Number the Stars

by Lois Lowry

It was all imaginary, anyway—not real. It was only in the fairy tales that people were called upon to be so brave, to die for one another.

she was glad to be an ordinary person who would never be called upon for courage.

But their shoulders were as straight as they had been in the past: in the classroom, on the stage, at the Sabbath table. So there were other sources, too, of pride, and they had not left everything behind.

“That’s all that brave means—not thinking about the dangers. Just thinking about what you must do.