65 replies to this topic

[SirCub]

Were the bags/bushels supposed to be filled to the brim?

Did the king notice that one particular one wasn't?

[hansman1982]

Were the bags/bushels supposed to be filled to the brim? Yes

Did the king notice that one particular one wasn't? Not visually

[Cubbie Blues]

Are the number of bags significant?

Where the bags marked so the king would know who's it belonged to?

Where all the peasants supposed to give the same amount except for the one Peasant? ^{(I may have asked this already)}

[hansman1982]

Are the number of bags significant? Yes

Where the bags marked so the king would know who's it belonged to? No

Where all the peasants supposed to give the same amount except for the one Peasant? No

I may have asked this already - you did (not that there is anything wrong with that), note that all of the bags were to be the same size.

[Cubbie Blues]

Are the number of bags significant? Yes

Were they supposed to give 10 bags?

Higher

Lower?

[hansman1982]

Were they supposed to give 10 bags? Not all of them

Higher - Some of them

Lower? - Some of them

[SirCub]

Did the peasant short the lord by giving fewer bags than he was supposed to?

Or did he give the correct amount of bags, but did not fill them all the way?

Did he fill them partly with grain, and partly something else?

[hansman1982]

Did the peasant short the lord by giving fewer bags than he was supposed to?
No

Or did he give the correct amount of bags, but did not fill them all the way?
They appeared full

Did he fill them partly with grain, and partly something else?
In a way. When he turned the bags in they appeared filled to the brim with only the grain (whic we will say is rice (the fact that its rice is only mildly important (it could just as easily be wheat or soybeans or corn))

[Spencer]

was the grain weighed while it was still in the bags? Sorry if this was already asked.

[hansman1982]

No but irrelevant.

i.e...even if they were still in the bags a visual inspection of the bags wouldn't have given away who gave what.

[SirCub]

Did they appear full because the bag was filled half-way with sand or something like that?

[hansman1982]

Did they appear full because the bag was filled half-way with sand or something like that?

They appeared full because something was added to the rice but when the bags were submitted there was only rice in it.

(I chose rice only for the reason that people have more experience with it in it's dry seed form)

[TWC]

Did the peasant give wet (heavy) grain, rather than dry (light) grain?

[hansman1982]

• Did the peasant give wet (heavy) grain, rather than dry (light) grain?

Yes, more specifically the peasant soaked the rice in water, thus causing it to expand and take up more volume with fewer grains. After this he dried the grains so they wouldn't begin to grow and give him away.

Ergo his bags appeared full but were light. A portion of the story has been solved.

[TWC]

Was this particular peasant the only who farmed close enough to water to pull off the trick?