As events unfold in her life, Clarissa explains to the viewer the motivations behind people's actions.

[repeated line]
Clarissa Darling: [a thunking sound is heard, and a ladder appears at Clarissa's window] Hi, Sam!
[Sam climbs the ladder, and the sound of a bluesy guitar strumming a chord is heard]
Marshall Darling: [after Ferguson hid Clarissa's bike as a joke, and it disappeared] Well, Ferguson, if it's really gone and you can't get it back, you know what you gotta do.
Ferguson Darling: Apologize.
Marshall Darling: No.
Ferguson Darling: Apologize sincerely.
Marshall Darling: No.
Ferguson Darling: No, Dad, not pay for it!
[Clarissa and her dad, who has come down with the flu, are discussing Bouncy Balls]
Marshall Darling: But don't you think it's a little weird to eat something that you've been bouncing on the floor?
Clarissa Darling: Dad, you haven't really been eating them after they've been on the floor, have you?
[beat]
Marshall Darling: I'm gonna go get some more bouillon.
Marshall Darling: Your mother and I aren't fighting. We're having a discussion.
Clarissa Darling: Whoever said, "The more things change the more things stay the same," definitely had the right POV.
Clarissa Darling: [about the brat she has to babysit] This year I've got the perfect tools to tame little Elsie.
Sam Anders: Well, if you're not packing thermo-nuclear warheads, I think you're traveling light.