UPSB v4
Off-topic / A Giraffe, an Elephant, and a Refrigerator
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 17:11:20
Had this short quiz at the end of my Economics class, and found it on the internet to share with you guys. The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional. The questions are NOT that difficult. 1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? [SPOILER="Answer"]Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.[/SPOILER] 2. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator? [SPOILER="Answer"]Did you say, Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant, and close the refrigerator? Wrong Answer. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your previous actions.[/SPOILER] 3. The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend? [SPOILER="Answer"]Correct Answer: The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there. This tests your memory. Okay, even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your true abilities.[/SPOILER] 4. There is a river you must cross but it is used by crocodiles, and you do not have a boat. How do you manage it? [SPOILER="Answer"]Correct Answer: You jump into the river and swim across. Have you not been listening? All the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.[/SPOILER] Post how many you got right! If anyone know anymore or similar quizzes like this be sure to let me know.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 17:34:36
I got 3 and 4 right. The first two I answered for both: "you can't" and then checked my answers for them simultaneously.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 17:35:08
I've never seen a fridge that one could fit a giraffe or elephant into. The warehouse I worked in did have a fridge with a large enough capacity for these animals, but the doorway would still be too small.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 18:23:02
Mats wrote: I've never seen a fridge that one could fit a giraffe or elephant into. The warehouse I worked in did have a fridge with a large enough capacity for these animals, but the doorway would still be too small.
Regardless of that, you're missing the point. The point being (as mentioned in the answer) the question was to test whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way. -
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 19:33:52
Supergirl wrote: Regardless of that, you're missing the point. The point being (as mentioned in the answer) the question was to test whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
I think the question is stupid. The task is, in the real world, impossible. I think the real question here is, who writes tests to test if you're good enough to write questions? These questions are terrible. -
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 19:40:43
I got 100% This test is pretty easy if you studied.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 19:41:21
its a dumb quiz. for the first question, i said to chop up the giraffe and shove it in there. does that make me a sick psycho? maybe so
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 19:41:50
SJ wrote: its a dumb quiz. for the first question, i said to chop up the giraffe and shove it in there. does that make me a sick psycho? maybe so
That's a damn fine practical answer! :thumb: -
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 20:29:54
Eh, I got them all right, but I might have been overqualified due to my work experience at the local zoo.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 20:33:26
I've known the first 3 from a joke book for children that I read when I was young. You can come up with many more logical/funny solutions but there would only be one correct answer in the most troll way possible. Good to ask your friends :thumb: but would have been seamy if someone had made this seriously like your teacher did
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 20:38:49
I got all 4 right, I did this quiz in Gifted in 5th grade.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 20:48:29
Awesome wrote: I got 100% This test is pretty easy if you studied.
Or know the joke already, I did this before!~ xD -
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 21:03:56
If anyone know anymore or similar quizzes like this be sure to let me know.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 21:56:15
In a faraway land it was known that if you drank a poison, the only way to survive was to drink a stronger poison. The king wanted to have the stongest poison for himself so he ordered his treasurer and his pharmacist to create the strongest poison they could. They would then have to drink the other's poison first, then their own. Whoever survived would have created the stronger poison. The pharmacist went straight to work, but the treasurer just sat in his room. The treasurer knew he couldn't win, because he had much less experience with this topic. So he thought up a plan to win even though he wouldn't have the stronger poison. What was his plan? [SPOILER="2nd part of the riddle"] In the end the treasurer died and the parmacist survived. The parmacist knew the treasurer was planning something. How did he counter the plan of the treasurer and why didn't the king get what he wanted?[/SPOILER]
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 22:16:59
I got a 50 somehow, and this was my second time taking the quiz. ....
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 22:17:08
Chainbreak. :wtf:
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 22:31:20
ChainBreak wrote: In a faraway land it was known that if you drank a poison, the only way to survive was to drink a stronger poison. The king wanted to have the stongest poison for himself so he ordered his treasurer and his pharmacist to create the strongest poison they could. They would then have to drink the other's poison first, then their own. Whoever survived would have created the stronger poison. The pharmacist went straight to work, but the treasurer just sat in his room. The treasurer knew he couldn't win, because he had much less experience with this topic. So he thought up a plan to win even though he wouldn't have the stronger poison. What was his plan? [SPOILER="2nd part of the riddle"] In the end the treasurer died and the parmacist survived. The parmacist knew the treasurer was planning something. How did he counter the plan of the treasurer and why didn't the king get what he wanted?[/SPOILER]
His plan was to drink a weaker poison before he drank the pharmacist's poison, letting him survive. He would then give the pharmacist something that wasn't poison, so the pharmacist would die. The pharmacist gave the treasurer an even weaker poison, maybe even something that wasn't poison, causing the treasurer to die by the treasurer's own poison. My experience working at a zoo helped me out here as well :\ so not completed fair. Idk if my answers are right but it's what I would've done if I was them. -
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 23:12:42
Nowhere does it say that these questions are related/intertwined. It would be strange to assume they are. The answer to 4 is you swim very slowly and focus on not making any splashing, crocodiles will ignore you since they only react to splashing in the water. The answer to 3 is every animal that is not part of that lions pride. Why would other animals get near a lion? The answer to 2 and 1 is dependent on the size of the animal and the refrigerator.
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 23:14:13
I trust neXus on all matters having to do with animals, however loosely related. He wins the quiz
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 23:15:31
You're standing in the front of two gateways, one leads to heaven and the other leads to hell. There are two guardians: One is an angel and one is a demon. Each of them guards each gate, but you don't know where both gateway lead to. The holy guardian always says the true and the demonic one always lies. Both of them are exactly the same in apperence and may switch positions. You may ask only one question to know which gateway leads to heaven. [spoiler=Hint]This one is about Logic[as in Mathematics][/spoiler] [Spoiler=Possible solutions]I'm giving you one more chance to prepare your question, ready? [spoiler=Yes.]1. Are you guarding the gateway where you belong to? Holy gateway: - Demon > Yes [always lies] - Angel > Yes [always tells truths] Demonic gateway: - Demon > No [always lies] - Angel > No [always tells truth] Enter that door if he says 'Yes.' or go to the other one if he says 'No.' 2. Could you point at the door where you belong to? Enter the door where he points at. Try check your answer because there are more variations of this two. Question must be related to the gate they guard and about themselves or you will never know. [/spoiler] [/spoiler]
-
Date: Thu, Dec 6 2012 23:51:59
neXus wrote: The answer to 3 is every animal that is not part of that lions pride. Why would other animals get near a lion?
You of all people should know that adult elephants are not hunted by lions. They could turn up. Also, insects in their thousands? -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 00:36:29
@Enkronidus, if you said the angel and the demon are exactly the same in appearance then the first solution you mentioned doesn't make sense. I don't completely understand the second solution either.
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 00:50:40
hahaha this made me laugh, I got none of them right, this is wut I said: 1. won't fit 2. buy a bigger refrigorater, jeez 3. antelope, they are loins prey, right? 4. ride the elephant, hahaha
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 01:29:47
astronaut wrote: @Enkronidus, if you said the angel and the demon are exactly the same in appearance then the first solution you mentioned doesn't make sense. I don't completely understand the second solution either.
The point is you ask a question that they will both respond the same too. If you ask "what would the other guy answer if I asked him which gate he guards" the truth teller will give you a false answer (what the liar would say) and the liar will have to tell you false answer as well (the opposite of the truth tellers response). Its a pretty standard riddle. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 01:59:05
1. Are you guarding the gateway where you belong to? Holy gateway: - Demon > Yes [always lies] - Angel > Yes [always tells truths] Demonic gateway: - Demon > No [always lies] - Angel > No [always tells truth] Enter that door if he says 'Yes.' or go to the other one if he says 'No.' 2. Could you point at the door where you belong to? Enter the door where he points at.
This doesn't make sense at all... How the hell would you know which door is heaven or hell? Are you guarding the gateway you belong to? They both say yes or they both say no, you gain no information about which door is which. You said they could switch places, and they look the same, what if they switch places while answering the question? What if they're guarding the other gateway, and not the one they're in front of? Wouldn't the guardian be guarding his own respective gateway? So you don't know which respective gateway is heaven or hell. Fail logic much? You say enter "THAT" door, but you don't know which door is that door, unless you asked a second question.. To go even further, they're both guarding the gateway they belong, that's why they're both there, so surely the holy guardian will say yes and the demon will say no, regardless of which door is which. -Ommited shoeman being dumb- [B]edit:[/B] Actually, fuck that, the pointing one doesn't work either, the holy one would simply say yes and the demonic one would say no, and you wouldn't have any clue about which door is which. [B]edit2:[/B] Plus, you don't even know if they CAN point to the door, so you don't even get information as to which guardian is the angel or the demon either. Even if you assume that they can, you've just wasted your 1 question.I don't care if they can point to their door or not, I want to know which is heaven or hell! What you SHOULD ask is this.1. How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator?
And then go through the left door, 50% chance that it's heaven. Or, I would ask them, "This statement is false, true or false? " and win. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 03:25:05
nice joke.. btw its very old its like 2 years since i know it never gets old ;(
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 04:08:28
Mats wrote: You of all people should know that adult elephants are not hunted by lions.
There actually are lion prides that do kill elephants. Either way lions are territorial and if the cubs attend the conference the lionesses will go wild and and fend of any elephant with their lives. You clearly don't watch enough animal documentaries. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 04:26:23
shoeman6 wrote: This doesn't make sense at all... How the hell would you know which door is heaven or hell? Are you guarding the gateway you belong to? They both say yes or they both say no, you gain no information about which door is which. You said they could switch places, and they look the same, what if they switch places while answering the question? What if they're guarding the other gateway, and not the one they're in front of? Wouldn't the guardian be guarding his own respective gateway? So you don't know which respective gateway is heaven or hell. Fail logic much? You say enter "THAT" door, but you don't know which door is that door, unless you asked a second question.. To go even further, they're both guarding the gateway they belong, that's why they're both there, so surely the holy guardian will say yes and the demon will say no, regardless of which door is which. -Ommited shoeman being dumb- [B]edit:[/B] Actually, fuck that, the pointing one doesn't work either, the holy one would simply say yes and the demonic one would say no, and you wouldn't have any clue about which door is which. [B]edit2:[/B] Plus, you don't even know if they CAN point to the door, so you don't even get information as to which guardian is the angel or the demon either. Even if you assume that they can, you've just wasted your 1 question.I don't care if they can point to their door or not, I want to know which is heaven or hell!
They can't switch places while answering. I never say that they can answer only by word either [by say I meant 'to tell' too, sorry xD not only by using words] by belong I mean like where they are originated from not where they are at right now. sorry if my english sounds confusing The second one is pretty straightforward. Because demonic guardian always lies so he will point to holy gate and angel will also point to holy gate. No matter whom you asked, you would get the result. The first one: So right here you have 4 possibilities right Demon at holy gateway or Angel at holy gateway and Demon at demonic gateway or Angel at demonic gateway You ask one of them. If you ask at holy gateway[but you don't know that it is holy gateway]: - Demon > Yes: Because this is not the gate where he is from - Angel > Yes: Because this is where he is from At demonic gateway:[but you don't know that it is demonic gateway] - Demon > No [always lies] - Angel > No [always tells truth] So this plot tells you that both of them will give same answer, which is actually the whole point of this answer. You can distinguish the type of door from the information given that 'The holy guardian always says the true and the demonic one always lies' and this question that you asked Correct me again if I'm still wrong D: -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 04:44:05
It makes sense I was just trying to be difficult :p hahah. I think some logic puzzles get kind of confused by the story aspects though, and the confusion comes from the wording, or lack thereof rather than the logic itself.
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 05:14:47
How the fuck does this have 3 pages in 12 hours?
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 05:22:37
Supergirl wrote: Had this short quiz at the end of my Economics class, and found it on the internet to share with you guys. The following short quiz consists of 4 questions and will tell you whether you are qualified to be a professional.
I don't know what kind of shit tier school you go to, but if you want to be a professional you work hard instead of fucking around and answering trivial questions. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 10:39:38
XYZaki wrote: I don't know what kind of shit tier school you go to, but if you want to be a professional you work hard instead of fucking around and answering trivial questions.
lol i have a feeling the "professional" part was just a joke hhahaa but more importantly, we need to ask ourselves, WHY we would need to put a giraffe in the refrigerator. You know what else is weird? Why "fridge" is spelled with a "d" instead of just "frige." But I digress. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 11:05:45
SJ wrote: lol i have a feeling the "professional" part was just a joke hhahaa but more importantly, we need to ask ourselves, WHY we would need to put a giraffe in the refrigerator. You know what else is weird? Why "fridge" is spelled with a "d" instead of just "frige." But I digress.
It's not a silent 'd'. Try pronouncing it correctly. :teach: -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 13:10:27
there is actually an extended version, it has 6 question. 1.There were 50 bricks in an aeroplane, 1 brick was threw out from the aeroplane, how many bricks were left? [SPOILER="Answer"]49 bricks were left.It's just that simple.[/SPOILER] 2.How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? [SPOILER="Answer"]Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe, and close the door[/SPOILER] 3.How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator? [SPOILER="Answer"]Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door[/SPOILER] 4.The Lion King is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend.... except one. Which animal does not attend? [SPOILER="Answer"]The Elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. You just put him in there[/SPOILER] 5. There is a river used by crocodiles, a guy has to cross the river but he does not have a boat. How does he manage it? [SPOILER="Answer"]He jump into the river and swim across, because all the crocodiles are attending the Animal Meeting[/SPOILER] 6.That guy had crossed the river safely, but he still died, why? [SPOILER="Answer"]The brick that was threw out from the aeroplane hit him,so he died.You may be able to get this right if you still remember the first question.[/SPOILER]
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 13:50:16
1) Your friend Lisa is meeting your other friend Sam at 16:15 on Monday at Cuisine Cafe, which has the opening hours 06:00 - 18:00 everyday, except weekends, when it is only open from 10:00 - 16:00, and they intend to stay until closing time. Sam works until 14:00 on Mondays, Lisa only works all day on weekends, except on bank holidays, when she works all day on the Monday too. Joseph works in Cuisine Cafe as a waiter, and works six, six hours shifts a week, every week, either 06:00 - 12:00, or 12:00 - 18:00, unless it's an all day weekend shift (since weekends are 6 hours anyway). He also goes into where Lisa works once each week, when he is not working. Sam also intends to meet his friend Rod in the Cuisine Cafe on a different day this week, for an exact, one hour meeting. a) How many days a week does Joseph work in Cuisine Cafe? b) What is the chance of Joseph seeing Lisa twice this week? c) What is the chance of Rod being served by Joseph? Think about the answers carefully. I will post up the solution tomorrow.
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 15:44:38
answer to 3 is wrong, the refrigerator could be located at the conference.
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 15:48:49
A man is found shot in a closed room. There are no traces of someone else having entered the room besides the man himself. On the desk lies a voice recorder. The police plays what is on the recorder. They hear the man's last farewell and then a gunshot. How do they know the man was murdered?
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 16:01:33
They hear the door close on the tape maybe? Or the dude says, "help i'm being murdered"? The murderer turned himself in? The man was paraplegic and couldn't have shot himself.
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 16:04:16
[SPOILER="solution"]Who rewinded the tape when the gunshot can be heard on the record?[/SPOILER]
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 16:06:17
The police...
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 16:21:42
Well yeah. It was put like that in the riddle though. <_<
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 16:30:26
D: they know because it was the [B]police[/B] who killed the man. clever.
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 18:04:05
shoeman6;236511]"This statement is false, true or false? " and win.[/QUOTE] The solution to this paradox is to disregard it. It doesn't make sense, it can't be one and the opposite. This statement should just be ignored. You can think of it as a glitch in the mechanics of the english language. [QUOTE=Enkronidus;236488]You're standing in the front of two gateways, one leads to heaven and the other leads to hell. There are two guardians: One is an angel and one is a demon. Each of them guards each gate, but you don't know where both gateway lead to. The holy guardian always says the true and the demonic one always lies. Both of them are exactly the same in apperence and may switch positions. You may ask only one question to know which gateway leads to heaven. [spoiler=Hint]This one is about Logic[as in Mathematics][/spoiler] [Spoiler=Possible solutions]I'm giving you one more chance to prepare your question, ready? [spoiler=Yes.]1. Are you guarding the gateway where you belong to? Holy gateway: - Demon > Yes [always lies] - Angel > Yes [always tells truths] Demonic gateway: - Demon > No [always lies] - Angel > No [always tells truth] Enter that door if he says 'Yes.' or go to the other one if he says 'No.' 2. Could you point at the door where you belong to? Enter the door where he points at. Try check your answer because there are more variations of this two. Question must be related to the gate they guard and about themselves or you will never know. [/spoiler] [/spoiler][/QUOTE] Let's take a look at the possible solutions when using @Awesome 's question "what would the other guy answer if I asked him which gate he guards": Scenario 1 (both guardians at their right gate, angel at heaven, devil at hell gate): Angel will answer, knowing that the devil always lies, say that he is guarding the heaven gate. Devil will answer, knowing that the angel will always tell the truth, the devil will lie by saying the angel will respond with he is guarding the hell gate. In this scenario you get two answers, and you don't know which one you should trust as you do not know which guardian is which. Scenario 2 (both guardians at their opposing gate, angel at hell, devil at heaven): Angel will answer, knowing that the devil always lies, that he is guarding hell. Devil will answer, knowing that the angel always tells the truth, the devil has to lie by saying that he guards heaven. In this scenario you're at the same situation as the above, and so asking this question gets you nowhere. Is there are possible solution? Whatever question you may ask, you will either get two different answer or two same answers and both solutions gets you nowhere. [QUOTE=ChainBreak;236474]In a faraway land it was known that if you drank a poison, the only way to survive was to drink a stronger poison. The king wanted to have the stongest poison for himself so he ordered his treasurer and his pharmacist to create the strongest poison they could. They would then have to drink the other's poison first, then their own. Whoever survived would have created the stronger poison. The pharmacist went straight to work, but the treasurer just sat in his room. The treasurer knew he couldn't win, because he had much less experience with this topic. So he thought up a plan to win even though he wouldn't have the stronger poison. What was his plan? [SPOILER="2nd part of the riddle"] In the end the treasurer died and the parmacist survived. The parmacist knew the treasurer was planning something. How did he counter the plan of the treasurer and why didn't the king get what he wanted?[/SPOILER][/QUOTE] Don't drink any poison. [QUOTE=XYZaki wrote: I don't know what kind of shit tier school you go to, but if you want to be a professional you work hard instead of fucking around and answering trivial questions.
It was just a 2 minute thing at the end of class, nothing related to what we were learning. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 20:10:10
How do you fit nine pigs in eight boxes?
-
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 20:45:14
How do you fit nine pigs in eight boxes?
Answer 1: 7 go in one box each, leaving one box and two pigs, then you put both pigs in one box. Answer 2: 8 go in the boxes, the left over is kept as a pet or eaten for dinner. -
Date: Fri, Dec 7 2012 22:17:26
SJ wrote: How do you fit nine pigs in eight boxes?
I'll use you answer - Cut them the fuck up! Alternate answers: -Get at least one box large enough to hold 2 pigs. -Compress the pigs (probably going to fatal to the pigs) -Use very small pigs (maybe even small toy ones or something) -
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 02:17:37
SJ wrote: How do you fit nine pigs in eight boxes?
Call animal services. -
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 03:25:29
lol not quite guys....... only 1 pig per box and none is pregnant. boxes can only fit 1 pig each
-
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 07:21:20
You buy another box
AM I DOING IT RITE?! -
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 07:27:01
I've heard this way too many times. Still nice, though
-
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 15:05:51
SJ wrote: How do you fit nine pigs in eight boxes?
The seventh pig ate the ninth pig, so you are left with 8 pigs and now it can be fitted in. -
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 22:01:20
kaku;236757]You buy another box http://image.spreadshirt.com/image-server/v1/designs/11957743,width=190,height=190/Herp-derp-meme.png AM I DOING IT RITE?![/QUOTE] lmao, nice try but nahh [QUOTE=Supergirl wrote: The seventh pig ate the ninth pig, so you are left with 8 pigs and now it can be fitted in.
nopeeeeeee u guys are taking it too literally -
Date: Sat, Dec 8 2012 22:48:09
In your imagination ?
-
Date: Wed, Dec 19 2012 20:49:07
I read this short story in English class called,"The Lady, or the Tiger."
So, as the story asks, The Lady or the Tiger? Post with your response and explain why.Spoiler
In the very olden time there lived a semi-barbaric king, whose ideas, though somewhat polished and sharpened by the progressiveness of distant Latin neighbors, were still large, florid, and untrammeled, as became the half of him which was barbaric. He was a man of exuberant fancy, and, withal, of an authority so irresistible that, at his will, he turned his varied fancies into facts. He was greatly given to self-communing, and, when he and himself agreed upon anything, the thing was done. When every member of his domestic and political systems moved smoothly in its appointed course, his nature was bland and genial; but, whenever there was a little hitch, and some of his orbs got out of their orbits, he was blander and more genial still, for nothing pleased him so much as to make the crooked straight and crush down uneven places. Among the borrowed notions by which his barbarism had become semified was that of the public arena, in which, by exhibitions of manly and beastly valor, the minds of his subjects were refined and cultured. But even here the exuberant and barbaric fancy asserted itself The arena of the king was built, not to give the people an opportunity of hearing the rhapsodies of dying gladiators, nor to enable them to view the inevitable conclusion of a conflict between religious opinions and hungry jaws, but for purposes far better adapted to widen and develop the mental energies of the people. This vast amphitheater, with its encircling galleries, its mysterious vaults, and its unseen passages, was an agent of poetic justice, in which crime was punished, or virtue rewarded, by the decrees of an impartial and incorruptible chance. When a subject was accused of a crime of sufficient importance to interest the king, public notice was given that on an appointed day the fate of the accused person would be decided in the king's arena, a structure which well deserved its name, for, although its form and plan were borrowed from afar, its purpose emanated solely from the brain of this man, who, every barleycorn a king, knew no tradition to which he owed more allegiance than pleased his fancy, and who ingrafted on every adopted form of human thought and action the rich growth of his barbaric idealism. When all the people had assembled in the galleries, and the king, surrounded by his court, sat high up on his throne of royal state on one side of the arena, he gave a signal, a door beneath him opened, and the accused subject stepped out into the amphitheater. Directly opposite him, on the other side of the inclosed space, were two doors, exactly alike and side by side. It was the duty and the privilege of the person on trial to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open either door he pleased; he was subject to no guidance or influence but that of the aforementioned impartial and incorruptible chance. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger, the fiercest and most cruel that could be procured, which immediately sprang upon him and tore him to pieces as a punishment for his guilt. The moment that the case of the criminal was thus decided, doleful iron bells were clanged, great wails went up from the hired mourners posted on the outer rim of *the arena, and the vast audience, with bowed heads and downcast hearts, wended slowly their homeward way, mourning greatly that one so young and fair, or so old and respected, should have merited so dire a fate. But, if the accused person opened the other door, there came forth from it a lady, the most suitable to his years and station that his majesty could select among his fair subjects, and to this lady he was immediately married, as a reward of his innocence. It mattered not that he might already possess a wife and family, or that his affections might be engaged upon an object of his own selection; the king allowed no such subordinate arrangements to interfere with his great scheme of retribution and reward. The exercises, as in the other instance, took place immediately, and in the arena. Another door opened beneath the king, and a priest, followed by a band of choristers, and dancing maidens blowing joyous airs on golden horns and treading an epithalamic measure, advanced to where the pair stood, side by side, and the wedding was promptly and cheerily solemnized. Then the gay brass bells rang forth their merry peals, the people shouted glad hurrahs, and the innocent man, preceded by children strewing flowers on his path, led his bride to his home. This was the king's semi-barbaric method of administering justice. Its perfect fairness is obvious. The criminal could not know out of which door would come the lady; he opened either he pleased, without having the slightest idea whether, in the next instant, he was to be devoured or married. On some occasions the tiger came out of one door, and on some out of the other. The decisions of this tribunal were not only fair, they were positively determinate: the accused person was instantly punished if he found himself guilty, and, if innocent, he was rewarded on the spot, whether he liked it or not. There was no escape from the judgments of the king's arena. The institution was a very popular one. When the people gathered together on one of the great trial days, they never knew whether they were to witness a bloody slaughter or a hilarious wedding. This element of uncertainty lent an interest to the occasion which it could not otherwise have attained. Thus, the masses were entertained and pleased, and the thinking part of the community could bring no charge of unfairness against this plan, for did not the accused person have the whole matter in his own hands? This semi-barbaric king had a daughter as blooming as his most florid fancies, and with a soul as fervent and imperious as his own. As is usual in such cases, she was the apple of his eye, and was loved by him above all humanity. Among his courtiers was a young man of that fineness of blood and lowness of station common to the conventional heroes of romance who love royal maidens. This royal maiden was well satisfied with her lover, for he was handsome and brave to a degree unsurpassed in all this kingdom, and she loved him with an ardor that had enough of barbarism in it to make it exceedingly warm and strong. This love affair moved on happily for many months, until one day the king happened to discover its existence. He did not hesitate nor waver in regard to his duty in the premises. The youth was immediately cast into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's arena. This, of course, was an especially important occasion, and his majesty, as well as all the people, was greatly interested in the workings and development of this trial. Never before had such a case occurred; never before had a subject dared to love the daughter of the king. In after years such things became commonplace enough, but then they were in no slight degree novel and startling. The tiger-cages of the kingdom were searched for the most savage and relentless beasts, from which the fiercest monster might be selected for the arena; and the ranks of maiden youth and beauty throughout the land were carefully surveyed by competent judges in order that the young man might have a fitting bride in case fate did not determine for him a different destiny. Of course, everybody knew that the deed with which the accused was charged had been done. He had loved the princess, and neither he, she, nor any one else, thought of denying the fact; but the king would not think of allowing any fact of this kind to interfere with the workings of the tribunal, in which he took such great delight and satisfaction. No matter how the affair turned out, the youth would be disposed of, and the king would take an aesthetic pleasure in watching the course of events, which would determine whether or not the young man had done wrong in allowing himself to love the princess. The appointed day arrived. From far and near the people gathered, and thronged the great galleries of the arena, and crowds, unable to gain admittance, massed themselves against its outside walls. The king and his court were in their places, opposite the twin doors, those fateful portals, so terrible in their similarity. All was ready. The signal was given. A door beneath the royal party opened, and the lover of the princess walked into the arena. Tall, beautiful, fair, his appearance was greeted with a low hum of admiration and anxiety. Half the audience had not known so grand a youth had lived among them. No wonder the princess loved him! What a terrible thing for him to be there! As the youth advanced into the arena he turned, as the custom was, to bow to the king, but he did not think at all of that royal personage. His eyes were fixed upon the princess, who sat to the right of her father. Had it not been for the moiety of barbarism in her nature it is probable that lady would not have been there, but her intense and fervid soul would not allow her to be absent on an occasion in which she was so terribly interested. From the moment that the decree had gone forth that her lover should decide his fate in the king's arena, she had thought of nothing, night or day, but this great event and the various subjects connected with it. Possessed of more power, influence, and force of character than any one who had ever before been interested in such a case, she had done what no other person had done,--she had possessed herself of the secret of the doors. She knew in which of the two rooms, that lay behind those doors, stood the cage of the tiger, with its open front, and in which waited the lady. Through these thick doors, heavily curtained with skins on the inside, it was impossible that any noise or suggestion should come from within to the person who should approach to raise the latch of one of them. But gold, and the power of a woman's will, had brought the secret to the princess. And not only did she know in which room stood the lady ready to emerge, all blushing and radiant, should her door be opened, but she knew who the lady was. It was one of the fairest and loveliest of the damsels of the court who had been selected as the reward of the accused youth, should he be proved innocent of the crime of aspiring to one so far above him; and the princess hated her. Often had she seen, or imagined that she had seen, this fair creature throwing glances of admiration upon the person of her lover, and sometimes she thought these glances were perceived, and even returned. Now and then she had seen them talking together; it was but for a moment or two, but much can be said in a brief space; it may have been on most unimportant topics, but how could she know that? The girl was lovely, but she had dared to raise her eyes to the loved one of the princess; and, with all the intensity of the savage blood transmitted to her through long lines of wholly barbaric ancestors, she hated the woman who blushed and trembled behind that silent door. When her lover turned and looked at her, and his eye met hers as she sat there, paler and whiter than any one in the vast ocean of anxious faces about her, he saw, by that power of quick perception which is given to those whose souls are one, that she knew behind which door crouched the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. He had expected her to know it. He understood her nature, and his soul was assured that she would never rest until she had made plain to herself this thing, hidden to all other lookers-on, even to the king. The only hope for the youth in which there was any element of certainty was based upon the success of the princess in discovering this mystery; and the moment he looked upon her, he saw she had succeeded, as in his soul he knew she would succeed. Then it was that his quick and anxious glance asked the question: "Which?" It was as plain to her as if he shouted it from where he stood. There was not an instant to be lost. The question was asked in a flash; it must be answered in another. Her right arm lay on the cushioned parapet before her. She raised her hand, and made a slight, quick movement toward the right. No one but her lover saw her. Every eye but his was fixed on the man in the arena. He turned, and with a firm and rapid step he walked across the empty space. Every heart stopped beating, every breath was held, every eye was fixed immovably upon that man. Without the slightest hesitation, he went to the door on the right, and opened it. Now, the point of the story is this: Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady ? The more we reflect upon this question, the harder it is to answer. It involves a study of the human heart which leads us through devious mazes of passion, out of which it is difficult to find our way. Think of it, fair reader, not as if the decision of the question depended upon yourself, but upon that hot-blooded, semi-barbaric princess, her soul at a white heat beneath the combined fires of despair and jealousy. She had lost him, but who should have him? How often, in her waking hours and in her dreams, had she started in wild horror, and covered her face with her hands as she thought of her lover opening the door on the other side of which waited the cruel fangs of the tiger! But how much oftener had she seen him at the other door! How in her grievous reveries had she gnashed her teeth, and torn her hair, when she saw his start of rapturous delight as he opened the door of the lady! How her soul had burned in agony when she had seen him rush to meet that woman, with her flushing cheek and sparkling eye of triumph; when she had seen him lead her forth, his whole frame kindled with the joy of recovered life; when she had heard the glad shouts from the multitude, and the wild ringing of the happy bells; when she had seen the priest, with his joyous followers, advance to the couple, and make them man and wife before her very eyes; and when she had seen them walk away together upon their path of flowers, followed by the tremendous shouts of the hilarious multitude, in which her one despairing shriek was lost and drowned! Would it not be better for him to die at once, and go to wait for her in the blessed regions of semi-barbaric futurity? And yet, that awful tiger, those shrieks, that blood! Her decision had been indicated in an instant, but it had been made after days and nights of anguished deliberation. She had known she would be asked, she had decided what she would answer, and, without the slightest hesitation, she had moved her hand to the right. The question of her decision is one not to be lightly considered, and it is not for me to presume to set myself up as the one person able to answer it. And so I leave it with all of you: Which came out of the opened door,--the lady, or the tiger? -
Date: Thu, Dec 20 2012 14:14:06
The lady. The princess has power, money and the brains. She knows she can always kill the wife of her lover so that she an be with him again. Also if the king can decide to marry someone despite the fact of the subject charged of guilt is already married it would not be surprising that the princess would put her own position over that of a marriage arranged by her father.