The Flying Dutchman and Other Folktales from the Netherlands

Copyright © 2008 by Theo Meder

You are sitting in a prison cell. In your cell there are two doors. Behind one door there is a pit full of crocodiles. Behind the other door there is a way out. There is a guard standing in front of each door. One guard always speaks the truth, the other always lies, but you don't know which one does which. You are allowed to leave your cell, and you are allowed to ask one guard one question. Which question should you ask to find the door to freedom for sure?

Solution: You must ask one guard: "What door will the other guard say leads to freedom?"

Since there will always be a lie involved, you should choose the other door than the one mentioned, and you will be free.

This internationally known riddle was told to me on June 22, 2003, by Mrs. Micky Marsman in Epe (Gelderland). The translation is based on an unpublished fieldwork report (archive and Dutch Folktale Database, Meertens Instituut, Amsterdam).