What kind of pets do people have in your country? Dogs? Cats? How about a duck, hippo or lion? Here are two cases of animal owners with unusual pets.

Barrie Hayman has a pet duck called Star. Barrie adopted him after his brothers and sisters stayed away from him at birth. Barrie, a duck breeder, realized the little duck needed special attention. So he began taking Star with him everywhere he went. "I would put him in my pocket while I did my shopping," said Barrie. Now, at five months, Star is too big for Barrie's pocket, but the two are still _ . They watch sports together and even share a drink together. Barrie said, "He is one fantastic duck. I've never known any like him." Star even has his own Facebook page, with more than 2,000 Facebook friends.

Then there's the case of Tonie and Shirley Joubert in South Africa. They live with their pet hippo, Jessica. Tonie saved Jessica from floodwaters when she was only a day old. Jessica lives outside their riverside house, but she knows how to open the kitchen door, and often goes there for a snack. Tonie recently said, "I don't know whether Jessica sees me as a hippo or whether she sees herself as a human." Shirley is more certain, "Jessica sees herself as our child and I see Jessica as my daughter. I can't imagine my life without Jessica." Jessica is free to leave, and often visits wild hippos that live nearby. But she always returns home at night. Jessica's website notes that she has three hippo boyfriends, but one in particular, Fred, is her favorite. They often go grazing together and Fred has recently moved onto the Jouberts' house as well. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who was Star?
2. 'what does Barrie Hayman do for a living?
3. What did he do with Star when he went shopping?
4. How old is STar now?
5. What kind of pet do Tonie and Shirley Joubert have?
6. What is the hippo's name?
7. What's the setting for the Joubert's house?
8. What country is it in?
9. Can Jessica leave if she wants to?
10. Does she?
11. How many boyfriends does she have?
12. What's the name of her favorite?
13. What do they do together?
Answer: 1. a pet duck
2. a duck breeder
3. put him in his pocket
4. unknown
5. hippo
6. Jessica
7. riverside
8. South Africa
9. Yes
10. she always returns home at night
11. three
12. Fred
13. go grazing

Washington (CNN) -- The Virginia governor's race has often been looked to as an off-year barometer of national political sentiment.

This year's grind-it-out race, an acrimonious spitball contest between two candidates only slightly more likeable than Walter White, is anything but.

In a lesser-of-two-evils campaign, Terry McAuliffe, the longtime Democratic fundraiser and confidante to former President Bill Clinton, is clinging to a modest but sturdy lead over Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the state's attorney general.

Republicans have pilloried McAuliffe as a sleazy political operator and failed businessman who exploited his Washington connections to help his sputtering car company, GreenTech Automotive. Cuccinelli has been targeted as a far-right social crusader who would curb abortion rights and access to contraception. Democrats on Twitter are fond of calling him #creepyken.

McAuliffe is leading Cuccinelli among likely voters by an eight-point margin, 47% to 39%, according to a Washington Post poll out this week.

McAuliffe is hardly bulletproof: A federal investigation into GreenTech has sullied his reputation, and only two-thirds of Democrats -- his own party -- consider him "honest and trustworthy."

But Cuccinelli is on much shakier ground. While Republicans are slightly more fired up about voting for him than Democrats are for McAuliffe, Cuccinelli's favorable ratings are next-to-toxic: More than half of likely voters view him unfavorably.

Enter Robert Sarvis.

As public dismay with the two main candidates calcifies, the baby-faced 37-year old Libertarian candidate from Fairfax has quietly crept northward in the polls, reaching 10% in the Post poll.

That's not nearly enough to win in November -- with just five weeks until Election Day, even Sarvis admits "we have to get a lot higher" -- but he looks increasingly likely to play the role of spoiler by siphoning conservative votes away from Cuccinelli. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who has a face like an infant?
2. What is his age?
3. Where is he from?
4. What's his political group?
5. What percentage is he expected to receive?
6. What percentage is Sarvis expected to get?
7. Which direction are his numbers going?
8. Who raised money for the Dems?
9. Who confided in him?
10. Who is he ahead of?
11. What hashtag is used for him?
12. What's is position?
13. Which state?
14. Who released the pollster results?
15. According to Washington Post poll, what is the margin?
16. When was the 8 point margin poll released?
17. Who is ahead now?
18. Says who?
19. Which business are the Feds investigating?
20. How many of his group think highly of McAuliffe?
Answer: 1. Robert Sarvis.
2. 37
3. Fairfax
4. Libertarian
5. , 47% to 39%
6. 10%
7. northward
8. Terry McAuliffe,
9. President Bill Clinton
10. Republican Ken Cuccinelli,
11. #creepyken.
12. the state's attorney general
13. unknown
14. unknown
15. , 47% to 39%
16. unknown
17. Terry McAuliffe
18. Washington Post
19. GreenTech
20. two-thirds of Democrats -- his own party -- consider him "honest and trustworthy.

CHAPTER VIII

A MYSTERIOUS LETTER

In the morning mail Gus Plum received a letter postmarked London which he read with much interest. Then he called on Dave.

"I've just received a letter I want you to read," he said. "It is from Nick Jasniff, and he mentions you." And he handed over the communication.

It was a long rambling epistle, upbraiding Plum roundly for "having gone back on him," as Jasniff put it. The writer said he was now "doing Europe" and having a good time generally. One portion of the letter read as follows:

"The authorities needn't look for me, for they will never find me. I struck a soft thing over here and am about seventy pounds to the good. Tell Dave Porter I could tell him something he would like to hear--about his folks--but I am not going to do it. I don't think he'll meet that father of his just yet, or that pretty sister of his either. She'd be all right if she didn't have such a lunkhead of a brother. Tell him that some day I'll square up with him and put him in a bigger hole than he got me into. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have to stay away as I'm doing--not but what I'm having a good time--better than grinding away at Oak Hall."

As may be imagined, Dave read this letter with even greater interest than had Gus Plum. What was said about his father and sister mystified him. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who sent the letter?
2. Who did he write to?
3. Who else was mentioned in it?
4. Did he read the letter?
5. Did he find it interesting?
6. Did it interest him even more than the intended recipient?
7. Why?
8. Where is the sender of the letter?
9. Is he having good time there?
10. Is he hiding from someone?
11. Was his appearance changed?
12. Who else did he mention in the letter?
13. Did he think highly of Dave?
Answer:
1. Nick Jasniff
2. Gus Plum
3. Dave
4. yes
5. yes
6. Yes
7. He could tell him something he wants to hear
8. London
9. Kinda
10. Yes
11. unknown
12. dave's sister
13. no