Brain Teasers
Clever Jenny VIII
Situation
Situation puzzles (sometimes called lateral thinking puzzles) are ones where you need to ask lots of yes or no questions to figure out what happened in the situation. These are good puzzles for groups where one person knows the puzzle and answers the questions.Situation
On a warm Saturday morning, Jenny left her apartment house to shop for groceries. She smiled at the little tent in the back yard next door. Nine-year-old Raul had invited two friends for a sleepover in the tent last night, but not much sleep had happened! As she walked to her car, she heard loud shouting and crying. She went into the Romanos' yard, where Estelle, Raul's mother, and Ricardo, his dad, were arguing with the teary-eyed little boy.
Jenny greeted them, "Hi, Stell, Rick, what's up? Raul, are you hurt? You guys had fun in the tent, didn't you?"
Estelle answered, "A bug got into Raul's ear last night. We want to take him to the doctor, but he doesn't want to go."
Raul sobbed, "I-I don't want to go to the doc; he-he'll stick something in my ear!"
Jenny asked, "Is the bug hurting you? Did it bite you?"
"N-no, but it rattles around in there and I'm s-scared!
Ricardo put in, "Now listen, young man! We're taking you to the doctor, no argument!"
Jenny said, "Well, Rick, Stell, maybe there's a way to deal with this without involving a trip to the doctor. Would you let me try?"
Raul sobbed, "You won't stick anything in my ear, will you?"
Jenny answered, "No, I want to use what I learned at Scout campout last summer. It might not work, so if it doesn't, will you go to the doctor with your dad like a good guy?"
"W-well, ok!"
What did Jenny do?
Jenny greeted them, "Hi, Stell, Rick, what's up? Raul, are you hurt? You guys had fun in the tent, didn't you?"
Estelle answered, "A bug got into Raul's ear last night. We want to take him to the doctor, but he doesn't want to go."
Raul sobbed, "I-I don't want to go to the doc; he-he'll stick something in my ear!"
Jenny asked, "Is the bug hurting you? Did it bite you?"
"N-no, but it rattles around in there and I'm s-scared!
Ricardo put in, "Now listen, young man! We're taking you to the doctor, no argument!"
Jenny said, "Well, Rick, Stell, maybe there's a way to deal with this without involving a trip to the doctor. Would you let me try?"
Raul sobbed, "You won't stick anything in my ear, will you?"
Jenny answered, "No, I want to use what I learned at Scout campout last summer. It might not work, so if it doesn't, will you go to the doctor with your dad like a good guy?"
"W-well, ok!"
What did Jenny do?
Hint
She tried to make the little critter want to come out.Answer
Jenny got a flashlight and a clear plastic tub with a lid. She took Raul into the bathroom and shut the door. She had Raul sit down and tip his head sideways, with the buggy ear closest to the floor. Then she put the plastic tub over his ear and turned out the light. She shone the flashlight up through the plastic tub and talked cheerfully to the trembling boy. After a few minutes, Raul said,"It's moving around a lot! Oooh! It's gone, I think!"
Quickly, Jenny turned on the light and capped the plastic tub. Inside was a small, gray spider, running around and trying to get out. She showed Raul's parents the source of the trouble. Then she asked Raul to take it out back and turn it loose over the fence.
Explanation: This particular spider wanted out as much as Raul wanted it gone. Providing a single source of light showed it the way to the exit and it found its way out. I have been told that this won't work with all spiders, but it is worth a try.
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