S-s-s-s-setting the Bar

At dinner we were entertained by a man who does balloon animals. My youngest wanted a kitten and the other wanted no part of it all. He soon changed his mind. And when asked what kind of animal he wanted, he said, "A snake."

After a bit of stunned silence, the man said "Okay, but I don't know if it's much of a

Challenge n.

1. a. A call to engage in a contest, fight, or competition: a challenge to a duel.
   b. An act or statement of defiance; a call to confrontation: a challenge to the government's authority.
2. A demand for explanation or justification; a calling into question: a challenge to a theory.
3. A sentry's call to an unknown party for proper identification.
4. A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking: a career that offers a challenge.
5. A claim that a vote is invalid or that a voter is unqualified.
6. Law. A formal objection to the inclusion of a prospective juror in a jury.
7. Immunology. The induction or evaluation of an immune response in an organism by administration of a specific antigen to which it has been sensitized.

"challenge." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 06 Feb. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/challenge