Riddle: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they?

Introduction / Context:
This riddle is a classic example of a statement that seems contradictory until you interpret the key words correctly. At first, it sounds impossible that taking more of something could mean leaving more behind. However, the puzzle is about a specific kind of "taking" that automatically creates a trace. Reasoning tests use this riddle to assess whether you can link a familiar action, such as walking, to an abstract description.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The riddle states: The more you take, the more you leave behind.
• We must find something that increases in what is left behind when we take more of it.
• Options include pictures, holes, clothes, footsteps and coins.
• No trick with numbers or money is explicitly mentioned.

Concept / Approach:
The key is to interpret "take" not as taking an object away, but as taking steps while walking. Every step you take leaves a footprint or a mark behind you. The more steps you take, the more footprints or "footsteps" you leave on the ground. This fits the description perfectly: you are taking steps, and at the same time you are leaving a growing trail behind you. None of the other options behave in exactly this way.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Replace "take" with "take steps" and think about walking along a beach or a dusty path. Step 2: Each step leaves a footprint or at least a mark behind on the ground. Step 3: If you take only a few steps, you leave only a few footprints; if you walk a long distance, you leave a long trail of footprints. Step 4: This means the more steps you take, the more footsteps you leave behind you. Step 5: Compare this to taking pictures, clothes, holes or coins. These actions do not automatically create more of something left behind in a clear, natural way. Step 6: Conclude that footsteps is the only option that makes the riddle's statement literally true.

Verification / Alternative check:
Imagine walking across wet sand. Look back after ten steps: there are ten visible footprints. Look back after fifty steps: there are fifty footprints. The count of "things left behind" (footsteps) increases exactly as you take more steps. No other option behaves this neatly. If you take pictures, you do not "leave" more pictures behind you on the ground; you keep them. If you remove coins, you leave fewer in a pile, not more.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A, pictures, are usually taken and kept, not left behind in a trail as you move.

Option B, holes, might seem tempting, but taking more soil away leaves fewer soil particles behind, and the wording does not match common usage.

Option C, clothes, clearly does not fit any natural interpretation of the riddle.

Option E, coins, when taken, leave fewer coins behind, the opposite of what the riddle describes.

Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to interpret "take" only as removing physical items, missing the idea of "taking steps". Another error is to focus too literally on objects mentioned in the options, instead of thinking about actions that naturally create a trail. In many riddles, the words used have more than one meaning, and you must choose the meaning that creates a self consistent picture.

Final Answer:
The more you take, the more you leave behind refers to footsteps.