Not meaning anyone present here, of course...

Shooting wild
 

I judge that having trousers torn would be a nuisance, so Artaxerxes, maybe?

Close, but not the right speaker - nor the right situation!

Might as well have a stab at it too
 

Psamathos Psamathides? I reckon that if I'm wrong I've still narrowed it down to one wizard.

Actually, the speaker is not a wizard...

...but the wife of a wizard! :D

It's Mrs. Artaxerxes (the Merkings daughter) who exclaims "Dear me! What a nuisance!" when Roverandom complains that he can't swim.

Precisely! Guinevere takes the cake - or internet cookies, as they're easier to transport virtually...

Thank you for the cookie! http://www.travar.de/Templates/Webpr.../hirsekeks.gif

But it made me rather thirsty, so

Willow-wren is speaking to Tom Bombadil in the Adventures of...: Guess we'll have to wait a few hours till sundown...

Right!
 

It didn't take you long to solve that one! :)

A favorite sentence:

it's about time to solve this one!

It is said by the gloomy blacksmith to the people of Ham (and the King and his knights) when Chrisophylax failed to return with the promised treasures on January the 14th.

(I thought it sounded like him, but only today did I look it up and found the quote!)

Well done, Guinevere! Pray proceed with a new one.

:)

That (mystery i)s cleared up - Nokes said it to Prentice almost at the end of Smith of Wootton Major.

Exactly! You cleared that one up immediately. :)

Let's try for another fast one:

So much for a quick solution - anyone still willing to give it a try?

I knew the answer, but wanted to give someone else a chance. But apparently, no one else is interested :confused:

It's Torhthelm shuddering and speaking to Tídwald:

"Come on now quick! Christ forgive me,
and these evil days, when unregretted
men lie mouldering, ..."

I'm glad you're still interested, Guinevere! You're right, of course, and I look forward to a new quote from you.

This one is probably way too easy for you, but it's something that I often think of myself:

Well, I'm not going to wait for anyone else to solve this one, since so few are interested. It's Niggle, speaking to himself (the only audience he had much of the time!).

Correct, of course! :)

The fate of this thread occasionally:

How true!! :D

I had suspected all along that the quote was in "The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth", but only this weekend did I get back my "Tree & Leaf" edition to confirm it.

It's Torhthelm speaking to Tídwald: "The Danes, you say!
Make haste! Let's go! I'd half forgotten."

That's it! Now for a new one, please...

;)

I did my very best, and so did Farmer Giles of Ham, speaking to the dragon, who was doing his best to get out of an uncomfortable situation.

My goodness, that was fast work, Esty! :eek: Amazing!
And I had thought it was perhaps too short and I would have to add "and try harder" !

It was close to the quote on the other minor works thread, and I happened to have the book opened to that, so found it on the very next page.

Here's another short one - if it's too difficult, I can add to it.

Nokes explaining his loss of weight rationally (to anyone who would listen):

"And if you stop eating, you grow thinner. That's natural. Stands to reason. There ain't no magic in it."

You got it! Good job. The floor (of the thread, at least) is yours now.

Thank you, Esty!

That's the otter, speaking to Tom Bombadil, who's out boating:

Yes, of course!
 

Another immediate answer! You know these works by heart, it seems! :D

I must confess, these threads have had an important part in increasing my knowledge of the minor works! Combing through them to find the quotes has me rereading them, at least partially, quite often.

Now try to find this one:

Yes, the same thing happened to me with LotR, the Silm and U.T., when I partook in Quotable Quotes! When looking for the quotes I always got hooked and read whole chapters and more.

And I have found your quote :)

It's Farmer Giles' reaction to Garm's news that he had seen a dragon, but relatively far away:

"Oh, away there!" "They're queer folk in those parts, I've heard tell, and aught might happen in their land. Let them get on with it!"

That's it! Your turn...

I found another proverb! :D

When something is done to domestic animals by seaweed wizards (who should be blistered and warted by animal watch for this, no doubt, and maybe even potted and jammed too), or maybe by Persian plum-pickers, other wizards tend to learn a thing or two, student in the case being Psamathos Psamathides...