Student Question

In a story, a king's twin sons are told to race on their horses around the city, with the slowest one to be crowned king. How can they finish this race in an hour?

Once upon a time, a king had twin sons. They were always arguing about which one would become king when their father died. The old king got very angry.

"Right," He said. "I have decided. I want you to race on your horses Around the city. The slowest one wins and will be crowned the next king."

The next morning the two princes set off. After three days, however, they travelled only two metres.

An old man who worked in the palace saw them and began to laugh.

"What are you laughing about?" they both shouted. "This is very serious."

"But this race will last for years," said the old man. "You can finish it in an hour."

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Expert Answers

| Certified Educator

You can look at this as a morality tale too. Instead of respecting their father and caring that he is getting older, all the brothers can think about is being king. If one of the brothers was kinder than the other, the one with the slowest horse metaphorically, he would be chosen king.

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| Certified Educator

The classic answer to this depends on the king's exact words. He says that the one who owns the slowest horse wins. So if the brothers switch horses, they can have a regular race because whoever goes faster actually wins because that means the horse that he owns is actually slower.

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