The mathematical smoking goblin

[guernseyclaire]

Hello there, I wonder if anyone can tell me the name of the short story about a goblin who collects cigarette butts and has a wager with the mayor about how many cigarettes he can make from them? At the end the mayor eats his hat and there was a wonderful illustration of a Fat Controller look-a-like munching on his top hat!

It sounds like The Golliwog who Smoked but it definitely wasn't that story as the goblin picked the butts up from the street (he was a street sweeper by trade you see). Apologies if this has already been answered on the forum but I haven't seen it...

[Anita Bensoussane]

Welcome, guernseyclaire! Ah yes - I remember that story well. It's called 'An Old Puzzle Story' and I have it in Good Night Stories, Purnell (see link below), which has a picture of Mr. High-Hat eating his hat as you describe. The story can also be found in The Twelfth Holiday Book.

http://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/book ... ht+Stories" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've just looked at my copy of Good Night Stories, which has an inscription at the front - "To Anita, Love Auntie Janet and Uncle Graham, Xmas '74." They bought me about half a dozen of those Enid Blyton Purnell Sunshine Library Books for Christmas that year and I can honestly say it's one of the best presents I've ever had. I bet my aunt and uncle didn't guess I'd still be reading them at the age of forty!

[guernseyclaire]

Gosh that was fast! Many thanks Anita for the super-speedy response. I was telling a maths teacher friend of mine about this story.. I think she thought I'd made it up so it's good to know that it really does exist. Thanks again

[Anita Bensoussane]

That's okay - it's always nice to meet another person who remembers the same story/stories!

[Lucky Star]

Hah yes I also had that Purnell book and remember the story well. I remember that I didn't believe it was possible to make that number of cigarettes until the end. My maths never improved either.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I remember that I didn't believe it was possible to make that number of cigarettes until the end.

I don't think I did either! Another story based around a puzzle is 'Sly-One's Puzzle' (Round the Clock Stories, Dean & Son). Sly-One's friends are bewildered when he says that one journey of seven thousand steps took him eighty minutes, while another journey also of seven thousand steps took him one hour and twenty minutes. I may have fallen for the "cigarette butts" puzzle, but I think I managed to see through that one!

Yet another story based on a popular puzzle (how to row a fox, rabbit and carrots across the river one at a time without leaving the fox with the rabbit or the rabbit with the carrots) is 'Think Hard, Boatman' (Holiday Stories, Purnell Sunshine Library).

Are there any more puzzle-based Enid Blyton stories?