In this task, you need to count the occurrences of the given word in the given sentence.

Q: Sentence: 'a little girl laying on a bed holding a brown teddy bear'. Count the occurrences of the word 'a' in the given sentence.

A: 3
****
Q: Sentence: 'a dog is sleeping in a bed underneath a desk'. Count the occurrences of the word 'a' in the given sentence.

A: 3
****
Q: Sentence: 'a number of birds in a cage handing from a pole'. Count the occurrences of the word 'a' in the given sentence.

A:
3
****