“I believe in reincarnation,” [Bjorn] said.I KNOW.“I tried to live a good life. Does that help?”THAT’S NOT UP TO ME. Death coughed. OF COURSE... SINCE YOU BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION... YOU’LL BE BJORN AGAIN.”

“But I don't believe in reincarnation!" he protested.SQUEAK.And this, Mr Pounder understood with absolute rodent clarity, meant: reincarnation believes in you.”

“The short conversation that follows eventually led to a tree religion. Its tenet of faith was this: a tree that was a good tree and led a clean decent and upstanding life could be assured of a future life after death. If it was very good indeed it would eventually be reincarnated as five thousand rolls of lavatory paper.”

“I believe you find life such a problem because you think there are good people and bad people. You're wrong, of course. There are, always and only, the bad people, but some of them are on opposite sides.”

“I don't regret it, you know. I would do it all again. Children are our hope for the future."THERE IS NO HOPE FOR THE FUTURE, said Death."What does it contain, then?"ME.”

“Susan's gotta poker, you know," it said, as if anxious to be helpful. WELL, WELL. INDEED. MY GOODNESS ME."I fort-thought all of you knew that now. Larst-last week she picked up a bogey by its nose."Death tried to imagine this. He felt sure he'd heard the sentence wrong, but it didn't sound a whole lot better however he rearranged the words.”

“Most witches don’t believe in gods. They know that the gods exist, of course. They even deal with them occasionally. But they don’t believe in them. They know them too well. It would be like believing in the postman.”