I like this passage from Comet in Moominland by Tove Jansson:

It was a funny little path, winding here and there, dashing off in different directions, and sometimes even tying a knot in itself from sheer joy. (You don't get tired of a path like that, and I'm not sure that it doesn't get you home quicker in the end.)

And this one:

(Hemulens are generally a bit slow in grasping an idea, but they are very pleasant if you don't annoy them.)

And this one:

Enormous crabs were sidling in and out between the shells, telling each other how strange it was that the water had disappeared. They wondered who had taken it away and when it would come back. "Thank goodness I'm not a jelly-fish!" said one. "Out of the water they are nothing but miserable little splodges, but we of course are equally happy wherever we are."

I feel so sorry for anybody who wasn't born a crab," said another. "It's quite possible that this drying-up of the sea has been arranged especially so that we shall have more space to live in."

"What an excellent thought! Why not a world peopled entirely by crabs?" exclaimed a third, waving his claws.

And of course:

"Well, strike me pink!" exclaimed Moomintroll.