This traditional nursery rhyme goes back many years and presents a riddle. The earliest published version is from around 1730. This version was printed around 1825. Kids love discovering that no matter how hard they try to count the people, animals, and sacks, the answer is really quite simple if it’s only the narrator. However, if all were headed to St. Ives, the complex mathematical answer is 2802. Two males, 7 females, 49 sacks, 343 cats, and 2401 kittens. Most interpretations of this riddle assume the narrator is going the opposite direction from the others, so the answer is only one. He’s the only one actually stated that is going to St. Ives