Tales that Matter

“But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in mind. Folk seem to have just landed in them, usually-their paths were laid that way..But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back only they didn’t…We hear about those that just went on–I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?”

I wonder,” said Frodo. “But I don’t know. And that’s the way of a real tale. Take any one that you’re fond of. You may know , or guess, what kind of tale it is, happy ending or sad ending, but the people in it don’t know. And you don’t want them to.”

J.R.R. Tolkein, The Two Towers