--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his…" description: "\"A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. Only two people noticed. One was a witch, and she took him for her own. The other was his b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/anne-ursu-9493_best-friend_a-boy-got-a-splinter-in-his-eye-and-his_3206060.png" --- # A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned… ![“A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. Only two people noticed. One was a witch, and she took him for her own. The other was his best friend. And she went after him in ill-considered shoes, brave and completely unprepared.” quote by Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/anne-ursu-9493_best-friend_a-boy-got-a-splinter-in-his-eye-and-his_3206060.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/anne-ursu-9493_best-friend_a-boy-got-a-splinter-in-his-eye-and-his_3206060.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/anne-ursu-9493_best-friend_a-boy-got-a-splinter-in-his-eye-and-his_3206060.png) > “A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. Only two people noticed. One was a witch, and she took him for her own. The other was his best friend. And she went after him in ill-considered shoes, brave and completely unprepared.” [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A boy’s injury leads to two responses: a witch’s protective claim and a friend’s reckless rescue, highlighting contrasting care. **In simple terms:** Two people react differently to a boy’s pain. Key Takeaway Recognize varied ways people help. Themes care risk friendship Mood empathetic tense Type narrative emotional When to use this quote - emergency response - friendship dynamics - protective instincts Key Concepts psychology mythology Questions to Reflect On - Who truly cares for you? - When does bravery become foolish? A Different Perspective The witch’s motives may be selfish, not purely protective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best friend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Brave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave/) [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eye/) [Got Splinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-splinter-5971358/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [His eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/his-eyes/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Noticed Witch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/noticed-witch-2973508/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Shoes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shoes/) [Splinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinter/) [Splinter Eye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinter-eye-2030204/) [Splinters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splinters/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Unprepared](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unprepared/) [Witch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch/) [Witch Took](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/witch-took-5971359/) ## Related quotes > [The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-splinter-in-your-eye-is-the-best-magnifying-glass-available/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The splinter in your eye is the best magnifying-glass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/the-splinter-in-your-eye-is-the-best-magnifying-glass/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [“Being noticed is what being a witch is all about - Margrat Garlick”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/being-noticed-is-what-being-a-witch-is-all-about-margrat-garlick/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I will splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces and scatter it into the winds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-will-splinter-the-cia-into-a-thousand-pieces-and-scatter-it-into/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [“Peri loved her father's tales. She had grown up with them. Yet the melancholy with which they were infused pierced her soul, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elif-shafak/peri-loved-her-father-s-tales-she-had-grown-up-with-them-yet-the/) [Elif Shafak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elif-shafak/) > [I feel there's a funny little hole in me that wasn't there before, like a splinter in your finger, but this is somewhere above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-fitzhugh/i-feel-there-s-a-funny-little-hole-in-me-that-wasn-t-there-before/) [Louise Fitzhugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-fitzhugh/) > [Another thing that escapes me is HOW to give substance to the forms. One day they look solid and 'real' and they seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-rego/another-thing-that-escapes-me-is-how-to-give-substance-to-the-forms/) [Paula Rego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-rego/) > [If you want to write, find your splinter. Find the thing that pierces you and won't let you go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mcdonald/if-you-want-to-write-find-your-splinter-find-the-thing-that-pierces/) [Megan McDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mcdonald/) > [How you die out in me: down to the last worn-out knot of breath you're there, with a splinter of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-celan/how-you-die-out-in-me-down-to-the-last-worn-out-knot-of-breath-you-re/) [Paul Celan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-celan/) > [We are nothing but a string of gut on a stick of bone riding this piece of astral soot for one piteous splinter of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-de-vries/we-are-nothing-but-a-string-of-gut-on-a-stick-of-bone-riding-this/) [Peter De Vries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-de-vries/) > [“shrapnel fizzed around the room. A splinter buried itself in Gray’s buttock, stinging like a hornet, and”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-mcdermott/shrapnel-fizzed-around-the-room-a-splinter-buried-itself-in-gray-s/) [Alan McDermott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-mcdermott/) > [After working from home with the dogs, Ive learned of the hair splinter: when stiff dog hairs pierce the soles of your feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sohla-el-waylly/after-working-from-home-with-the-dogs-ive-learned-of-the-hair/) [Sohla El-Waylly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sohla-el-waylly/) > [Your Just Another Splinter in My Ass as I Slide Down The Banister of Life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-just-another-splinter-in-my-ass-as-i-slide-down-the-banister-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think there's a reason to go off and do something and experiment - splinter off and do something different. It keeps the nucleus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-mcvie/i-think-there-s-a-reason-to-go-off-and-do-something-and-experiment/) [Christine McVie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-mcvie/) > [No lance have I, in joust or fight, To splinter in my lady's sight; But, at her feet, how blest were I For any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/no-lance-have-i-in-joust-or-fight-to-splinter-in-my-lady-s-sight-but/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) ## More by Anne Ursu > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Jack believed in something—he believed in white witches and sleighs pulled by wolves, and in the world the trees obscured. He believed that there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/jack-believed-in-something-he-believed-in-white-witches-and-sleighs/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“This is what happens on journeys—the things you find are not necessarily the things you had gone looking for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/this-is-what-happens-on-journeys-the-things-you-find-are-not/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“A sick-hued darkness overtook Hazel. There was ground, somewhere, and somewhere beyond that there was a palace, and somewhere beyond that was a witch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/a-sick-hued-darkness-overtook-hazel-there-was-ground-somewhere-and/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“She hated this place. Nothing made sense. Nothing worked as it was supposed to. She was supposed to be learning things as she went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-hated-this-place-nothing-made-sense-nothing-worked-as-it-was/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“She came in thinking she would rescue him, like some sort of story, like a little kid pretending to be a brave knight. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-came-in-thinking-she-would-rescue-him-like-some-sort-of-story/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“She did not like seeing her loved ones like this, bent over with sorrow; everything in her wanted to cry out, to thrash and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-did-not-like-seeing-her-loved-ones-like-this-bent-over-with/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“Hazel knew her mother really meant I hope there is something you were dying to do at school today, that you are learning to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/hazel-knew-her-mother-really-meant-i-hope-there-is-something-you-were/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [She looked at her shelves, filled with books in which the bad stuff that happened to people was caused by things like witches who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-looked-at-her-shelves-filled-with-books-in-which-the-bad-stuff/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“I believe that the world isn’t always what we can see,” he said. “I believe there are secrets in the woods. And I believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/i-believe-that-the-world-isn-t-always-what-we-can-see-he-said-i/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“...she wore weird baggy clothes and seemed like the sort of person who might tesser in some dark and stormy night.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-wore-weird-baggy-clothes-and-seemed-like-the-sort-of-person-who/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“What are you supposed to do when something like that happens? Do you hold on or let go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-when-something-like-that-happens-do-you/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“You can’t just kill a swan and wrap yourself in its skin, you know. It takes something from you. In her case it took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/you-can-t-just-kill-a-swan-and-wrap-yourself-in-its-skin-you-know-it/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“The house felt strange. Altered. Like someone had come in during the day and shrunk all the furniture just a tiny bit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/the-house-felt-strange-altered-like-someone-had-come-in-during-the/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [“It would not hurt, after all, to walk into the woods.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/it-would-not-hurt-after-all-to-walk-into-the-woods/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) [Explore all 72 Anne Ursu quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) ## More Best friend quotes > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [No one is completely unhappy at the failure of his best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/no-one-is-completely-unhappy-at-the-failure-of-his-best-friend/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [“Before you were my enemy, you were my best friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kresley-cole/before-you-were-my-enemy-you-were-my-best-friend/) [Kresley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kresley-cole/) > [I fell in love with my best friend, but I know that if it doesn't last, it will never be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelly-yang/i-fell-in-love-with-my-best-friend-but-i-know-that-if-it-doesn-t-last/) [Shelly Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelly-yang/) > [A best friend isn't someone who's just always there for you.Its someone who understands you a bit more than you understand yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/a-best-friend-isn-t-someone-who-s-just-always-there-for-you-its/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Back home I get to see my old friends!(: But they don't understand the change in me and I can't explain it to them...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/back-home-i-get-to-see-my-old-friends-but-they-don-t-understand-the/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [This goes out to someone that was Once the most important person in my life I didn't realize it at the time I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aviation/this-goes-out-to-someone-that-was-once-the-most-important-person-in/) [Aviation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aviation/) > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Sometimes the right people can make your day. They're called best friends :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/sometimes-the-right-people-can-make-your-day-they-re-called-best/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Here is your third gift from Me once again..I had a fourth gift it was about me making a video telling you how much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilbear/here-is-your-third-gift-from-me-once-again-i-had-a-fourth-gift-it-was/) [LilBear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilbear/) > [Our friendship is like a cup of tea¦a special blend of you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orebela-gbenga/our-friendship-is-like-a-cup-of-tea-a-special-blend-of-you-and-me/) [Orebela Gbenga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orebela-gbenga/) > [When you have the most beautiful best friend in the world what more could I ask for I love you Tay :) you mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick/when-you-have-the-most-beautiful-best-friend-in-the-world-what-more/) [Nick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick/) > [I believe in God, because he is the only thing that kept me going. He's my best friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-hahn/i-believe-in-god-because-he-is-the-only-thing-that-kept-me-going-he-s/) [Jessica Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-hahn/) > [ONE stone enough to break a glass,,, ONE sentence is enough to break a heart,,, FIRST sight is enough to fall in love,,, ONE…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-stone-enough-to-break-a-glass-one-sentence-is-enough-to-break-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A Real Man will help build his woman's self esteem not break it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-s-voice/a-real-man-will-help-build-his-woman-s-self-esteem-not-break-it/) [Lisa's Voice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-s-voice/) [Browse all 6,524 Best friend quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-friend/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A boy got a splinter in his eye, and his heart turned cold. 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