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Which Alice?

Which Alice?

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ALICE IN PUZZLE-LAND<br />

left and one more. Then the Dormouse ate half of what was left and<br />

one more. Just then the Cheshire Cat came in and ate half of what<br />

was left and one more. This finished off the tarts. How many tarts<br />

were there?"<br />

HOW MANY DAYS DID HE WORK? "Here's one," said the<br />

Gryphon. "It's usually solved with algebra; only if you use my<br />

method, you don't need no algebra!<br />

"One day the King of Hearts hired one of the Spade-Gardeners<br />

for twenty-six days to do some work in the garden. The King<br />

stipulated in advance that for every day the gardener worked, he<br />

would receive three tarts, but for every day the gardener was idle,<br />

he got no tarts, but instead had to pay the King one tart."<br />

A thought occurred to <strong>Alice</strong>. "Suppose the gardener were idle<br />

enough days so that he would end up owing the King some tarts,<br />

and he didn't have any to give the King. What would happen then?"<br />

"Then he would get executed, of course!"<br />

"But I thought you once said that they never execute people<br />

around here."*<br />

"Of course they doesn't." The Gryphon grinned. "But they says<br />

they does, and that's enough to scare 'em, you know!<br />

"Anyway," continued the Gryphon, "the gardener ended up<br />

earning sixty-two tarts. How many days did he work?"<br />

"You certainly seem interested in tarts!" said <strong>Alice</strong>, looking<br />

intently at the Gryphon.<br />

"Now, look here, miss," said the Gryphon, "if you're still thinking<br />

about that trial, I already told you I never stole them tarts—they<br />

only fancied I did!"<br />

"I still don't understand how you escaped going to prison!" said<br />

<strong>Alice</strong>.<br />

"I had my own little private talk with the King after the trial," the<br />

Gryphon explained.<br />

*The Gryphon said this in <strong>Alice</strong>'s Adventures in Wonderland.<br />

40

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