And here you are, a stripling of a boy who has already survived the worst this land can throw at a body, but suddenly ready to give up after one mistake?” Dr. Snailwater’s voice grew fierce. “You should be grateful some things can be fixed.”
“What if I can’t?” Jack asked in a small voice.
“Then you try again!

The landscape always changed, but the magic never did. The tales were told to children wrapped up in sheets, to frighten or to soothe, but those doing the telling didn't have to believe. Perhaps it was just as well that they didn't, for the stories got so much of it wrong. They always do. The legends told of dragons and faeries, of locked towers and imprisoned princesses, and this was true enough.

If I quit now, I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started I was desperately wishing to be where I am now.

He knew that she took life as it came, opposed her tough-fibered mind to whatever obstacles there might be, fought on with a determination that would not recognize defeat, and kept on fighting even when she saw defeat was inevitable.

The difference between a strong man and a weak one is that the former does not give up after a defeat.

The world loves a fighter who can persevere through tough circumstances and eventually win! With perseverence almost any dream can be realized!