When an old farmer passed away, his three sons inherited his seventeen horses.
His sons read the following as they opened the will:
“My oldest son ought to receive half of all the horses;”
“One-third (or one-third) of the total horses should go to my middle son;”
“One-ninth (1/9) of the total number of horses should be given to my youngest son.”
The three sons began fighting because 17 could not be divided in half, 17 by 3, or 17 by 9.
They then made the decision to ask a farmer friend, whom they thought was intelligent, if he could help them resolve the issue.
After carefully reading the will, the farmer buddy brought one of his own horses over and added it to the 17.
That made a total of eighteen horses.
He now distributed the horses in accordance with their father’s wishes.
Nine is half of eighteen.
Thus, he gifted nine horses to his oldest son.
6 is one-third of 18.
He gave the youngest son two horses after giving the middle son six, since 1/9th of 18 = 2. The total number of horses they own is now 17: Eldest son 9 Middle son 6 Youngest son 2 This leaves one horse extra, so the farmer buddy returns his horse to his farm.