Ալլա Թորիկյան

AN ARAB AND HIS SONS Far to the East there lived in old days an Arab who had three sons, whom he dearly loved. He had seventeen beautiful horses whom he loved. One day the old man became very ill. Feeling that the end was near, he called his sons to give one – half of his horses, to the second son – one third, and to the youngest – one-ninth. The sons met to divide the horses but they didn’t know how to divide them. “How can I take one half of seventeen horses?” said the eldest son. “1 can’t divide a living horse in two. “And how can I,” asked the second, “take one third of seventeen horses? But this is what my father wanted me to do”. “I also want to do what my father wanted us to. But what is one ninth of seventeen horses?” At that time an old man came riding on a horse. “May be he can tell us”, they said hopefully. They told their story to him. The man began to think. Several minutes passed before he spoke. At last he said, “Take my horse and there will be eighteen”.