question: Recently I fully understood that a little favor could really make a big difference. My daughter and I were, accidentally, in time to catch a falling heart just before it hit the ground. 

It all started when Charlene, one of my co-volunteers at the library, asked if I could do her duty on Tuesday since her doctor appointment had been unexpectedly changed. I agreed, which meant I was home on Friday instead of volunteering as previously planned. 

My daughter, Mary, managers a book store in town. Mid-morning, she called to ask me for help. Would I buy a fifty dollar gift card, birthday card, and cake for one of Mary's assistant managers, Cindy? 

Mary explained she had to call Cindy in to take the place of another assistant manager who was sick, but felt terrible about it when she discovered it was Cindy's birthday. Cindy insisted that it was just fine. But that was not what Mary thought, so she gathered enough money from other employees to throw a surprise party for Cindy. Since neither Mary, nor any of the other employees, could leave to pick up the _ , they were turning to me for help. Days later, Mary told me the wonderful rest of the story, "Cindy cried and cried when we surprised her. After the party, Cindy told us that her boyfriend had chosen that morning to break up with her. To top that off, she only had 26 cents left in her bank account." 

We were surprised at the series of unexpected events that took place in order to circle Cindy with love and catch her falling heart just before it hit the ground.
1. Who is a volunteer at the library?
2. What did the author request of her?
3. What did the author agree to?
4. What is Mary's job?
5. Where?
6. At what kind of business?
7. What did Mary ask her father to do?
8. For whom?
9. What relation is Cindy to Mary?
10. Why did Mary want her father to buy items for Cindy?
11. What did Mary ask Cindy to do on her birthday?
12. Did she complain?
13. What event did Mary plan for Cindy?
14. Does Cindy know about it?
15. Why couldn't anyone at the bookstore buy the items?
16. Why not?
17. Did Mary's father buy the items?
18. What reaction did Cindy have at the surprise party?
19. What significant event had happened that morning to Cindy?
20. Anything else?
****
answer: 1. Charlene
2. unknown
3. Do Charlene's duty
4. Manager
5. In town
6. a book store
7. Help her buy some items
8. Cindy
9. Her assistant manager
10. Because it was her birthday
11. Work
12. No
13. Party
14. No
15. They couldn't leave
16. Another assistant manager had called in sick and they were short-handed
17. Yes
18. She cried
19. She realized she needed to learn how to budget, as she only has 26 cents left in her bank account.
20. Also, her boyfriend dumped her.


question: Long ago, Bluebird's feathers were the colour of dust. She did not like her ugly colour. She was attracted by the colour of the lake near her home. It was as blue as the sky after a storm. Bluebird wanted to be the colour of that beautiful lake very much. Flapping her wings one morning, Bluebird flew from her tree to the blue lake. Then she bathed in the water three times. After each bath, she sang, "Blue water. Still water. I went in. I am blue." Bluebird repeated this every morning. On the third day, she came out of the lake with beautiful blue feathers. Now Coyote was a trickster --and hungry too. He stayed behind Bluebird's tree for a long time every day and watched her go to the lake. He pretended to be interested in everything she did. He wanted Bluebird for lunch, but he was afraid of the blue water. On the third morning, Coyote saw Bluebird come out of the lake with beautiful blue feathers. Impressed, he sat next to Bluebird's tree and waited for her. When she returned, he asked, "How did you get blue feathers? I want to be blue like the mountains too." Bluebird didn't believe Coyote, but she taught him how to bathe three times each morning and how to sing her song. Coyote did what she said, and after three days of bathing in the lake, his white fur turned deep blue. Convinced that blue fur was even more beautiful than blue feathers, Coyote forgot all about being hungry. He ran as fast as he could to the top of the hill. Standing on his back legs, he raised his front legs off the ground and howled. But Coyote slipped and rolled down the hill. He couldn't stop himself, and the dust and dirt covered his new blue fur. He rolled and rolled until he hit into Bluebird's tree heavily. No matter how much he tried, foolish Coyote could not shake the dust from his fur. And so the fur of all coyotes had the dull colour of dust to this very day.
1. What color were Bluebirds feathers?
2. When?
3. Did she like them?
4. What color did she like?
5. How blue was it?
6. Where had she seen this color?
7. Did she fly there?
8. From where?
9. Did she bathe in the water?
10. Twice?
11. Three times?
12. When did she sing?
13. At night?
14. When?
15. For how many days?
16. What happened on the 3rd day?
17. Was anyone watching Bluebird?
18. Who?
19. Was he hungry?
20. Where did he stay?
****
answer:
1. the colour of dust
2. Long ago
3. no
4. blue
5. the sky after a storm
6. lake
7. yes
8. her tree
9. yes
10. no
11. yes
12. After each bath
13. no
14. every morning
15. three
16. came out of the lake with blue feathers
17. yes
18. Coyote
19. yes
20. behind Bluebird's tree