Can You Tell? by Carolyn Wells

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 13, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 19.

Can You Tell?

By Carolyn Wells

Uncle Harry came into the nursery, where his four nieces and nephews were playing, and held up a big, round, rosy, red apple.

“Children,” he said, “I am going to give this apple to whichever one of you can answer a question that I shall ask about it. Stand in front of me in a row, and listen.”

So Fred and Josie and Dick and Totty came and stood in a row, with their eyes fixed upon the beautiful apple.

“What is in this apple?” said Uncle Harry.

“A core,” said Fred; “that’s easy.”

“Yes, my boy; but what is in the core?”

“Seeds,” said Dick.

“Certainly; that’s right. But those are, neither one of them, the test question. Here it is. There are several seeds in this apple. Now which way are they pointing, upward or downward, in toward the core or out toward the skin? Who can answer?” The children looked puzzled. They had seen the core of an apple hundreds of times, but they couldn’t seem to remember the position of the seeds.

However, as there were four directions to guess, Fred proposed that each guess one, and then, as one of them must be right, whoever won the apple was to give a quarter of it to the other three. They agreed to this, and Fred guessed that the seeds pointed down. Then Josie guessed that they pointed up. Dick said he guessed that they all pointed inward toward the core; and, as there was only one guess left, of course Totty guessed that they pointed outward.

“You are right,” said Uncle Harry, handing the apple to the one who had guessed correctly; “and I am glad you are going to share it with the others. But I must say you are a stupid lot of children; for if you had known which way the seeds pointed, and had all told me correctly, I would have given you each an apple. As it is, I shall keep the other three myself.”—Carolyn Wells.