CHAPTER XIX: Sammy Jay Is Modest

As soon as the angry hunter with the terrible gun had disappeared among the trees of the Green Forest, and Lightfoot was sure that he had gone for good, Lightfoot came out from his hiding-place on top of the ridge and walked down to the pond of Paddy the Beaver for a drink. He knew that it was quite safe to do so, for Sammy Jay had followed the hunter, all the time screaming, "Thief! thief! thief!" Every one within hearing could tell just where that hunter was by Sammy's voice. It kept growing fainter and fainter, and by that Lightfoot knew that the hunter was getting farther and farther away.

Paddy the Beaver swam out from his hiding-place and climbed out on the bank near Lightfoot. There was a twinkle in his eyes. "That blue-coated mischief-maker isn't such a bad fellow at heart, after all, is he?" said he.

Lightfoot lifted his beautiful head and set his ears forward to catch the sound of Sammy's voice in the distance.

"Sammy Jay may be a mischief-maker, as some people say," said he, "but you can always count on him to prove a true friend in time of danger. He brought me warning of the coming of the hunter the other morning. You saw him save Mr. and Mrs. Quack a little while ago, and then he actually drove that hunter away. I suppose Sammy Jay has saved more lives than any one I know of. I wish he would come back here and let me thank him." What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Is Sammy Jay arrogant?
2. Who came out of hiding first?
3. Where did he go?
4. Was he human?
5. How old is he?
6. Who did he talk to?
7. Was it safe for them?
8. Who made it safe?
9. How?
10. Did anyone thank Sammy?
11. Why not?
Answer: 1. No
2. Lightfoot
3. The pond of Paddy the Beaver
4. No
5. unknown
6. Paddy the Beaver
7. Yes
8. Sammy Jay
9. He drove the hunter away.
10. No
11. He wasn't around

Problem: Liu Qian, a magician from Taiwan, cast his spell over an audience of thousands on the CCTV Spring Festival Show. Die-hard fans are still trying to work out the secrets behind many of the tricks he performed.

But Liu, 32, when asked, laughed off the idea that there might be an "answer" to his magic. "The most fascinating things about magic is the puzzling process. People enjoy how magicians make the impossible come true," said Liu.

Few people today believe in the possibility of real magic. They also often fail to consider magicians' devotion to their art. It can take a magician years' of practice to perfect a trick before he performs it on stage.

Part of Liu's star appeal is his astonishing skill. However, when he began in the industry, he was embarrassingly clumsy. "I could practice thousands of times for one single act. It wasn't much fun," he said.

No magician's supernatural powers on stage extend to their life off stage. Liu says his life was no easier or funnier because he was a magician.

He developed an interest in magic at a young age, but didn't consider making a living out of it until he graduated from university. He had studied Japanese language and found himself unable to find a job. "My parents never considered being a magician as a proper job. To begin with, I had little confidence I would be doing this in the long term," he said.

Yet Liu felt a powerful calling to become a magician. "For many people, magic somehow means a miracle, which is something we all secretly wish for no matter how hard-bitten or cynical we become," he said.

Liu may be right. A popular modern dream is of the fairy godmother, who waves her magic wand and makes our dreams come true. But according to Liu, we all have the power to create magic in our lives. As Liu puts it: it's not the magic that makes it work;it's the way we work that makes it magic.
1. What is his name?
2. What does he do?
3. how old?
4. Where is he from?
5. Did he graduate college?
6. What did he study?
7. Why did he become a magician?
8. Did he plan to make it a permanent job?
9. DO we all have the ability to create magic?
10. What makes magic work?
Answer: 1. Liu Qian
2. he is a magician
3. 32
4. Taiwan
5. yes
6. Japanese
7. he found himself unable to find a job
8. no
9. yes
10. the way we work

question: A 29-year-old who admitted leaking details of a secret U.S. government program that collects massive phone and Internet data now says he doesn't want attention.

Too late, Edward Snowden. You're getting it -- on every scale, good and bad, across the Internet on social media and on every news broadcast. People of every age and range of experience, including national security experts, are weighing in on what you've done.

Some love you, others despise you. You're now a lightning rod for spirited debate surrounding government transparency versus public protection against the threat of terrorism.

Like WikiLeaks' source Bradley Manning, now on trial for leaking secrets, Snowden said he independently decided that the program was counter to American principles and should be revealed.

"There is no public oversight," he told the Guardian newspaper.

Like Manning, he went outside the system, and critics are blasting the computer expert for not airing concerns internally.

Snowden's actions have united some strange bedfellows. Left-leaning filmmaker Michael Moore and right-leaning commentator Glenn Beck tweeted that they think he's a "hero."

Democratic senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Mark Udall of Colorado and Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky say they're worried the government could be overreaching with the program. Opensecrets.org lists Snowden as contributing to the 2012 presidential campaign of Rand Paul's father, libertarian Ron Paul.

Dozens of Facebook pages supporting Snowden have popped up in the past day. There are at least 2 million mentions of the North Carolina native on Twitter. Comments are so wide-ranging it's hard to put a finger on one theme, but social media aggregator BuzzFeed says that the word "hero" pops up more on Twitter than "traitor."
1. Where is Snowden from?
2. What does Micheal Moore call him?
3. What about Glenn Beck?
4. Why is it odd that they agree?
5. What did they both use to say this?
6. What did Snowden not want?
7. How much is he getting?
8. Is he being talked about in the news?
9. On social media?
10. What kind of experts are giving opinions on him?
11. What did he do to get this attention?
12. Why?
13. What did the program do?
14. What media outlet did he speak to?
15. Did he make his decision alone?
16. What kind of expert is he?
17. How old is he?
18. Is public opinion split on him?
19. How many times has his name come up on Twitter?
20. What is he called most often?
****
answer:
1. North Carolina
2. a "hero."
3. the same
4. One leans left; the other leans right.
5. Twitter
6. attention.
7. A lot.
8. yes
9. yes
10. national security experts
11. published about a national information system
12. he thought the program was un American
13. collects massive phone and Internet data
14. the Guardian
15. yes
16. computer expert
17. 29
18. yes
19. 2 million times
20. "hero"