"No," said the child. "What is it?"
Muskrat stopped, cleared his throat, ruffled his fur, drew himself up, and said in ringing tones, "Why times How equals What." He paused to let the words take effect. "That's Muskrat's Much-in-Little," he said. He ruffled his fur again and slapped the ice with his tail. "Why times How equals What," he repeated. "Strikes you all of a heap the first time you hear it, doesn't it? Pretty well covers everything! I'm a little surprised that you haven't heard of it before, I must say. It caused a good deal of comment both over and under the pond, and almost everyone agreed that the ripples from it were ever-widening."
from Russell Hoban - The Mouse and His Child
"I'm always looking for the Hows and the Whys and the Whats," said Muskrat, "That is why I speak as I do. You've heard of Muskrat's Much-in-Little, of course?"