Day one
"Oh, that's so sweet of him," gushed Belinda. "Look what my true love has sent me for Christmas! Isn't it just darling?" "Some kind of bird?" hazarded her friend Emily. "In a bush?" "Silly! It's a partridge in a pear tree." "Well, that's novel."
Day two
"Oh, wow! Emily, look! Two lovebirds!" "I think they're turtle doves, Belinda." "And another partridge!"
Day three
"I hope the three hens are good layers," said Emily. "But why has he sent you more doves and another partridge? You've got three partridges, four doves, and three hens." "I'm sure my true love knows what he's doing," said Belinda defensively.
Day four
"Another bloody partridge?" "Yes, but you have to admit that the four calling birds are nice, Emily." "They're actually colly birds. Blackbirds." "I'm starting to see your point about the partridges. And the doves. And the hens." "If this goes on, you'll have an awful lot of birds. Twelve partridges, for starters. Twenty-two doves." "True. I wonder which species of bird I'll have the biggest number of?" "No idea. But I think you ought to give him the bird."
After the 12 days of Christmas, what species of bird will Belinda have the largest number of?
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The answer
The largest total of birds, over the 12 days of Christmas, is 42 geese a-laying, equalled by 42 swans a-swimming.
The winner is Keith Gordon from London
