The Riddle

"The Riddle"

"It's time to see how clearly you can think," the teacher
said to his class. "Now, listen carefully, and think about
what I'm saying. I'm thinking of a person who has the same
mother and father as I have. But this person is not my
brother and not my sister. Who is it?"

The kids in the class furrowed their brows, scratched their
heads, and otherwise showed how hard they were thinking.
But no one came up with the right answer.

When everyone in the class had given up, the teacher
announced, "The person is me."

Little Jeffrey beamed at learning the answer. "That's a
good one," he said to himself. "I'll have to try that on
Mom and Dad."

At dinner that night, little Jeffrey repeated the riddle
to his parents. "I'm thinking of a person who has the same
mother and father as I have," he said. "But this person
isn't my brother and isn't my sister. Who is it?"

His parents furrowed their brows, scratched their heads,
and otherwise pretended that they were thinking hard.
Then they both said, "I give up. Who is it?"

"It's my teacher!" Jeffrey said.
Received on Mon Jun 13 01:02:49 2005