- Henri: English is not even my language. They say I talk funny, and I can't learn to read.
- Moses: Who says this?
- Henri: Other boys.
- Moses: Let me tell you something, Henri. It's a Credo I live by. Be what you want to be, not what people tell you you can be.
- Henri: Well, then stop telling me I can be a reader. What I want is to be... left alone.
- Moses: You owe it to yourself to hone your reading, writing, and arithmetic.
- Henri: I'm doing just fine without it.
- Moses: Yes, you've done well so far. You've learned a trade and a second language, and I'd like to help you keep learning.
- Henri: Why?
- Moses: For one thing, if you could improve your skills at estimation, we might not be short of logs for the fire, and we wouldn't both be freezing our toes off.
- Henri: At least we're not outside. Do you think Sarah and James are all right out in the wilderness?
- Captain Molly: I don't ask permission to do nothing. I believe in being what you want to be, not what people tell you to be.
- Sarah: I know someone else who shares your point of view.