Odd, but Even.

Manawatu Standard, Volume VIII, Issue 140, 24 November 1884, Page 4

Odd, but Even.

It is quite a number of years since this old camel story trotted along the sands of time, so as the circus season is approaching it has, been suggested that the Free Press should staptj the j ancient animal on its travels again. This is how it happened: Ali Ben Eli McGuffin, being full of years, died, leaving to his three sons his; seventeen camels for> the sample reason that he could not take ! them along with him. The will, duly! attested, said the eldest was to have! one-half, the . second sou onethirdj, and. .the youngest one-ninth of r the Seventeen ,.'. camel's^' Tlie tipy s \ were : a little perplexed at th|s as it seemed to involve the cutting up.pf a cancel, and camels were worth 3dols -a day an the -Sahara tha^fiePsoo; feut tjhe boys, if not first-class mathematicians, had level 'hedds and did not gjo to law to prove the old man insane, -but went instead to the~good old (Jadi Hassan O'Donohue, who had tjake^VnTiedalUt matheniatic^at i Ann -Arbor. '"■ ' ' ' '— ■ ' ' ' '' ''■'■'' *• BoysT" said *th"c good old Cadi "reproaolifujly, «» You jsho.uld not bother me tyith./ jh^esje little matters/ Ask me a harder one. 7 , • /Bdt. seeing thgy .were nspublcd^lie, bcnejolent old man asked the hostler to; trot out his<> .OwfaldelapiHated camel, which had v seen its best days traVellin^'wifli'^B'arnum as tnfe SacM ! ;red Gnu dfi»ersia>^ f '<'! v ;i i! ■-• !< -s V/ Placing the aged brute with the '•■■ seven|teen camels ■ ihe boys had > brought ■ alorig, he' t ■ ' ■; : ;f j There are eighteen ' : -cambl& I i shall now give you half of the eigh^ ; eenj/vhich is nine. How does thaistrike you?" r>- . :'i ;.!■,■->••' L- 1 *' ] t hits me where I live,^' §aid the e dest, who was sjangybut.wjthi a^flleased at .^eiting halrof^eigjiteieii ; rather than half of seventeen. " The 'hext-ttboy!. shall) have onethird ofi; eighteen^ which- is- isix.' j 4^rfi; yoti therev Moriarity ?V i - -, > " said>the hoyvii .* " T-'he next?;wHl haveiohe-ninth ofi eighteen, wwhich'is'twoy? and<so the tbiipdj youngster collared his '; two i i camels. Thus two and ;six and nine.) made! seventeen, and still was the (gooidjCadi's aged animal left unscathed.- The people marvelled, as the Cadi ihad given • each^more^han 3 the willtcalled for, w.hich. is, rather unut sujil m courts ..qf^l^V.-^Ahd thW ,said <^ne to' ! an6tW, / That's'wHat .^is to be. good at figures^' r . .