The Long Way Home
Isabelle and Ruth find more than just a shortcut through the woods on a walk home from school.

"She made the butcher bring one piece of meat after another until she found one that looked tender enough to suit her.

'It's not for me, it's for my dog,' she explained haughtily to the waiting women in the shop who were beginning to be impatient.

'That dog's going to make the Social Register yet!' the butcher declared to an appreciative audience when she had left."

The Story

One day in summer Frog was not feeling well.

Toad said, "Frog, you are looking quite green."

"But I always look green," said Frog. "I am a frog."

And Toad turned his head and said nothing, and Frog knew that he had said the wrong thing.

10. That Enormously Long Bummer

It's just...really awful things happen for six hundred pages, right? You'd never say this, obviously, because you're not really sure what happens for however many pages it is, but you do know it's a stone cold bummer from start to finish.

It’s time to face some hard truths.

Let’s Be Real: We’re not Elizabeth. If we’re anybody in this saga, we’re dark-clad Mary, who thinks conversation is better than balls. You know what, Mary? Conversation IS a better way to get to know people and we get you, we totally get you.