A moneylender wants to forgive a farmer's debt if he can marry his daughter. He puts two black pebbles in a bag and tells the daughter to pick one - if she picks black, she must marry him, but if white, she is free. The daughter notices both pebbles are black. Rather than pick, she takes one out and drops it, then tells him to check the bag, knowing the remaining pebble must be black, allowing her to claim she picked the white one. This solves her dilemma through lateral thinking rather than conventional solutions.

1. Logical Solutions

2. Story Many years ago in a small Indian village, A farmer had the misfortune Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

3. Story The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

4. Story He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

5. Story So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.

6. Logical Solution He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.

7. Story He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.

8. Story 1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

9. Story 2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

10. Story 3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown in a Jail.

11. Story They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles.

12. Story As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag.

13. Story He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag. Now......... ., imagine that you were standing in the field.

14. Story What would you have Done;

15. Story If you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her?

16. Story Routine solutions / analysis would produce One or more of the following three possibilities:

17. Story 1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

18. Story 2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money- lender as a cheat.

19. Story 3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

20. Story Take a moment to ponder over the situation... .

21. Story The above story is an example that would bring home the need for us to appreciate the difference between lateral And logical thinking.

22. Story The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking.

23. Story Think of the consequences if she chooses The above logical answers.

24. Story What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

25. Story Still Thinking....

26. Story Well, here is what she did .... ;

27. Story The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble.

28. Story Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path

29. Story Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles .

30. Story "Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I Picked."

31. Story Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had Picked the white one.

32. Story And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty,

33. Story The girl changed what seemed an impossible situation to an advantageous one.

34. MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems have a solution. It is only that we need to think Hard enough...