The Yellow Bird Gets the Worm

[Shadow]

While visiting the Grey Labyrinth library, you find a curious looking piece of paper sticking out of the rows of books. You

pull it out, unfold it, and read the following:

quote:

---

The Yellow Bird Gets the Worm

Welcome. I present this challenge to you. This is the first
letter in a series. To find the next, you will need the
solution to this one. Perhaps it will become apparent as
you go. Good luck.

TGoW, OMaM
YGB, TSL
TTM, TCoMC
WF, TCotW
TFoH, TGH
DoaS, TC
TI, TO
SLaTfAtF, LtUaE
AMND, JC
CoGS, TDC
TLtWatW, THaHB
FDB, LotF
TTT, FGoH
RC, TFaMotFMF
DC, AToTC
HoD, TSS
HttE, VotF
TCitR, FEWLaS
FWtBT, TOMatS
TLotT, TRoS
F, TLM

Shadow

---

[This message has been edited by Shadow (edited 02-03-2002 12:37 PM).]

[Lucky Wizard]

These are abbreviations of book titles. In the rows where I have both books, the two books appear to be by the same author.

1. The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men
3B. The Count of Monte Cristo
7. The Iliad, The Odyssey
9A. A Midsummer Night's Dream
11A. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
12B. The Lord of the Flies
13A. The Two Towers
15. David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities
21B. The Last Mohican*

* I have a vague memory indicating that the writer of The Last Mohican also wrote a book with a one-word title beginning with F, but I cannot remember its title.

The italicized words I have are:

1. Mice
7. The
11. And
15. David

[quercitron]

I have 15 out of the 21 but haven't solved anything yet...it appears to be rather deeper than merely determining the book titles. And the last one is not "The Last Mohican," just so you know.

Z

[ctrlaltdel]

9b Julius Caesar

[mole]

13B. Farmer Giles of Ham

[masterlist]

Password is 'masterlist'. Edit me.

TGoW, OMaM - The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men -- John Steinbeck
YGB, TSL - Young Goodman Brown, The Scarlet Letter -- Nathaniel Hawthorne
TTM, TCoMC - The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Christo -- Alexandre Dumas
WF, TCotW - White Fang, The Call of the Wild -- Jack London
TFoH, TGH - The Fires of Heaven, The Great Hunt -- Robert Jordan
DoaS, TC - Death of a Salesman, The Crucible -- Arthur Miller
TI, TO - The Iliad, The Odyssey -- Homer
SLaTfAtF, LtUaE - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, Life, the Universe and Everything -- Douglas Adams
AMND, JC - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar -- William Shakespear

CoGS, TDC

TLtWatW, THaHB - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy -- Clive Staples Lewis
FDB, TLotF - Fire Down Below, The Lord of the Flies -- William Golding
TTT, FGoH - The Two Towers, Farmer Giles of Ham -- J R R Tolkein
RC, TFaMotFMF - Robinson Crusoe, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders -- Daniel Defoe
DC, AToTC - David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities -- Charles Dickens
HoD, TSS - Heart of Darkness, The Secret Sharer -- Joseph Conrad
HttE, VotF - Heir to the Empire, Vision of the Future ? (not exactly on a par with Hemingway and Tolkien...)
TCitR, FEWLaS - The Catcher in the Rye, For Esme - With Love and Squalor
FWtBT, TOMatS - For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea -- Ernest Hemingway

TLotT, TRoS - The Lady or the Tiger?, The riddle of Scheherazade -- Raymond Smullyan (puzzle books!)

F, TLM - Frankenstein, The Last Man -- Mary Shelley




[This message has been edited by masterlist (edited 02-04-2002 10:04 AM).]

[Shadow]

Oops, I knew I couldn't get through a puzzle without a mistake. I have edited the puzzle above.

[Ghost Post]

I think that the missing 'the' might have snuck into 'Lord of the Flies'

[Shadow]

Oops again.

[ralphmerridew]

I was also going to put up a correction on LotF, but I looked it up on books.com, and while most of the books say _Lord of the Flies_, there were a few which were _The Lord of the Flies_.

[Shadow]

In this case, it doesn't affect the puzzle.

[hey_herb]

20a could be The Last of the Troubadors by O. Henry, but I haven't yet found a story by him to match 20b.

[Saxifrage]

If it were TRoD, not TRoS, it could be "The Rose of Dixie," which is O. Henry. But it isn't. :-)

[Shadow]

That one isn't a mistake.

I'll give you a little more time before I start giving hints.

[Ghost Post]

This is probably very important (I'm not sure how but I guess that someone else will) - in the reply about the correction to "Lord of the Flies", Shadow said "In this case, it doesn't affect the puzzle". This would imply that the previous correction to "The Fires of Heaven" did affect the solution. Did anyone else notice that after the correction was made the italicised letter changed from the H to the o? Presumably, we are now looking for the position (number) of the word in the titles to relate to a letter somewhere (but most probably in the author's name) however I can't make any sense out of these letters either.

Qn

[Ghost Post]

Don't let this thread die ... i need to know the answer

------------------
The real discoveries in life come not from seeing new things but from seeing with new eyes - Goethe

[Shadow]

Good to know someone is interested.

[Shadow]

I'll post some hints tonight if there is no progress by then.

[Alter Ego]

Well, the list of italicized words is

code:

---

mice


goodman


three


the


of


the


thanks


julius


d????


and


below


of


the 


david


secret


to*


with


and


lady 


frankenstein

---

Maybe staring at this will help.

[This message has been edited by Alter Ego (edited 02-08-2002 09:13 AM).]

[impossibleroot]

Well, I don't think it's a sentence because there aren't any verbs, except for maybe 'thanks'.

[Alter Ego]

More of what it isn't : If you take the book titles and the author name to be one string : then convert the letter to a number (a=1, b=2 etc.), you can extract a string of characters from the list. Something like "ROHHEA...EF". Neither the string nor any transposal thereof is useful.

[ralphmerridew]

The Daniel Defoe lines must be incorrect. The correct titles of the novels which are listed there really are

_The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of AMERICA, near the Mouth of the Great River of ORONOQUE; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the men perished but himself WITH An Account how he was left as flagrantly deliver'd by PYRATES, Written by Himself_

and

_The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders Who Was Born In Newgate, and During a Life of Continu'd Variety For Threescore Years, Besides Her Childhood, Was Twelve Year a Whore, Five Times a Wife [Whereof Once To Her Own Brother], Twelve Year a Thief, Eight Year a Transported Felon In Virginia, At Last Grew Rich, Liv'd Honest, and Died a Penitent_

[Shadow]

I found several different titles for them, actually. I just choose the ones I saw the most.

[Shadow]

Ok, a minor hint: quidnunc was on the right track.

[quercitron]

Give me a B
Give me a U
Give me a M
Give me a P
What's that spell?

BUMP

[Shadow]

[Logain]

Well, using the italicized word by first or second book to give first or last name of author, and word placement to determine the number of the letter, you get something like...

tallbr?gsmelldcoiliam

It looks promising, but something's not right if they are the correct letters.

[Shadow]

On the right track... sorta.

[Shadow]

I'll give this until Friday. Then I will post the solution. Come guys, you're so close!

[ralphmerridew]

tallbr?gsmelldcoiliam

I attempted to parse Logain's letters into words:

Tall Br[ai]g Smelld Coil I Am

Does that suggest anything?

[Ghost Post]

I've looked at this upside down and sideways til my eyes bled and I can't get any further. Can we get a solution or another hint?
Please!

[Shadow]

Oops. It would appear I forgot about this. I will post the solution in invisible, below.



The first step, obviously, was to figure out the titles. Each pair of titles is by the same author. The letter in italics corresponds to a letter in the author's last name.

1. Stein(b)eck - The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men
2. H(a)wthorne - Young Goodman Brown, The Scarlet Letter
3. D(u)mas - The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo
4. Lo(n)don - White Fang, The Call of the Wild
5. Jo(r)dan - Fires of Heaven, The Great Hunt
6. M(i)ller - Death of a Salesman, The Crucible
7. Ho(m)er - The Iliad, The Odyssey
8. Ada(m)s - So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Life, the Universe, and Everything
9. Shak(e)speare - A Midsummer Night's Dream, Julius Caesar
10. Willi(a)ms - City of Golden Shadow, The Dragonbone Chair
11. Lewi(s) - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Horse and His Boy
12. Go(l)ding - Fire Down Below, The Lord of the Flies
13. Tolki(e)n - The Two Towers, Farmer Giles of Ham
14. De(F)oe - Robinson Crusoe, The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders
15. (D)ickens - David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities
16. Conr(a)d - Heart of Darkness, The Secret Sharer
17. Z(a)hn - Heir to the Empire, Visions of the Future
18. Salinge(r) - The Catcher in the Rye, For Esmé - With Love and Squalor
19. Hemingwa(y) - For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea
20. S(m)ullyan - The Lady or the Tiger, The Riddle of Scheherazade
21. (S)helley - Frankenstein, The Last Man

These letters give:

BAUNRIMMEASLEFDAARYMS

Taking alternating letters gives:

BURMESE DAYS
ANIMAL FARM

And the answer is the author of these books, Orwell.

This was my first true THPish puzzle. I'd be interested on any feedback about it, I know that I could have at least done a better job hinting at the steps in the little story. Anyway... I'll post the next one whenever I get it ready. Hope you enjoyed.

[Logain]

Well I'll comment Shadow, since I know how it feels to ask for feedback on a puzzle or THP and not get any...*ahem* I'm still waiting on those who tried my last one

The puzzle was a good concept and the end answer/solution fit in very well with the initial puzzle type.

The only real problem that I think is a sticking point is the italicized letter step. Now, when you are confronted with a step in which the next stage takes guesswork like this one, it's not too much of a stretch to assume someone will eventually try letter number and match this with the author. Even the last names being the key is still fine. The problem was two-fold. 1) The next step was the alternating letters for the message. This in itself isn't so bad, but in this puzzle, it's definitely not obvious you would've even been on the right track if you came up with your correct set of letters...especially if some answers from the first stage went unsolved. 2) The comma separating the two books completely throws you off. I think it was tough to assume the number of the letter was from the combined string of both books.

Basically, it comes down to that you had a middle stage that could have had meant a lot of different things, and even getting the right combination to continue wasn't obvious.

I hope you take criticism positively, because it just helps with future puzzles. Keep them coming.