Quandary Poem

A gentleman who had a fox,
A chicken and some grain
Wanted to cross a river
And it caused him mental pain.

His problem centred on the fact
That rivers have two sides,
And he wanted to transport things
With economy of rides.

The other point that caused him grief
And almost had him beaten
Was getting all his chums across
Without them being eaten.

For centuries, mankind has pondered
Over this one puzzle –
The solution lies in just two parts:
Some ether and a muzzle.

It's really not so hard to get
This poor chap off the hook:
Put the muzzle on the fox and then
Anaesthetise the chook.