How to divide 17 into half, one-third, one-ninth?

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17 elephants

An interesting story involving Tenali Ramakrishna, a gem in the durbar of Krishnadeva Raya.

A wealthy man willed that his 17 elephants should be divided among his three sons in such a way that the first son got half of the total number, the second one-third, and, the third, one-ninth. The king asked Tenali Rama to effect the division because nothing seemed to satisfy the three sons, 17 being a prime-number.

Rama brought his elephant to the venue where the division was to be made, taking the total number of elephants to 18. Then he divided the number into half (9), one-third (6) and one-ninth (2). The total was thus 17, and it had been divided to the satisfaction of all concerned. Rama rode back home on his elephant.