A splice of life

I am around eight years old and totally flummoxed. My mother has just posed the following conundrum to me:“Two pairs of mothers and daughters went to the market and bought three lemons. They each got a whole lemon. How is that possible?”

Resisting the urge to just stare at her and blurt out that she is joking, I carefully go over the riddle word by word. After five minutes of straining the grey cells, I am nowhere near the answer. Five more frustrating minutes with numerous fractions worked out infront of me, and I utterly give up. Mum smiles and explains, “The two pairs were: a Grandmother, a Mother...

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2025 words
Humour
US publication

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Words from the Wise

"I liked this essay... I thought your subject and tone were interesting... The description of the family writing its history is very funny... I do like the topic and think there's gentle comedy and potentially something profound about the piece... I'd love to have this essay... You did a marvelous job of bringing the essay to a conclusion, and I had the good kind of chill going down my back as I read your final paragraph. You cogently and eloquently explained the reason for this endearing tradition, and I suspect that many Americans may end up being more than a little jealous of not having such a tradition after reading your account and its meaning... Again, this was really a wonderful result... Congratulations."
Elizabeth Rosen
ex-Essays and Memoirs Editor
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