“And now each night, I count the stars.And each night I get the same number.And when the stars won't come to be counted,I count the holes they leave.”

“We rested beneath the stars and I counted each one, giving it a reason why I loved you. It was wonderful until I ran out of stars.”

“He had never bothered to count time before, but he started to now, and it began with counting each breath she took.”

“Right!""Right!""You can get there!""I can get there!""You're a natural at counting to two!""I'm a nat'ral at counting to two!""If you can count to two, you can count to anything!""If I can count to two, I can count to anything!""And then the world is your mollusc!""My mollusc! What's a mollusc?”

“I vote to have my vote voided—which means my vote won’t count even when it counts, and it will count even when it won’t count.”

“Many of our tribe went to the cliff each night to count the number killed during the day. They counted the dead otter and thought of the beads and other things that each pelt meant. But I never went to the cove and whenever I saw the hunters with their long spears skimming over the water, I was angry, for these animals were my friends. It was fun to see them playing or sunning themselves among the kelp. It more fun than the thought of beads to wear around my neck.”