The story
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On the bank of a wide river, a mother washed clothes while her little boy played at the water’s edge. A crocodile slid out of the reeds, seized the boy in its jaws, and dragged him toward the deep water. The mother ran after them, begging, and the crocodile paused. It was feeling clever that day, and it offered her a deal.
“Guess what I will do with your child,” said the crocodile. “If you guess correctly, I will return him to you. If you guess wrongly, I will keep him.” Those were the terms, plain and simple, and the crocodile waited for her answer.
The mother thought very carefully. If she guessed, “You will return my child,” the crocodile could simply keep him — her guess would be wrong, and the deal itself would say to keep him. She would lose, and the crocodile would know it. So she did not guess that. Instead, she looked the crocodile in the eye and said: “You will NOT return my child.”
Now follow what happens next, whichever way the crocodile moves. Suppose the crocodile returns the boy. Then the mother’s guess — “You will not return my child” — turns out to be wrong. And the deal says a wrong guess means the crocodile keeps the child. So by returning him, the crocodile breaks its own deal.
Suppose instead the crocodile keeps the boy. Then the mother’s guess turns out to be right. And the deal says a right guess means the crocodile returns the child. So by keeping him, the crocodile breaks its own deal as well.
So the crocodile sits in the river, the boy sits on its back, and the mother stands on the bank, and nobody can move. Return him, and the deal is broken. Keep him, and the deal is broken. The mother’s single sentence has tied the crocodile’s own promise into a knot. What is really going on here? Choose an answer, and you will be told exactly what your answer means.