Mental Maths Code Breakers - Castle & Kite - Free Printable

To solve this code-breaking puzzle, we need to match the symbols in the question at the bottom with the corresponding letters in the key at the top.

Step 1: Decode the first line
The first line of symbols is:
1. Flashlight: Look at the key. The flashlight is under the letter P.
2. Gas Pump: Look at the key. The gas pump is under the letter U.
3. Tulip: Look at the key. The tulip is under the letter T.
4. Bird/Chick: Look at the key. The bird is under the letter A.
5. Tree: Look at the key. The tree is under the letter L.
6. Crab: Look at the key. The crab is under the letter I.
7. Tulip: We already know this is T.
8. Tulip: We already know this is T.
9. Tree: We already know this is L.
10. Cloud: Look at the key. The cloud is under the letter E.

Putting those letters together: P U T A L I T T L E -> PUT A LITTLE

Step 2: Decode the second line
The second line of symbols is:
1. Truck: Look at the key. The truck is under the letter N.
2. Flamingo: Look at the key. The flamingo is under the letter O.
3. Flamingo: We already know this is O.
4. Fish: Look at the key. The fish is under the letter F.
5. Crab: We already know this is I.
6. Cloud: We already know this is E.
7. Crab: We already know this is I.
8. Chef Hat: Look at the key. The chef hat is under the letter N.
9. Crab: We already know this is I.
10. Tulip: We already know this is T.

Putting those letters together: N O O F I E I N I T -> NOO FIE IN IT (Wait, let me re-check the order and spacing).

Let's look at the spacing in the image again.
Line 1: `_ _ _` `_` `_ _ _ _ _` -> `PUT` `A` `LITTLE`
Line 2: `_ _ _ _ _` `_ _` `_ _` -> `NOO` `FIE` `IN` `IT`? No, that doesn't make sense.

Let's re-examine the symbols for the second line carefully.
1. Truck -> N
2. Flamingo -> O
3. Flamingo -> O
4. Fish -> F
5. Crab -> I
6. Cloud -> E
7. Crab -> I
8. Chef Hat -> N
9. Crab -> I
10. Tulip -> T

Ah, looking at the spacing again: `_ _ _ _ _` `_ _` `_ _`
Wait, let's look at the symbols again.
Symbol 1: Truck (N)
Symbol 2: Flamingo (O)
Symbol 3: Flamingo (O)
Symbol 4: Fish (F)
Symbol 5: Crab (I)
Symbol 6: Cloud (E)
Symbol 7: Crab (I)
Symbol 8: Chef Hat (N)
Symbol 9: Crab (I)
Symbol 10: Tulip (T)

Is it "NOO FIE IN IT"? No.
Maybe I misidentified a symbol.
Let's look at symbol 4 again. It's a fish. Fish is F.
Let's look at symbol 5 again. It's a crab. Crab is I.
Let's look at symbol 6 again. It's a cloud. Cloud is E.
"NOO FIE" doesn't seem right.

Let's try reading it as "NO OIL IN IT"? No, symbol 4 is a fish (F), not oil.
Wait, let's look at the key for "OIL". There isn't an oil symbol.
Let's look at the key for "MUSIC". No music symbol.

Let's re-read the first word of the second line.
Truck (N), Flamingo (O), Flamingo (O).
Maybe it's "NO"? But there are two flamingos.
Is it possible the third symbol is not a flamingo?
Let's zoom in on the third symbol in the second line. It looks exactly like the second symbol.
Let's look at the key. Under O is a flamingo.
So it is N-O-O.

Let's look at the joke context. "How do you get a tissue to dance?"
Common answer: "Put a little boogie in it."
Let's see if the symbols match "BOOGIE".
B = ? (No B symbol used here)
O = Flamingo
O = Flamingo
G = ? (No G symbol used here)
I = Crab
E = Cloud

So if the answer is "BOOGIE", the symbols should be B-O-O-G-I-E.
My symbols are: Truck(N), Flamingo(O), Flamingo(O), Fish(F), Crab(I), Cloud(E).
This spells N-O-O-F-I-E.

Let me re-check the key for the symbols I might have misidentified.
Symbol 1: Truck. Key: Truck is under N. Correct.
Symbol 2: Flamingo. Key: Flamingo is under O. Correct.
Symbol 3: Flamingo. Key: Flamingo is under O. Correct.
Symbol 4: Fish. Key: Fish is under F. Correct.
Symbol 5: Crab. Key: Crab is under I. Correct.
Symbol 6: Cloud. Key: Cloud is under E. Correct.

This spells NOOFIE. That doesn't make sense.
Let me look really closely at the image again.
Maybe the first symbol isn't a truck?
It looks like a dump truck or a moving truck.
Key: Under N is a truck. Under B is a truck? No, B is a truck.
Wait! Look at the key again.
B has a truck icon.
N has a chef hat icon.
Ah, I misread the key!

Let's restart the decoding with the correct key reading.

Re-evaluating the Key:
Row 1:
A: Bird
B: Truck
C: Drumstick
D: Tent
E: Cloud
F: Panda
G: Fish
H: Leaf
I: Crab
J: Bat
K: Cupcake
L: Tree
M: Egg

Row 2:
N: Chef Hat
O: Flamingo
P: Flashlight
Q: Feather
R: Cherries
S: Pine Tree
T: Tulip
U: Gas Pump
V: Footprints
W: Dolphin
X: Drum
Y: Chicken
Z: Truck (Wait, Z is also a truck? Let me look closer).
Actually, looking at Z, it's a truck. Looking at B, it's a truck.
Let's look at N again. N is a chef hat.

Okay, let's try decoding again with this corrected understanding.

Line 1 Decoding:
1. Flashlight: Under P.
2. Gas Pump: Under U.
3. Tulip: Under T.
* Word: PUT
4. Bird: Under A.
* Word: A
5. Tree: Under L.
6. Crab: Under I.
7. Tulip: Under T.
8. Tulip: Under T.
9. Tree: Under L.
10. Cloud: Under E.
* Word: LITTLE

First part: PUT A LITTLE

Line 2 Decoding:
1. Truck: Under B. (I previously thought it was N, but N is the chef hat. B is the truck).
2. Flamingo: Under O.
3. Flamingo: Under O.
* Word starts with BOO...
4. Fish: Under G. (I previously thought it was F. F is the panda. G is the fish).
5. Crab: Under I.
6. Cloud: Under E.
* Word: BOOGIE

Next part:
7. Crab: Under I.
8. Chef Hat: Under N.
* Word: IN

Next part:
9. Crab: Under I.
10. Tulip: Under T.
* Word: IT

Full sentence: PUT A LITTLE BOOGIE IN IT

This makes perfect sense as a joke answer! "How do you get a tissue to dance? Put a little boogie in it."

Final verification:
- P (Flashlight) U (Gas) T (Tulip) -> PUT
- A (Bird) -> A
- L (Tree) I (Crab) T (Tulip) T (Tulip) L (Tree) E (Cloud) -> LITTLE
- B (Truck) O (Flamingo) O (Flamingo) G (Fish) I (Crab) E (Cloud) -> BOOGIE
- I (Crab) N (Chef Hat) -> IN
- I (Crab) T (Tulip) -> IT

The solution is consistent and logical.

Final Answer:
Put a little boogie in it