Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant
OK, suppose "I" caught up with them, and they were also going the same way. Then you could say that nine people were going to St Ives. (I, the man and the 7 wives)
But you might also want to include the cats and kits, in which case the answer is 2753.
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Yes,
9: There are nine people involved, who may be going to St. Ives. The animals are all in the sacks, so they, as well as the sacks themselves, are "being taken", rather than "going".
And another correct answer,
2753: The sacks are not a person or animal and therefore cannot be in the calculation. It was not the number of things, but of "persons" the narrator met. 49 adult cats 343 kittens per wife of whom he had seven (7 × 392) = 2744 plus the seven wives 2751 plus the man + the narrator → 2753 persons and animals.