chest full of treasure...? A pirate crew in the days of old, has a chest full of treasure, untold riches of diamonds and emeralds, saphires and gold coins, of all different shapes and sizes. The problem they have, they dont want to keep it on the ship and there is no safe place to bury it, they are all thieves after all and they cant trust each other not to go back and help themselves.
So the captain comes up with a cunning plan, one night he counts every last gem and coin, and calls the crew together. They bury the treasure, but he tells them he has put a magic curse, and that if anyone steals from it between now and five years in the future, he will know.
Now these days we wouldn't buy that, but then they did, pirates were a supersticious lot, and that made an impression, except for one of the crew who realised that one or two tiny diamonds wouldn't be missed, and anyways how could anyone prove it was him.
Five years down the line, the crew assembled, dug up the treasure, and the captain counted- 2 diamonds missing. The captain turns to them and says gravely that there is a thief amongst them, and that he will now work his magic.
Just before nightfall, he gives them each a stick, 12 inches long, and tells them that while they are sleeping, the thiefs stick will grow by another two inches.
In the morning, they all knew who had taken the jewels. No magic had been worked, but they could all tell at an instant, how?
So the captain comes up with a cunning plan, one night he counts every last gem and coin, and calls the crew together. They bury the treasure, but he tells them he has put a magic curse, and that if anyone steals from it between now and five years in the future, he will know.
Now these days we wouldn't buy that, but then they did, pirates were a supersticious lot, and that made an impression, except for one of the crew who realised that one or two tiny diamonds wouldn't be missed, and anyways how could anyone prove it was him.
Five years down the line, the crew assembled, dug up the treasure, and the captain counted- 2 diamonds missing. The captain turns to them and says gravely that there is a thief amongst them, and that he will now work his magic.
Just before nightfall, he gives them each a stick, 12 inches long, and tells them that while they are sleeping, the thiefs stick will grow by another two inches.
In the morning, they all knew who had taken the jewels. No magic had been worked, but they could all tell at an instant, how?