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  Reasoning

How Many Were Going To Saint Ives?		  
Q This is a very old rhyming riddle. See if you can answer it by reading and thinking very carefully.

As I was going to Saint Ives,
I crossed the path of seven wives.
Every wife had seven sacks,
Every sack had seven cats,
Every cat had seven kittens,
Kittens, cats, sacks, wives,
How many were going to Saint Ives?


 
A Only one person was going to Saint Ives.

If he or she crossed the path of the seven wives, then the kittens, cats, sacks, and wives were all going in a different direction!

(If everyone was going in the same direction, however, the answer would be 2,801 — 7 wives, 49 sacks, 343 cats, and 2,401 kittens equal 2,800. Then you have to add one more for the person speaking the words of the riddle.)