“"Air! Air!" croaked Kralefsky, "Give me air!"
"Interesting," said Colonel Ribbindane. "Saw a pygmy like that once in the Congo… been trapped in an elephant’s stomach. The elephant is the largest African quadruped.."
"Do get him out," said Mother agitatedly. "Get some brandy."
"Fan him! Blow on him!" shrilled Margo, and burst into tears. "He’s dying, he’s dying, and he never finished his trick."”

— Gerald Durrell , book Fauna and Family

On a magic trick shown by family friends
The Garden of the Gods (1978)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote ""Air! Air!" croaked Kralefsky, "Give me air!" "Interesting," said Colonel Ribbindane. "Saw a pygmy like that once in t…" by Gerald Durrell?

Gerald Durrell 38

naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and televisi… 1925–1995

Related quotes

“He is such a hysteric that they ne ed not take him seriously, and so he will not carry out his threat unfortunately. But it is all or nothing for him now. If I know him, he will make one desperate attempt to get into power. If this fails and he does not get his way, he is finished. He will burst into pieces like a frog.”

Gregor Strasser (1892–1934) German politician, rival of Adolf Hitler inside the Nazi Psrty

About Adolf Hitler as quoted in "Diary of a Man in Despair", Fritz Percy Reck-Malleczewen - History (1970) p. 95.

“I disagree with him on some of the issues. But when he came out and said he’s willing to audit the Federal Reserve, I said, "He’s worth supporting," especially since he’s not afraid to be politically incorrect. That’s a huge breath of fresh air, I wish he would renounce his support for the NSA.”

Ben Garrison American political cartoonist

Lakeside Cartoonist a Player on the Political World Stage http://www.dailyinterlake.com/archive/article-c3636174-3b30-11e6-8943-1f17ebd0c321.html (June 25, 2016)

“Better be careful, Jason warned himself. Why should I be careful? A nagging thought just below the surface of his mind gave him an uneasy feeling again, the feeling that something was wrong, that things were not what they seemed. Was that his imagination or just being in this small office, no air-conditioning, not even an electric fan? For some reason, the blank walls bothered him. No pictures. And no windows. I want to get out of here. He realized that he could get out of there. He could simply get up and leave. He didn't have to even speak to anybody. Hadn't they said this was voluntary? He was a volunteer. Well, he didn't feel like being a volunteer anymore. He wanted to go home.”

Robert Cormier book The Rag and Bone Shop

Source: The Rag and Bone Shop (2000), p. 99-100

“Barça wanted to get rid of him [Guardiola]. They considered him scrawny, bad defensively and ineffective in the air. What nobody saw was that he had the basic qualities to go far: he had game intelligence, speed in his execution, technique. If I hadn't been at Barcelona, for sure he would have been sold to a Segunda Division club.”

Johan Cruyff (1947–2016) Dutch association football player

Goal.com, 3 October 2016 http://www.goal.com/en/news/1862/premier-league/2016/10/03/28138802/how-cruyff-saved-guardiola-from-barcelona-axe.

“Abu Hurayra reported that a man said to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Advise me." He said, "Do not get angry." He repeated his request several times and the Prophet said, "Do not get angry."”

Muhammad (570–632) Arabian religious leader and the founder of Islam

Riyadh-as-Saliheen by Imam Al-Nawawi, volume 4, hadith number 639
Sunni Hadith

“I saw him open his mouth wide… as though he had wanted to swallow all the air, all the earth, all the men before him.”

Joseph Conrad book Heart of Darkness

Source: Heart of Darkness

“Thinking thus he did not move. At last the elephant took him up by his trunk, and dashed him aside.”

Ramakrishna (1836–1886) Indian mystic and religious preacher

Saying 15
Râmakrishna : His Life and Sayings (1898)
Context: The Master said: "Everything that exists is God." The pupil understood it literally, but not in the true spirit. While he was passing through a street, he met with an elephant. The driver (mahut) shouted aloud from his high place, "Move away, move away!" The pupil argued in his mind, "Why should I move away? I am God, so is the elephant also God. What fear has God of Himself?" Thinking thus he did not move. At last the elephant took him up by his trunk, and dashed him aside. He was severely hurt, and going back to his Master, he related the whole adventure. The Master said, "All right, you are God. The elephant is God also, but God in the shape of the elephant-driver was warning you also from above. Why did you not pay heed to his warnings?"

“He knew he had no right to touch her, crave her like air, but he did both. And when he put his mouth on hers, he recognized the taste of her, like she'd been made just for him.”

Jill Shalvis (1963) American writer

Source: Lucky in Love

“If pains be to be taken to give him a manly air and assurance betimes, it is chiefly as a fence to his virtue when he goes into the world under his own conduct.”

John Locke book Some Thoughts Concerning Education

Sec. 70
Some Thoughts Concerning Education (1693)

“He thought he saw an Elephant,
That practised on a fife:
He looked again, and found it was
A letter from his wife.
'At length I realise,' he said,
'The bitterness of Life!”

Lewis Carroll book Sylvie and Bruno

Variant: He thought he saw a Banker's Clerk
Descending from the bus:
He looked again, and found it was
A Hippopotamus:
'If this should stay to dine,' he said,
'There won't be much for us!
Source: Sylvie and Bruno (1889), Chapter 5 : A Beggar's Palace

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Gerald Durrell 38

Related quotes

Related topics