Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Candice and her older sister Sandra. For her early life she lived in a brick house with her parents. (Her mother's name was Lillian.) Her favorite bird species was chicken, and she thought it was important to have 5 different kinds of chickens; red, orange, yellow, white, and specked.
When Candice was 10 years old, her parents divorced and her mother moved hundreds of miles away. Candice's father later re-married a woman named Sylvia. Candice's new house was made of wood, and Candice disliked this fact because wood can be destroyed by a tornado. But Sylvia didn't mind that fact at all; Sylvia believed it was a perfectly okay thing.
Now, Candice and Lillian both think it is important to keep foxes away from the chicken coop. But Sylvia is different; she thinks it is more important to be okay if a few chickens die. One fall, all of Candice's red chickens died. Candice wanted to see her mother and ask her to buy new chickens.
But the long route to her mother's house was blocked by 3 rivers, and she needed to cross them all to get there. For the first river, she needed a boat and the boat could only take one thing at a time. She was to take 3 things to the other side of the river; a fox, her chicken, and some corn. She cannot leave the fox and chicken or the chicken and corn together. She tried hard and succeeded.
Now she needed to cross a second river. Her new boat could carry 2 things at a time. She had to take the same 3 things, plus a stick (which would beat the fox if left with fox unattended) and a fire (which would burn the stick if left with the stick unattended.) Again she succeeded.
Now came the third bridge she needed to cross. Now she had a boat where she could take a total of 3 things at a time. Now she needed to take a total of 7 things; these are a cow, a bucket of water, a fire, a stick, a fox, her chicken, and corn. The water would quench the fire and the cow would drink the water. But she succeeded. Here's how:
1. Take water, stick, and chicken across river.
2. Come back by yourself.
3. Take fox and corn across river.
4. Take water, stick, and chicken BACK.
5. Take cow and fire across river.
6. Come back by yourself.
7. Take water, stick, and chicken across river.
Candice succeeded, and took her new red chicken to her mother's brick house, and was once again happy.