Of all the funny, furry pets you can have, the ferret might be the funniest. These long, skinny cousins of the weasel are very playful, but also sleep up to 18 hours a day. Our friend J.B. found that his 2 ferrets love to hide inside long socks. Years ago, airplane maker Boeing used ferrets to run wires through tight spots when building planes. The problem was, the ferrets kept falling asleep on the job since they nap so much. They’d much rather lie around in a sock.
Wee ones: Ferrets love long socks. How many long socks do you have in your room? Count them up!
Little kids: If you have 8 ferrets and 6 socks, how many ferrets don’t get to snuggle in a sock? (Assume only 1 ferret can fit in each sock.) Bonus: Ferrets have a 15-inch-long body, plus a 5-inch tail. How long is a ferret in total?
Big kids: If your 4 20-inch ferrets lie nose to tail on the floor, how long is your ferret chain? Bonus: The word “ferret” comes from the Latin word furittus, which means “little thief,” because ferrets like to steal small objects and hide them. If you have 48 Lego blocks and the ferret hid 1/2 of them last week, then 1/4 of what was left this week, how many pieces has your little thief taken?
Answers:
Wee ones: Different for everyone…you can count all your socks that go higher than your ankle.
Little kids: 2 ferrets do not get a sock. Bonus: 20 inches total.
Big kids: 80 inches of ferret. Bonus: 30 pieces. The ferret stole 24 last week, and then 6 of the remaining 24 this week.
