Written for Sunday Scribblings and Carry on Tuesday. It's actually a re-working of a story I posted some time ago, so it may seem familiar!
Jimmy didn't remember dying, but clearly he had
because he was standing a short distance away from a corpse spread-eagled on
the pavement that bore an uncanny resemblance to himself. A brace of paramedics
were shaking their heads and packing their implements away, and a passing
priest had stopped and was prodding himself with the sign of the cross.
“Excuse me
sir” said a voice from behind. He turned round to see what looked like a ghost
in a policeman’s uniform. “You’ve nearly finished life’s journey sir, just a
short distance to go”. “No chance of a
swift pint at the Dog and Duck before I leave I suppose? “said Jimmy. The policeman shook
his head and pointed into the distance. “Walk that way sir. After a few minutes
you’ll arrive at a crossroads. One direction leads to heaven, and the opposite
way goes to hell”.
“Is there a signpost?” asked Jimmy. “No” replied
the policeman, “But standing at the crossroads you will find identical twin
brothers, Tom and Tim who will help you on your way. The problem is that whilst
Tim always tells the truth, Tom always lies and nobody can tell which twin is
which. The thing is, you are only able to ask them one question each, and it
has to be the same question – so the question is, what question will you ask?”
And with that everybody disappeared.
Jimmy was no fool and on his way to the crossroads
he came up with the perfect question, and right now he’s propping up the bar in
the Celestial Arms being served ale by angels!
So dear reader, what question did he ask? If you
are unsure, you’ll find the answer below the picture!
He simply said
to each of the twins “Which road would your brother tell me leads to heaven?" Think
about it!
Still not sure? Well, let’s
suppose the right fork led to heaven. If you were to ask the truthful brother
to tell you what his lying brother would say, he’d have to answer left.
If
you asked the lying brother what his truthful twin would say he’d also answer
left!
Jimmy simply had to take the opposite road to the one he was told and head right.
And if you are still confused, I give up!
Picture 'Crossroads' by Xiil at deviantART
Great riddle :-)
ReplyDeleteYes, I have heard a variation of this one. However I am not quite sure which would be the best for me!
ReplyDeletewow ! I must admit I had to check out the explanation ! it was good ...
ReplyDeleteAnd that makes perfect sense! But I didn't think of it.
ReplyDeletethis riddle reminded me of the scene in Labyrinth when she had to ask the door guards which one was lying great job really enjoyed this
ReplyDeleteTook me a minute or two, and i have actually heard this one before! It was a compelling, yet fun story....
ReplyDeleteFun story! I had never heard the riddle (or ones like it ) before now, but it didn't take long to appreciate its cleverness
ReplyDeleteOooh, a very clever riddle indeed, and a great storyline behind it!
ReplyDeleteLOL... I hope I never have to ask a question... a fun read Keith, thanks.
ReplyDeleteHa. This was cute. I'll have to read this to my husband. Enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteClever stuff.
ReplyDeleteGood one keith
ReplyDeletevery good!!!
ReplyDelete