In the following passage, some words have been deleted. Read the passage carefully and select the most appropriate option to fill in each blank.

Birbal immediately smiled and went up to Akbar. He announced the (1) ______; he said there were twenty-one thousand, five hundred and twenty-three crows (2) ______ the city. When asked how he (3) ______ the answer, Birbal replied, “Ask your men to (4) ______ the number of crows. If there are more, then the relatives of the crows must be visiting them from (5) ______ cities. If there are fewer, then the crows from our city must be visiting their relatives who live outside the city.”

Select the most appropriate option to fill in blank number 1.