Riddle (Part I)

As a child I remember my father reciting the following riddle:

Ten pears hanging high,
Ten men riding by,
Each took a pear.
How many were left?

The answer, my father said, was nine, but why?

Recently I did a little Internet research (sometimes as good a mental exercise as doing crossword puzzles) and learned the following (likely original) version of the riddle.

Twelve pears hanging high,
Twelve knights passing by,
Each took a pear,
And left eleven hanging there.

How could that be?

The solution, according to both my father and the Internet: "Each" was the name of one of the men/knights.

I always thought this was a lame riddle!

There is more to my "academic research" into this profound subject, but you will have to wait until tomorrow for more insights.In the meanwhile, if any of our readers remember hearing this riddle when you were children, please leave a comment. Thanks.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter is the story of windmills on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news012113.htm.