Story Of two pebbles

Many years ago in a small Chinese village, a farmer called Feng had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter Mei. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the Feng's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter Mei were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then Mei would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

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

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

3. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

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. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: