On Friday Brit the Elder posed a fiendish riddle for your puzzlement. Can you crack its secret and find the question to which Alby the owl provided the answer ‘Twelve’? Stumped? Here’s a clue, as we continue the story…
…But what was the question?
Owl number six, in the cage next to Alby, hooted softly to get his attention.
Alby opened both eyes (for owls, unlike humans, deserved his full attention), and turned to face his friend.
“How d-did you d-do that?” asked the sixth owl, whose name, for an obvious reason, was M-Monty. “How d-did you c-calculate an answer of t-twelve?”
“It wasn’t entirely about numbers,” said Alby casually. “It was mostly about words.”
M-Monty thought deeply for a full minute.
“I th-think I understand,” he ventured. There was now a twinkle in his big eyes. “Those words…c-can all of them be d-deduced from the c-conversation?”
“You crafty owl!” exclaimed Alby, and both owls began shaking with mirth, till they shook so much that they fell off their perches and rolled about on the ground, hooting with laughter.
To prevent anyone (ie. Adelephant or JL) from giving it away, there’ll be no comments for this one, so email your answer to editorial@thedabbler.co.uk by Saturday night. One correct entrant drawn at random will win glory and a book (they’ll be able to choose from a few good ones we have lying around here in the Dabbler garret). Solution on Monday.
If anyone is being tortured by this and wants further clues, email editorial@thedabbler.co.uk putting “Blasted owls” in the subject line.