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Which Alice?

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Solutions to the Puzzles<br />

two possibilities (4A and 4C) in which at most one defendant told<br />

the truth; in Case 6 there are again two possibilities (6B and 6C); in<br />

Case 7 there are the two possibilities 7A and 7C; and in Case 8 there<br />

are the two possibilities 8B and 8C. So, in none of these four cases<br />

could the Jabberwocky have known who was guilty. On the other<br />

hand, in Case 1, possibility 1A is the only one in which there was at<br />

most one true statement; in Case 2, 2B is the only possibility; in<br />

Case 3, 3A is the only one; and in Case 5, 5B is the only one. So we<br />

know that one of the Cases 1, 2, 3, 5 is the one which actually holds.<br />

Now, Tweedledee was told that the Jabberwocky solved the<br />

problem, so Tweedledee also knew that the actual case was either 1,<br />

2, 3, or 5. If he had been told that A claimed to be guilty, then he<br />

would have ruled out Cases 1, 2, and 3 and known that Case 5 must<br />

hold, which means that B is guilty (because 5B is the only possibility<br />

under Case 5 in which at most one true statement was made). This<br />

means that Tweedledee would have solved the problem, but we are<br />

given that Tweedledee didn't solve the problem; therefore, he was<br />

not told that A claimed to be guilty; he was told that A claimed to be<br />

innocent, so he knew that Case 5 didn't hold, but he had no way of<br />

knowing whether Case 1, 2, or 3 held; hence he didn't know<br />

whether A or B was guilty. Anyway, we now know that one of the<br />

Cases 1, 2, or 3 holds.<br />

Now we consider Tweedledum. He was told about the Jabberwocky,<br />

so he also knew that one of the Cases 1, 2, 3, 5 must hold,<br />

but he was not told about Tweedledee; so he did not know that Case<br />

5 was ruled out. Now, he asked either about B or C, but we don't<br />

know which. Suppose he asked about B. If the White Knight told<br />

him that B claimed to be guilty, then Tweedledum would have<br />

ruled out Cases 1, 2, and 5, and would have been left just with Case<br />

3; so he would have solved the problem (concluding that A was<br />

guilty). But he didn't solve the problem; so if he asked what B said,<br />

then he was told that B claimed to be innocent. So we now know<br />

that if Tweedledum asked what B said, then Case 1 or Case 2 holds.<br />

Suppose Tweedledum asked what C said. If he had been told that<br />

C said that A was guilty, he would have eliminated Cases 1, 3, 5 and<br />

solved the problem (concluding that B was guilty). But he didn't<br />

solve the problem, so he must have been told that C claimed that A<br />

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