5
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(This is a variation of the fox, goose and bag of beans puzzle)

After a normal day at the market, you are bringing home a wolf, a goat, a cabbage, a mouse and a moose.

You come across a bridge which will support your weight along with the weight of either two non-moose things or one moose.

If you leave these animals alone together, the following interactions can take place:

  • the wolf will eat the goat
  • the moose will kill the wolf because it doesn't like wolves
  • the cabbage will attack the goat, for murdering its people
  • the mouse and the moose will eat the cabbage, because it's delicious

The animals have to cross with you, else they will fall into the water below.

What things, in what order, do you have to cross the bridge with so no violence occurs and all of them make it to the other side?

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    $\begingroup$ I don't know why I laughed hard for this line: the cabbage will attack the goat, for murdering it's people. $\endgroup$ – athin Feb 23 '18 at 9:29
  • $\begingroup$ How can cabbage attack goat? Won't goat eat said cabbage first? $\endgroup$ – Lau Wan Feb 23 '18 at 11:36
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    $\begingroup$ @Lau Wan The cabbage has a higher power level $\endgroup$ – Unlambder Feb 23 '18 at 11:40
  • $\begingroup$ @Unlambder goat = 12 kg cabbage = 0.1 kg :/ $\endgroup$ – Lau Wan Feb 23 '18 at 11:43
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I believe this works:

First trip: Wolf, since that conflicts with both moose and goat (and we can't take both of them), and cabbage (which conflicts with mouse and moose).
Then we take the moose over, and return the wolf and cabbage.
Then, take mouse and goat over. Finally, return (empty) and take back wolf and cabbage.

Systematic notation with E indicating moose (elk), since M is for mouse, . indicating the farmer and | indicating the river:

WGCME.|
 G ME |W C.
 G ME.|W C
 G M  |W C E.
WGCM .|    E
W C   | G ME.
W C  .| G ME
      |WGCME.

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