WHO OWNS THE ZEBRA?

I first came across this puzzle in the 60s. It was in the Reader's Digest. I gave it to the teachers in my school to let them practise some problem solving. I remembered them solving the puzzle in their own way. Mokhtar Abdullah, a maths teacher and fellow Scout Master used mathematical formula to find the answer. I found my answer by the processs of elimination.

Nearly 40 years later, I thought of the puzzle again after watching Madagascar, the movie. I reproduced it here for you to solve. Just remember that how you get the answer is as important as the answer itself. Read the clues carefully.

• There are five houses.
• Each house has its own unique colour.
• All house owners are of different nationalities.
• They all have different pets.
• They all drink different drinks.
• They all smoke different cigarettes.
• The English man lives in the red house.
• The Swede has a dog.
• The Dane drinks tea.
• The green house is on the left side of the white house.
• They drink coffee in the green house.
• The man who smokes Pall Mall has birds.
• In the yellow house they smoke Dunhill.
• In the middle house they drink milk.
• The Norwegian lives in the first house.
• The man who smokes Salem lives in the house next to the house with cats.
• In the house next to the house where they have a horse, they smoke Dunhill.
• The man who smokes Marlboro drinks beer.
• The German smokes Kent.
• The Norwegian lives next to the blue house.
• They drink water in the house next to the house where they smoke Salem.

So, who owns the Zebra?