Puzzles

The wolf, the goat and the cabbage

You must ferry a wolf, a goat and a cabbage across a river. The boat holds only you and one passenger. Left alone together, the wolf eats the goat, and the goat eats the cabbage. How do you get all three across? This puzzle is over 1,200 years old.

Reveal the answer

Take the goat over first. Return empty. Take the wolf across — but bring the goat back with you. Leave the goat, take the cabbage over. Return empty, and finally fetch the goat. The trick most people miss: you're allowed to bring things back.

Alcuin of York, Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes ('Problems to Sharpen the Young') — c. 800 AD — public domain

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