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Which Alice?

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Tweedledum or Tweedledee?<br />

after, the other one came out bearing a sign, on the front of which<br />

was written:<br />

IS THE FIGURE ON<br />

THE BACK OF THIS<br />

SIGN A SQUARE?<br />

The other brother answered by drawing a circle in the air.<br />

<strong>Which</strong> one was Tweedledum?<br />

WHAT QUESTION SHOULD ALICE ASK? "Congratulations, you<br />

did it again!" both brothers cried.<br />

"Now comes the best game of all, and if you win it, you also win a<br />

prize!" said Tweedledee.<br />

"This time," he continued, "we have not agreed which of us lies<br />

and which tells the truth. What we do is this: we go into the house,<br />

and each one comes out, each with either a red or a black card in his<br />

pocket. Again, red signifies truth-telling and black signifies lying.<br />

Now, just one of us has a prize in his other pocket. If you can guess<br />

which one of us has the prize, you get it. It now is not important<br />

which of us is Tweedledee and which is Tweedledum; your job is to<br />

find out which one has the prize. Now, when we come out of the<br />

house, you point to one of us and ask him a question—a question<br />

answerable by yes or no. But instead of answering yes or no, he will<br />

again answer in sign language: He will draw either a square or a<br />

circle in the air. Now, the important point is this: if he is carrying<br />

the prize, then by a square he means yes and by a circle he means<br />

no. On the other hand, if he is not the one who is carrying the prize,<br />

then by a square he means no and by a circle he means yes. On top<br />

of that, he might tell the truth or he might lie—this is determined<br />

by whether he is carrying a red card or a black card."<br />

"But what question am I supposed to ask him?" inquired <strong>Alice</strong>.<br />

"Ah, that is for you to figure out!" he triumphantly replied.<br />

"That's the hardest part of the game, and if you can figure out the<br />

right question, you certainly deserve a prize."<br />

83

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