"A parson having a fox, a goose, and a peck of corn, in his journey came to a river, where it so happened that he could carry but one over at a time. Now, as no two were to be left together that might destroy each other, he was at his wit's end how to dispose of them: For, says he, Though the corn cannot eat the goose, nor the goose eat the fox, yet the fox can eat the goose, and the goose eat the corn. The question is,--how he must carry them over, that they might not devour each other."
(The quotation from The Scoolmaster's Assistant, by Thomas Dilworth, published in London, M,DCC,XCIII.)
Solution
Take the goose across.
Go back, take the fox across, and bring the goose back.
Go back and take the corn across.
Go back and take the goose across. Done.
