Brain Teaser Solution:

SOLUTION:

Make a chart with three columns and three rows on a piece of paper: the columns represent the ORDER the three clients met with Madame Z;
the three rows indicate the METHOD of fortune telling, the HEIGHT of the stranger, and the NAME of each client:

client:----#1--------#2--------#3

method:

height:

name:



We know the following from clues 2 and 3: "Madame Z told the second client that she would meet a tall stranger; Madame read the first client's palm."


client:----#1--------#2--------#3

method: -palm

height: -----------tall

name:





From Clue #4, "Chloe went in after the tarot cards were read": here we use up a few brain cells to figure out that Chloe could not be client #1 because she "went in after" so she had to be either client #2 or #3. However, she went in after the tarot cards were read...since client #1 had her palm read, then the tarot card reading must be client #2...if tarot card reading was client #3, there would be no spot for Chloe to "went in after". Therefore tarot was for client #2, and Chloe, who "went in after the tarot cards were read", was client #3.

Further, there is only one method left for Chloe, and that is the crystal ball reading:

client:------#1--------#2--------#3

method: ---palm ---tarot ---ball

height:---------------tall

name:----------------------------Chloe


From clue #1, "The clients---Abby, Betsy, and Chloe---didn't visit Madame Zelda in that order." Given that Chloe is client #3, Abby and Betsy must be "switched" so that Betsy is client #1 and Abby is client #2:


client:----#1--------#2--------#3

method: --palm --tarot --ball

height:--------------tall

name: --Betsy --Abby --Chloe



From the chart, we already see that Client #2, Abby, has the tarot card reading and is told she'll meet a tall stranger.

From clue #5, "The crystal ball told Madame Z that the client would meet a short stranger." Add this to the chart, and we see that Client #3, Chloe, has the crystal ball reading and is told she'll meet a short stranger.

As to the question, "Who, according to Madame Zelda, is going to meet an average height stranger?" Client #1, Betsy, with the palm reading, is the only client left with a space open on the chart to meet an "average height stranger":


client:------#1----------#2----------#3

method: ----palm ----tarot ----ball

height: -----average ----tall ----short

name: ----Betsy ----Abby ----Chloe