--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What do we do? asked the next-oldest…" description: "\"“What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely spoke. What can we do? Watch. Wait. Protect the princesses. Keep them cheerful and unafraid..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg" --- # What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely… ![“What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely spoke. What can we do? Watch. Wait. Protect the princesses. Keep them cheerful and unafraid. They will need whole hearts and the memory of happiness, at least, to have any chance of doing what must be done.” quote by Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg) > ““What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely spoke. What can we do? Watch. Wait. Protect the princesses. Keep them cheerful and unafraid. They will need whole hearts and the memory of happiness, at least, to have any chance of doing what must be done.”” [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The characters commit to protecting the princesses by staying vigilant, supportive, and joyful, believing that love and happiness are essential for success. **In simple terms:** Protect with joy and vigilance. Key Takeaway Guard with optimism. Themes protection optimism responsibility Mood hopeful determined Type narrative inspirational When to use this quote - childhood games - team leadership - crisis management - mental health support Key Concepts empathy collective resilience Questions to Reflect On - How can we balance protection with empowerment? - What role does joy play in resilience? A Different Perspective It assumes the princesses will accept protection without agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Asked Oldest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/asked-oldest-3310993/) [Dogs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dogs/) [Oldest Puppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oldest-puppy-5531993/) [Protect Princesses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect-princesses-5531992/) [Puppy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/puppy/) [Wait Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wait-protect-5531994/) ## Related quotes > [ I once asked my oldest daughter \[Julia Marie\] if she thought about changing her name in school and she said, "No, I'm a Pacino.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-pacino/i-once-asked-my-oldest-daughter-julia-marie-if-she-thought-about/) [Al Pacino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-pacino/) > [I had to get some things right in my personal life. And once I got my family on the same page, to understand who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-moss/i-had-to-get-some-things-right-in-my-personal-life-and-once-i-got-my/) [Randy Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-moss/) > [“Are they always so mean?” I asked. “It’s the oldest story in the book— the bullied become the bullies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-clawson/are-they-always-so-mean-i-asked-it-s-the-oldest-story-in-the-book-the/) [David Clawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-clawson/) > [“My first puppy's name was Purple.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracey-ward/my-first-puppy-s-name-was-purple/) [Tracey Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracey-ward/) > [Puppy presents on the rug. This sucked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/puppy-presents-on-the-rug-this-sucked/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [My puppy, we had to give him away:'(](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel/my-puppy-we-had-to-give-him-away/) [Rachel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel/) > [I always was concerned about puppy dogs and pussycats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-blake/i-always-was-concerned-about-puppy-dogs-and-pussycats/) [Amanda Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-blake/) > [There are all sorts of cute puppy dogs, but it doesn't stop people from going out and buying Dobermans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-young/there-are-all-sorts-of-cute-puppy-dogs-but-it-doesn-t-stop-people/) [Angus Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-young/) > [We are not made up only of our light and happiness but also of darkness and sorrow. To deny the darkness of yourself is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/we-are-not-made-up-only-of-our-light-and-happiness-but-also-of/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Aww! I want this puppy!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie/aww-i-want-this-puppy/) [Eddie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie/) > [Well, puppy mills are - it's just a name given to really, really bad dog breeding facilities and sadly, we have a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-trump/well-puppy-mills-are-it-s-just-a-name-given-to-really-really-bad-dog/) [Lara Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-trump/) > [My Puppy(: Her name is Havana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aly-johnson/my-puppy-her-name-is-havana/) [Aly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aly-johnson/) > [Sometimes you’re just the sweetest thing. Like Christmas, summer vacation, and a brand-new puppy rolled into one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/sometimes-you-re-just-the-sweetest-thing-like-christmas-summer/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [My new puppy!!!!!!!!!!! luca <333 6 weeks old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-new-puppy-luca-333-6-weeks-old/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [While your children are sleeping, your puppy is crappin'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/while-your-children-are-sleeping-your-puppy-is-crappin/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) ## More by Garth Nix > [Death and what came after death was no great mystery to Sabriel. She just wished it was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/death-and-what-came-after-death-was-no-great-mystery-to-sabriel-she/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“Choosers will be beggars if the begging's not their choosing," said the Dog "What does that mean?" "I have no idea," said the Dog”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/choosers-will-be-beggars-if-the-begging-s-not-their-choosing-said-the/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [Time plays tricks between here and home," said Mogget sepulchrally, frightening the life out of the telephone operator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/time-plays-tricks-between-here-and-home-said-mogget-sepulchrally/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [ “Mmmmmm, said Ardent \[the Royal Dog\]. He liked cooked food. Also raw food and semicooked food, and things that might be food and so… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/mmmmmm-said-ardent-the-royal-dog-he-liked-cooked-food-also-raw-food/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [I enjoyed the army reserve, and I learned a lot from it, but I also... it helped me work out that I didn't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/i-enjoyed-the-army-reserve-and-i-learned-a-lot-from-it-but-i-also-it/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“If I'm not back by nightfall, come and take a very careful look, said Anya. But I don't expect to need rescuing. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/if-i-m-not-back-by-nightfall-come-and-take-a-very-careful-look-said/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“Come, said Tanitha. Come to the Great Hall, and we will lie down with the puppies, and I will tell you a story. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/come-said-tanitha-come-to-the-great-hall-and-we-will-lie-down-with/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [So I'll do that, and I'll do my best and if my best isn't good enough, at least I will have done everything I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/so-i-ll-do-that-and-i-ll-do-my-best-and-if-my-best-isn-t-good-enough/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [He was obviously a very arrogant ragamuffin, and younger than she was, to boot. And he was wearing a necromancer's bells! Apart from that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/he-was-obviously-a-very-arrogant-ragamuffin-and-younger-than-she-was/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“she still felt she was a librarian and always would be, no matter what else she had become as well. “We”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/she-still-felt-she-was-a-librarian-and-always-would-be-no-matter-what/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“I don't want to be that kind of sorcerer, said Anya swiftly. Besides, you wouldn't...you wouldn't love me then, would you? We will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/i-don-t-want-to-be-that-kind-of-sorcerer-said-anya-swiftly-besides/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [Fear and realisation of ignorance, strong medicines against stupid pride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/fear-and-realisation-of-ignorance-strong-medicines-against-stupid/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“I didn't know why he became a tree. I don't really know anything about why druids become trees- Peace and quiet, said Elisandria matter-of-factly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/i-didn-t-know-why-he-became-a-tree-i-don-t-really-know-anything-about/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [“Our parts now -- which perforce we must play -- are not father and daughter, but one old Abhorsen, making way for the new.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/our-parts-now-which-perforce-we-must-play-are-not-father-and-daughter/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) > [We've had enough of your pretending to be God. We'll take our chances getting out of the city. Things have to be better in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/we-ve-had-enough-of-your-pretending-to-be-god-we-ll-take-our-chances/) [Garth Nix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) [Explore all 147 Garth Nix quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Humans are animals too, but some do not like to work from expectations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/humans-are-animals-too-but-some-do-not-like-to-work-from-expectations/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm 38 and I'm single, and I'm having my most intense and gratifying relationship with a dog. But we all learn about love in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-knapp/i-m-38-and-i-m-single-and-i-m-having-my-most-intense-and-gratifying/) [Caroline Knapp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-knapp/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-horse-a-horse-my-kingdom-for-a-horse/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“it is a federal system of sadistic torture, vivisection, and animal genocide, which has been carried on for decades under the fraudulent guise of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tobias/it-is-a-federal-system-of-sadistic-torture-vivisection-and-animal/) [Michael Tobias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tobias/) > [“What does it mean to be a self-conscious animal? The idea is ludicrous, if it is not monstrous. It means to know that one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-self-conscious-animal-the-idea-is-ludicrous/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [We must love animals in such a powerful way that we should reject to eat them!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/we-must-love-animals-in-such-a-powerful-way-that-we-should-reject-to/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [That dog, I say that dog is lower than a snake full of buckshot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foghorn-leghorn/that-dog-i-say-that-dog-is-lower-than-a-snake-full-of-buckshot/) [Foghorn Leghorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foghorn-leghorn/) > [I bet plants go like 'Weeeeeeeee!' whenever they're swallowed by a giraffe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-bet-plants-go-like-weeeeeeeee-whenever-they-re-swallowed-by-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Animal rights without veganism is like human rights with slavery. It makes no sense. None whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/animal-rights-without-veganism-is-like-human-rights-with-slavery-it/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely spoke. What can we do? Watch. Wait. Protect the princesses. Keep them cheerful and unafraid. They will need whole hearts and the memory of happiness, at least, to have any chance of doing what must be done.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Garth Nix" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-puppy-one-who-rarely-spoke-what/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-puppy-one-who-rarely-spoke-what/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/510/garth-nix-2783_animal_what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-pupp_1505963.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What do we do? asked the next-oldest puppy, one who rarely spoke. What can we do? Watch. Wait. Protect the…” — Garth Nix", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Garth Nix", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-nix/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What do we do? asked the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-puppy-one-who-rarely-spoke-what/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-nix/what-do-we-do-asked-the-next-oldest-puppy-one-who-rarely-spoke-what/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```