Mr. Fremont showed Kim how to take inventory. It seemed like it would be very easy to do.

“Just count the cans and write down the quantity for each one,” said Mr. Fremont.

“What’s quantity mean?” asked Kurt.

“A quantity is a number,” Kim explained. “When you write down a quantity, you write down how many of the thing you have.”

Kim counted the cans of peas. “One, two, three...” “How many are there?” Kurt asked eagerly.

“Hush!” said Kim. “You made me lose count. I have to start over!

Kim counted the cans of peas. Then she counted the cans of beans.

“There are so many kinds of beans!” Kurt said. “There must be a hundred kinds. I see baked beans, butter beans, pinto beans, green beans, white beans, and kidney beans.”

Every time Kurt said something, Kim lost count.

“Kurt, I need some peace and quiet here, if you don’t mind. This is not quite as easy as it looks. If you keep yapping, I will never get the quantities right.”

Kurt sat quietly for a while and Kim counted everything carefully.

Kurt lay down on his tummy.

“Golly,” he said, “somebody needs to sweep under these shelves. It’s very dusty under there.” He traced a smiley face in the dust.

“Hush, Kurt! If you will just sit there quietly, then I can count these cans and maybe we can go do something fun. I need to focus on the counting,”

Kim counted cans of cherries and jars of jelly while Kurt sat quietly. At last, she finished.

“Let's go find Mr. Fremont,” she said.
They found him at his desk.

“I saw Kim work, Mr. Fremont,” Kurt said. “She counted everything carefully and I think she got the quan-ditty just right.”

“Quantity,” said Kim, “with a‘t.”

Mr. Fremont looked at the numbers Kim had jotted down.

“You did a fine job!” he said. “I counted those cans before lunch today. So I know how many there are. Your count is the same as my count. That means you have passed this test! There is just one test left.”
“OK,” said Kim. “Let's do it!”