THE CANTERBURY PUZZLES
The writer says : " He then requested us to remove five coins from
the eleven, add four coins and leave nine. We could not but think
there must needs be ten pennies left. We were a good deal amused
at the answer hereof."
56.—
The Three Teacups.
One young lady—of whom our fair historian records with
delightful inconsequence : " This Miss Charity Lockyer has since
been married to a curate from Taunton Vale "—placed three empty
teacups on a
table and chal-
lenged anybody
to put ten lumps
of sugar in them
so that there
would be an odd
number of lumps in every cup. " One young man, who has been to
Oxford University, and is studying the law, declared with some heat
that, beyond a doubt, there was no possible way of doing it, and he
offered to give proof of the fact to the company." It must have been
interesting to see his face when he was shown Miss Charity's correct
answer.
57.—
The Christmas Geese.
Squire Hembrow, from Weston Zoyland—wherever that may be
—proposed the following little arithmetical puzzle, from which it is
probable that several somewhat similar modern ones have been
derived : • Farmer Rouse sent his man to market with a flock of
geese, telling him that he might sell all or any of them, as he
considered best, for he was sure the man knew how to make a
good bargain. This is the report that Jabez made, though I have
taken it out of the old Somerset dialect, which might puzzle some
readers in a way not desired. " Well, first of all I sold Mr. Jasper
Tyler half of the flock and half a goose over ; then I sold Farmer
Avent a third of what remained and a third of a goose over ; then
I sold Widow Foster a quarter of what remained and three-quarters
of a goose over ; and as I was coming home, whom should I meet
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