Anecdote Monday: Logic

A father of 3 sons comes home and says, "Someone has stolen our cow." The oldest son says, "If he has stolen, then he is a goat." The middle son says, "If he is a goat, he is from [village]." The youngest son says, "If he is from [village], it must be Ivan [Lastname]."

All four go into the [village] and find Ivan [Lastname].
- "Give us our cow back!"
- "I don't have your cow."
- "Give us our cow back!"
- "I don't have any cow."
- "Ok then, lets go to the judge."

In the court:
- "Judge, Ivan [Lastname] has stolen our cow."
- "How did you decide that Ivan [Lastname] was the one that stole the cow?"
- "If he has stolen, then he is a goat. If he is a goat, he is from [village]. If he is from [village], it must be Ivan [Lastname]."
- "Hm... interesting logic." The judge calls over an assistant and whispers something in his ear. The assistant returns with a box. "Can you tell me what's in the box?" asks the judge.

Father says, "The box is square." The oldest son says, "If the box is square, whatever is inside must be round." Middle son says, "If its round, it must be orange." The youngest son says, "If its orange, then it is an orange*."

The judge pulls out an orange from the box and says, "Ivan, give them their cow back."


* In Russian/Ukrainian/etc., the noun "orange" and the color "orange" are actually two completely different words.