(503) 原文Rebus / The Hunter and The Squirrel.

 I happened to know of Sam Loyd (1841 – 1911) from a book named Encyclopedia of mathematical Magic数学マジック辞典. He is well know for Chess, puzzles, mathematical games. Here is one of his puzzles on the internet. This is a rebus, a riddle representing syllables or words with pictures. I redraw this picture from his original one.

http://www.jwstelly.org/CyclopediaOfPuzzles/PuzzlePage.php?puzzleid=Pz61.2#Pz61.2

 

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The Hunter and The Squirrel.

Here is the old problem of the hunter who saw a squirrel on a tree and tries to get a good shot at it, but the squirrel cleverly manages to keep always on the opposite side. The hunter, as shown by the tracks in the snow, has gone around the tree so as to make a complete circle, but the squirrel has also gone around the tree, keeping on the opposite side, and we wish to know has the hunter walked around the squirrel? I give the problem because puzzlists1) from all parts of the world have asked me to give my answer to the problem.
(1) puzzlist / One who enjoys creating or solving puzzles

A thousand and one2) subtle arguments have been offered to prove that the man does not go around the squirrel, principally based upon Webster’s definition that around is, on all sides of; encircling, encompassing.
2) a thousand and one / A great many; numerous.

I claim that the man has most positively gone around the squirrel, just as the rim of a wheel goes around the hub which turns on the axle; just as the earth goes around the sun, which has a lesser orbit proportional to their difference in weight.

I remember going all around a field once, but a cross dog faced me all the time so I could not reach the apple tree; but I went all around that field and all that3) was in it. I wished at the time that I was big enough to take that dog by the tail and swing him around, but perhaps some philosopher would tell me that the dog was not being swung around, because he always had the same end toward me.
3) and all that /…やら何やら, (および)…など.

One of the same professors who maintain4) it is impossible to go around the earth unless the earth stops turning, places implicit5) faith in the old snake story. He says a snake can always swallow a snake of its same size; he once placed two four foot snakes together in a cage, and each seized the others tail and began to swallow it at the same time, so they both disappeared simultaneously. He asked Sammy to illustrate it upon the blackboard, and Sammy, who was quite a little artist, drew the following picture:

4) maintain / to uphold as true, right, proper, or acceptable often in the face of challenge or indifference
5) implicit / complete and unquestioning

Answer

Sammy’s Rebus in the story of the hunter and the squirrel say: “No body believes a liar.”

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