgiving speech you’ve ever made. ’

‘ you can be at no loss to understand why I am here. ’

‘ I warn you, I am not to be trifled with. ’

‘ if you believed it impossible, I wonder you took the trouble of coming so far. ’

‘ you may ask the questions, which I may not choose to answer. ’ 

‘ you have insulted me in every possible way and can now have nothing further to say. I must ask you to leave immediately. ’

‘ I have never been thus treated in my entire life. ’

‘ for once in your life,  just leave me alone! ’

‘ I couldn’t sleep. ’

‘ how can I ever make amends for such behaviour? ’

‘ you must know  —  surely you must know, that it was all for you. ’

‘ you are too generous to trifle with me. ’

‘ my affections and wishes have not changed. ’

‘ one word from you will silence me forever. ’

‘ you have bewitched me body and soul and I love and love and love you. ’

‘ I never wish to be parted from you from this day on. ’

‘ your hands are cold. ’

‘ I thought you hated the man. ’

‘ but will that make you happy? ’

‘ I was wrong, entirely wrong about him. ’

‘ you mustn’t tell anyone. he wouldn’t want it. ’

‘ you do love him, don’t you? ’

‘ I cannot believe that anyone can deserve you. ’

‘ and how are you today, my dear? ’

‘ I wish you would not call me “my dear”. ’

‘ what endearments am I allowed? ’

‘ and what shall I call you when I’m cross? ’