Storybook Number Tests Trivia Quiz

Answer: 30

'Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye; Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie'. Adding six to twenty four makes thirty, the number of days in November. There's a rhyme for that, too: 'thirty days hath September, April, June and November'.

The three Xs in the photo are the Roman numerals for thirty.

Answer: 0

'Baa baa black sheep, have you any wool? Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full' less the three billy goats gruff, who tricked the troll in the fairy tale gives you nothing. That was what was in the cupboard, too: 'Old Mother Hubbard; went to her cupboard; to give the poor dog a bone. When she went there; the cupboard was bare; and so the poor dog had none.

The picture shows you an empty cupboard in case you couldn't remember the rhyme.

Answer: 20

'One, two, buckle my shoe; three, four, open the door; five six, pick up sticks; seven, eight, lay them straight; nine, ten, a big fat hen'. Multiplying two by ten gives an answer of twenty, which is where the rhyme ends with 'nineteen, twenty, my plate's empty'.

The picture is of an empty plate, for the last line of the poem.

Answer: 1

A baker's dozen is thirteen. It is usually said that the number describes bakers including an extra item in a batch of twelve to make sure the goods are not underweight. The number thirteen is considered to be unlucky in the western world and is sometimes linked to the number of people at Jesus's last supper - Jesus himself and his twelve disciples. The answer, one, can be found in 'Hickory dickory dock; the mouse ran up the clock; the clock struck one; the mouse ran down; hickory dickory dock'.

The clock picture might have helped, especially as it shows one o'clock.

Answer: 7

'One for sorrow; two for joy; three for a girl; four for a boy; five for silver; six for gold; seven for a secret never to be told'. Adding the numbers three and four together gives you the right answer of seven.

The picture is of someone saying 'shh' or 'don't give away a secret', which goes with the number seven in the rhyme.

Answer: 2

Enid Blyton wrote about the 'Famous Five', who were George, Anne, Julian, Dick and Timmy the dog and the 'Secret Seven'. Taking five away from seven leaves two:
'Two little dicky birds; sitting on a wall; one named Peter; one named Paul; fly away Peter; fly away Paul; come back Peter; come back Paul'.

The picture clue is of a wall, but I can't see Peter or Paul.

Answer: 6

There were twelve drummers drumming and two turtle doves, so the answer is six, the same as the number of geese a-laying. There were eight maids a-milking, nine ladies dancing and four calling birds.

The picture is of some cubes, as they have six sides.

Answer: 9

The three little pigs built their houses of straw, wood and brick, with only the last one surviving the wolf's attempts to blow it down. The mice come from 'three blind mice, three blind mice; see how they run, see how they run' - I'm sure you can finish it off. Three times three is nine, the number of lives a cat is traditionally supposed to have.

The photo of the cat was an extra clue but wouldn't have helped you with your multiplication.

Answer: 2

A fortnight is a British word for two weeks, or fourteen days, while Snow White had seven dwarfs, given an answer of two. Cinderella had two ugly sisters in the fairy tale, but it was Cinderella who ended up marrying the prince.

The picture shows a hidden number two.

Answer: 9

'Rub-a-dub-dub; three men in a tub', 'Old King Cole was a merry old soul' who called for his 'pipers three' and 'Three little kittens have lost their mittens' are the rhymes which should have given you three number threes to add up. The answer came from 'Pease porridge hot; pease porridge cold; pease porridge in the pot; nine days old'. I don't think that sounds very nice to eat, though.

The picture is of three threes, in case you weren't sure.