Question

Read the passage.

Why the Cat Always Lands on Its Feet


A gentle magician was traveling in a forest. He’d been traveling forever, it seemed. So when he spotted a tree with gnarled roots, he had to lie down among them to rest. He had just snuggled in and closed his weary eyes when a great serpent slithered out of a thicket. Had the magician noticed the snake in the undergrowth, he would have turned it into a harmless stick.


When the snake saw the sleeping man at the foot of the tree, it coiled in anger. “I will kill him!” it hissed. The snake recalled that this was the very man who had surprised it sometime earlier, just when the snake was about to dine on a tabby cat for breakfast. “Flee for your life!” the magician had cried, and the cat had scrambled up a tree just in time.


The serpent slithered closer now. It hissed its war cry as it remembered the magician’s meddling. “You will be my breakfast,” the deadly troublemaker spat, its forked tongue testing the air for a sniff of its sleeping quarry. “And when I swallow you down, you will be sorry you ever interfered.”


Now, it just so happened that the same breakfast cat had noticed the conflict from the branches high above the sleeping magician. “Arrrr,” she snarled, her little body quivering in fright when she heard the serpent’s hiss. She was slight compared to the enormous serpent. But as she watched the evil one glide toward the man, the memory of the magician’s kindness to her transformed her fear to anger. That snake would pay for preying on helpless victims! The tabby sprang for the coiled serpent like a bolt of striped lightning!
How are the cat and magician alike?
Responses

They both feel sorry for the snake.

They both are tired and need rest.

They both are traveling to new places far from their homes.

They both are thankful for the kindness that has been shown to them.

Answer 1

They both are thankful for the kindness that has been shown to them

Answer 2

The correct response is:

D) They both are thankful for the kindness that has been shown to them.

Step-by-step explanation:

The passage describes a situation in which both the cat and the magician are in danger from the serpent. The magician is sleeping at the foot of a tree, while the cat is watching from the branches above. The serpent is seeking revenge against the magician for interfering earlier, and plans to kill him. The cat, remembering the magician's kindness to her, decides to attack the serpent to protect the sleeping magician. Therefore, the correct response is that both the cat and the magician are in danger from the serpent.