Quotes from Victor
… Victor Tugelbend was also the laziest person in the history of the world.
Not simply, ordinarily lazy. Ordinary laziness was merely the absence of effort. Victor has passed through there a long time ago, had gone straight through commonplace idleness and out the far side. He put more effort into avoiding work than most people put into hard labour (MP)
Victor had never worked for anything in his life. In his experience, jobs were things that happened to other people. (MP)
Victor eyed the glistening tubes in the tray around Dibbler’s neck. They smelled appetizing. They always did. And then you bit into them, and learned once again that Cut-me-own-Throat Dibbler could find a use for bits of an animal that the animal didn’t know it had got. (MP)
'I don’t know if I’d be any good at acting, though,’ Victor confessed.
Silverfish looked surprised. ‘Oh, you’ll be OK,’ he said. ‘It’s very hard to be bad at acting in moving pictures.' (MP)
'Ah, ‘tis a hard trade, horse-holding,’ said the man. ‘It’s learning the proper grovellin’ and the irreverent-but-not-too-impudent cheery ‘oss-’older’s banter. People don’t just want you to look after the ‘oss, see. They want a ‘oss-’olding hexperience.’
‘They do?’
‘They want an amusin’ encounter and a soup-son of repartee,’ said the little man. ‘It’s not just a matter of ‘oldin’ reins.’
Realization began to dawn on Victor.
'It’s a performance,’ he said. (MP)
‘What’re you supposed to be?’ he said at last.
‘A leader of a pack of desert bandits, apparently,’ said Victor. ‘Romantic and dashing.’
‘Dashing where?’
‘Just dashing generally, I guess.’ (MP)
'Did I hear things, or can that little dog speak?’ said Dibbler.
He says he can’t,’ said Victor.
Dibbler hesitated. The excitement was unhinging him a little. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I suppose he should know.' (MP)
Victor remembered being frightened of tigers when he was young. In vain did people point out that the nearest tiger was three thousand miles away. He’d say, ‘Is there any sea between where they live and here?’ and people would say, ‘Well, no, but -’ and he’d say ‘Then it’s just a matter of distance.’ (MP)
'Ah’, said Victor, trying to keep up with the psychology of this. ‘You decided you wanted to be someone?’
‘Don’t be silly. That’s when I decided I was going to be a lot more than just someone.' (MP)
'Why us?’ he said.‘Why is it happening to us?’
‘Everything has to happen to someone,’ said Ginger. (MP)
Not simply, ordinarily lazy. Ordinary laziness was merely the absence of effort. Victor has passed through there a long time ago, had gone straight through commonplace idleness and out the far side. He put more effort into avoiding work than most people put into hard labour (MP)
Victor had never worked for anything in his life. In his experience, jobs were things that happened to other people. (MP)
Victor eyed the glistening tubes in the tray around Dibbler’s neck. They smelled appetizing. They always did. And then you bit into them, and learned once again that Cut-me-own-Throat Dibbler could find a use for bits of an animal that the animal didn’t know it had got. (MP)
'I don’t know if I’d be any good at acting, though,’ Victor confessed.
Silverfish looked surprised. ‘Oh, you’ll be OK,’ he said. ‘It’s very hard to be bad at acting in moving pictures.' (MP)
'Ah, ‘tis a hard trade, horse-holding,’ said the man. ‘It’s learning the proper grovellin’ and the irreverent-but-not-too-impudent cheery ‘oss-’older’s banter. People don’t just want you to look after the ‘oss, see. They want a ‘oss-’olding hexperience.’
‘They do?’
‘They want an amusin’ encounter and a soup-son of repartee,’ said the little man. ‘It’s not just a matter of ‘oldin’ reins.’
Realization began to dawn on Victor.
'It’s a performance,’ he said. (MP)
‘What’re you supposed to be?’ he said at last.
‘A leader of a pack of desert bandits, apparently,’ said Victor. ‘Romantic and dashing.’
‘Dashing where?’
‘Just dashing generally, I guess.’ (MP)
'Did I hear things, or can that little dog speak?’ said Dibbler.
He says he can’t,’ said Victor.
Dibbler hesitated. The excitement was unhinging him a little. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘I suppose he should know.' (MP)
Victor remembered being frightened of tigers when he was young. In vain did people point out that the nearest tiger was three thousand miles away. He’d say, ‘Is there any sea between where they live and here?’ and people would say, ‘Well, no, but -’ and he’d say ‘Then it’s just a matter of distance.’ (MP)
'Ah’, said Victor, trying to keep up with the psychology of this. ‘You decided you wanted to be someone?’
‘Don’t be silly. That’s when I decided I was going to be a lot more than just someone.' (MP)
'Why us?’ he said.‘Why is it happening to us?’
‘Everything has to happen to someone,’ said Ginger. (MP)