m lost here

The Question: Finish the code below to retrieve the text inside an HTML element with the ID of "button" and store it in the variable "animal":

Answer: .text()

This should work - - var animal = $('#button').text();

If you mean the question: Finish the code below to retrieve the text inside an HTML element with the ID of "button" and store it in the variable "animal"

... then it's asking you to use a jQuery method to get the text content of an element. The selector for the element with the ID of button has already been completed for you. Try searching through the jQuery documentation to find the method you need: https://api.jquery.com/

So you just need the method name followed by a set of parentheses:

methodName()

None of these answers seem to work. I'm completely stuck on the same thing.

.text() worked for me

text() is the right answer

try this - var animal = $('#button').text('animal');