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Nephew
The witch talks regularly with the black bear in “Telling Fairy Tales.” She seems to live in or near the zoo, and she almost always has bread for the bears. The witch is able to translate the bear’s speech into human language, and at the beginning of the story, the black bear asks her to write something down. The witch refuses, however. At the end of the story, the witch reveals to the black bear, who’s memory is waning, that the brown bear he just ate was his wife.
The Witch Quotes in Only the Animals
The Only the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by The Witch or refer to The Witch. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Telling Fairy Tales: Soul of Bear
Quotes
“I’m waiting for her to die so I can eat her.” He chewed at the bread.
“Why wait?” asked the witch.
“People would stop risking their lives, dodging sniper bullets to bring me bread, if they thought I had no heart, eating her while she’s still half alive,” the bear said.
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It was dark in the zoo by now, darker than it had ever been before the siege started, for the city of Sarajevo no longer relied on electricity. It had become medieval, lightless, its citizens forced to fetch water from underground springs and to wash by candlelight. And the zoo was no longer a modern thoroughfare for the ogling masses. Now the few who dared visit brought sacred offerings of food. The two last remaining animals had become central to the city’s very survival, to the idea of the city’s survival.
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Get the entire Only the Animals LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Witch Quotes in Only the Animals
The Only the Animals quotes below are all either spoken by The Witch or refer to The Witch. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Telling Fairy Tales: Soul of Bear
Quotes
“I’m waiting for her to die so I can eat her.” He chewed at the bread.
“Why wait?” asked the witch.
“People would stop risking their lives, dodging sniper bullets to bring me bread, if they thought I had no heart, eating her while she’s still half alive,” the bear said.
Related Characters:
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Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
It was dark in the zoo by now, darker than it had ever been before the siege started, for the city of Sarajevo no longer relied on electricity. It had become medieval, lightless, its citizens forced to fetch water from underground springs and to wash by candlelight. And the zoo was no longer a modern thoroughfare for the ogling masses. Now the few who dared visit brought sacred offerings of food. The two last remaining animals had become central to the city’s very survival, to the idea of the city’s survival.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
