E. Nesbit

Name: The Stolen Elephant
Author: E. Nesbit

The Stolen Elephant (1908)

Summary

“The Stolen Elephant”, published in 1908, is a work by E. Nesbit. It explores elements such as Madeline, elephant and Clifford.

Quotes from The Stolen Elephant (E. Nesbit)

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ We must give what we can, must we not, dear child?”
Were you ever called “dear child” by anybody like Miss Knox? If so, you know. If not, you never can.
Of course I had to tell Madeline; her passionate Southern nature—you know she was born in India—caused her to burst into tears in the middle of the bazaar, before every one, and say she wished Miss Knox was dead. Fortunately this was unheard by any but people who had no right to send her home without her tea and say “Bed!”
Clifford calmed her by promising, on his honour, to get the elephant back. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ Dressing up for our parts had taken some time, and the walk through the snow had taken more, and the powdery woman and her friends were now at their early dinner. We could hear the rattle of plates and silver and people talking and laughing. Everything people say at dinner, when you are not there, always seems to be more amusing than the things they say when you are there. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ The thin, powdery lady, Clifford learned from the Dodds’ footman, was the one who had taken the Warings’ house for three months and turned it upside down, and she and her friends were going to have an early dinner, and motor up to London that very night. So what was an honourable boy to do?
Clifford tried to disentangle Martin from the sale of hatpins, and told him the fell truth. Madeline was clinging to him in a way Clifford would never have allowed at other times.
“Get out,” said Martin, “I’m busy.”
“Come out,” said Clifford in a dauntless whisper, “it is war. And no quarter. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ And I am certain that the oil would have held out till the end but for Madeline.
(Moral: never you go burgling with a girl, even if it is her elephant that you are after.)
Alas! the passionate Southern nature does not fit you to be a burglar. The moment the front door was closed and she found herself alone in the hall with the stuffed foxes and the carved oak and the tall ticking clock and us, in our beautiful burglars’ clothes, she said “Oh!” in a stifling whisper and bolted up the stairs like a hare when you’re coursing it. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ We'll just walk straight up to Warings’. If we’re nabbed we're Waits. You can do ‘Nowell, Nowell,’ I suppose? Well, then! if no one sees us we'll just go straight in and search the house till we find the elephant. It’s ours—at least it’s Mad’s—so it’s not stealing. It’s an adventure, full of glory and renown. You go on back, if you haven’t the heart for it, and I’ll carry off that elephant single-handed. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ I do not like bazaars. I never can see why people can’t give their money to decayed curates, or lost dogs, or whatever it is, without getting something Miss Knox has made in exchange. But this is one of the many subjects where the author’s powerful mind causes him to think thoughts unshared by others. And perhaps, I had better get on with the story.
We made things for the bazaar, of course. The girls made pin-cushions and kettle-holders, and dressed dolls. I should not like to be a girl. We boys made sealing-wax hatpins, and elephants. Elephants are rather jolly to make. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ By this we knew that she had heard what Madeline said when the elephant was borne away from the bazaar.
So Miss Knox forgave us! And we had to bear it.
But it was Christmas Day, and we had lots of jolly presents. Miss Knox gave us each a box of chocks. This rather choked me off hating her, I own. Not because of the beastly chocks, but because I know she wasn’t well off. She must have gone without something to give the chocks to us. Yet I don’t trust her any more because of the chocks. I know she wants to get things out of mother. But it was kind of her. Life is very difficult to understand. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ This sticks the clay to the nails, You put a lump of lead inside the body of the elephant to make it heavy, and you take your time modelling it. The man who does the taps and unstops the kitchen sink will always give you a bit of sheet-lead if you are polite to him, and do not mess about with his tool-basket when he is not looking. The honour of an Englishman makes me say that it was Miss Knox who taught us to make elephants. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ His followers were worse than useless, The bold leader had to face his reversion of fortune alone and unaided. He owns that he did not know how to face it.
“You poor little chap, don’t look so frightened. It was a game, wasn’t it?” said the powdered lady suddenly, and you will be surprised to learn that she addressed these words to the dauntless leader. She meant well, I do think, but that is not the way to speak to burglars. She had diamond stars in her hair, and a necklace of diamonds on her scraggy neck. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ Clifford is strong and active for his age. He got her out from behind her stall and told Olive to keep watch, and before she had stopped being surprised enough to resist he had led Miss Knox kindly but firmly to the door that the thin, powdery-nosed lady was just going out of. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

E. Nesbit, The Stolen Elephant (1908)

“ Prompt attention to business alone guarantees success!”
So then Martin saw that it was serious, and hastily letting a nasty lady have two hatpins for eighteenpence instead of the correct price, which was a shilling each, he joined us at the door.
“This scene of revelry,” said Clifford, “is a hollow mockery to the bereaved Madeline”; and in a few well-chosen words he revealed the terrible preceding events.
“The question is,” said Martin, when Clifford had done revealing, “what are we to do?” ”

E. Nesbit

Summary

Quotes from The Stolen Elephant (E. Nesbit)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature