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66 direction that you are looking, and eat every thirteenth mouse, but I must keep the white mouse for a tit-bit at the finish. Thirteen is an unlucky number, but I will do my best to oblige you."

"Hurry up, then!" shouted the mice.

"Give a fellow time to think," said the cat.

"I don't know which of you to start at. I must figure it out."

While the cat was working out the puzzle he fell asleep, and, the spell being thus broken, the mice returned home in safety. At which mouse should the cat have started the count in order that the white mouse should be the last eaten?

When the reader has solved that little puzzle, here is a second one for him. What is the smallest number that the cat can count round and round the circle, if he must start at the white mouse (calling that "one" in the count) and still eat the white mouse last of all?

And as a third puzzle try to discover what is the smallest number that the cat can count round and round if she must start at the white mouse (calling that "one") and make the white mouse the third eaten.



233—THE ECCENTRIC CHEESEMONGER.

cheesemonger depicted in the illustration is an inveterate puzzle lover. One of his favourite puzzles is the piling of cheeses in his warehouse, an amusement that he finds good exercise for the body as well as for the mind. He places sixteen cheeses on the floor in a straight row and then makes them into four piles, with four cheeses in every pile, by always passing a cheese over four others. If you use sixteen counters and number them in order from 1 to 16, then you may place 1 on 6, 11 on 1, 7 on 4, and so on, until there are four in every pile. It will be seen that it does not matter whether the four passed over are standing alone or piled; they count just the same, and you can always carry a cheese in either direction. There are a great many different ways of doing it in twelve moves, so it makes a good game of "patience" to try to solve it so that the four piles shall be left in different stipulated places. For example, try to leave the piles at the extreme ends of the row, on Nos. 1, 2, 15 and 16; this is quite easy. Then try to leave three piles together, on Nos. 13, 14, and 15. Then again play so that they shall be left on Nos. 3, 5, 12, and 14.

234.—THE EXCHANGE PUZZLE.

is a rather entertaining little puzzle with moving counters. You only need twelve counters—six of one colour, marked A, C, E, G, and K, and the other six marked B, D, F, H, and L. You first place them on the diagram as shown in the illustration, and the puzzle is to get them into regular alphabetical order, as follows:—