While walking in a park, one morning, I found a Hundred Rupee note on one of the park benches. I picked it up, noted the number and took it home.

In the afternoon the plumber called on me to collect his bill. As I had no other moey at home, I settled his account with the Hundred Rupee note that I had found.

Later I came to know that the plumber paid the note to his milkman to settle his monthly account , who paid it to his tailor for the garments he had made.

The tailor in turn used the money to buy an old sewing machine, from a woman who lives in my neighbourhood. This woman incidentally, had borrowed Hundred Rupees from me sometime back to buy some household appliance. She, remembering that she owed me a Hundred Rupees, came and paid the debt.

I recognized the note as the one that I had found on the park bench, and on careful examination, I discovered that the note was counterfeit.

How much was lost in the whole transaction and by whom ?

(In reply to re(2): Possible Solution by Jonny Doe)

You're still missing the point; if you started out with 100 real Rupees, and used that to pay the plumber, would you consider yourself out anything? Then if you found a counterfeit mark on the bench, would you consider yourself down?
Those net changes are exactly what has happened. You are down 100 'real' Rupees, and you have your plumbing work done. You also have a counterfeit note that you found in the park. That's it.

Posted by DJ on 2003-03-20 08:39:14