Week 13 Story: Who was Going to St. Ives?

The brothers at the lake (Source)

The cries of laughter could be heard ringing through the woods as the brothers played, chasing each other, wrestling, and trying to catch the small creatures that occupied the forest. They played hard, all through the afternoon, until, tired and thirsty, they began to make their way back home. They had gone farther into the woods than they normally do, and the path they were on grew unfamiliar. The youngest brother ran on ahead to see if the trail they were on was the right one. Therefore, he was the first to stumble upon the lake.

The lake was stunning. Without a warning, the dense woods opened up, and a crystal blue lake filled a clearing. It was refreshing and inviting, and the youngest brother was immediately drawn to it. It may not be home, but it was certainly a welcome stop along the way. He bent down to drink some of the water when a deep voice, with no clear origin, boomed out, "Stop! Who dares drink from the water of wisdom without proving himself first?"

The brother, trembling, took a step back. "I'm sorry! I didn't realize this water was so special. What do I need to do to prove myself?"

"You must answer my riddle" boomed the voice. 

"Okay. Hit me," the brother seated himself cross-legged on the lake's shores, staring transfixed into its depths.

"As I was going to St. Ives, I met a man with seven wives. Every wife had seven sacks, every sack had seven cats, every cat had seven kitts. Kitts, cats, sacks, wives, how many were going to St. Ives?"

The brother picked up a stick and began doing calculations in the mud by the lake without a moment's pause. He quickly began summing numbers and multiplying strings together. Finally, he said, "This was fairly straightforward. We have 1 man plus 7 wives plus 49 sacks plus 343 cats and 2401 kitts, so 2801 are going to St. Ives!" He put down his stick proudly and leaned into the water to drink.

However, for all his math, he was incorrect, and the voice's penalty for incorrect answers was steep. The youngest brother fell down dead at the shores of the lake. 

During this time, the other brothers were catching up. They came across a huge tree that blocked their path--the smallest said, "Allow me to run ahead and find our youngest brother. You guys look for another route." He ducked through the small spaces between the tree branches, and continued down the path.

Very shortly, he came upon the lake. He gasped in horror at the sight of his brother there. The voice spoke to him as well, and gave him the same riddle. The smallest brother thought for a bit longer than the youngest before he answered. 

"Well," he began. "I can see that my brother did the calculation in depth, and I trust his mathematical skills. But I don't think he considered all the factors." And then, being the poetic one of the family, he delivered the following answer to the riddle:

"Why the deuce do you give yourselves so much vexation, 

And puzzle your brains with a long calculation

Of the number of cats, with their kitts and their sacks,

Which went to St. Ives, on the old women's backs,

As you seem to suppose? Don't you see that the cunning

Old Querist went only? The rest were all coming. 

But grant the wives went too -- as sure's they were married,

Eight only could go, for the rest were all carried."

Despite the smallest brother's conviction and delightful delivery of his response, alas, it was not what the voice was looking for, and he met the same fate as the first.

By now, the rest of the brothers had managed to find their way around the fallen tree, and made it to the clearing. They saw their fallen brothers, and immediately were on edge. 

"Who dares to come to the water of wisdom?" came the voice. "You must prove yourself, by answering my riddle. As you can see, the price of failure is high."

"But is the reward of success equally high?" the oldest brother challenged. "If I prove myself, I want you to bring my brothers back, for I will have demonstrated my family's wisdom."

"Very well," the voice replied. "But you only get one guess."

The brothers discussed the problem among themselves. They realized the logic their other brothers must have had, and did their best to understand why it was wrong. Finally, the oldest brother lit up.

"If you were the one going to St. Ives," he began, addressing the voice, "then you met the group of men and wives and cats leaving St. Ives, so they don't count at all! There was only ONE going to St. Ives," he finished triumphantly, adding after a brief consideration, "Well, unless you had any companions in your party."

"Very good, yes, very very good," the voice thundered approvingly. "Rise, fallen brothers! Now, you may all drink of this water and refresh yourselves, before you head on your way." And with that, the other two brothers rose, and all celebrated the eldest brother's wisdom by dunking him in the lake. And they carried on their merry way. 

Author's Note:

This story was inspired by the brothers at the lake in The Mahabharata, by RK Narayan. I wanted to give the brothers a chance to actually answer the question, rather than having them just be too tempted by the lake to not even try. I found a riddle that had multiple very plausible answers, so that they could each have a shot at answering it, deliver a good answer, but still not get the trick until the oldest brother comes along. 

Riddle Source: The St Ives Problem and the second brother's solution, from Wikipedia.

If you care about the math to get the number the first brother calculated, here ya go: