The Toys of Peace and other papers, by Saki

“They were the sort of toys that a tired shop-assistant displays and explains at Christmas time to exclamatory parents and bored, silent children.”

“Now, the man of pigments was going to be shown a real picture, a living model of strength and comeliness."

“There are occasions when one must take one’s Fate in one’s hands. Rex took the lamp in his.”

“‘We are just so many animals stuck down on a Mappin terrace…’"

“‘I sometimes think these garden-parties are a mistake.’"

“‘A friend of mine said only the other day that he would as soon think of going into the tropics without quinine as of going on a visit without a couple of Mark Mellowkents in his kit-bag.’"

“‘The hand that rocks the cradle rocks the world, in a volcanic sense.’"

“‘In the process of recapture the birds learned a quantity of additional language which unfitted them for further service in the Suffragette cause.’"

“‘And may the Lord have mercy on the poll...’"

“‘We might be living in the Arabian Nights,’ said Miss Fritten, excitedly."